The GLOBSEC Phenomenon by GLOBSEC Academy Centre

ISBN 978 - 80 - 972020 - 0 - 2

GLOBSEC More than a Bratislava Security Conference

Table of Contents

A New Dimension of Diplomacy

Slovakia and Bratislava as a Diplomatic Hub of Central Europe

The Founding of GLOBSEC

The Dynamics of Growth

From the Partnerships and Slovak Atlantic the Fundraising Commission to the Strategy Central European Strategy Council

The Agenda for Peace, Freedom and Democracy

Ready for the 10th Conference

The Mission of GLOBSEC : Strengthening the Voice of Central Europe in the World

The Reputation of GLOBSEC

Introduction

his publication commemorates the tenth anniversary of GLOBSEC, an international conference on security and foreign policy, which has been organised in Bratislava, Slovakia, since 2005 by the Slovak Atlantic Commission, an independent non-governmental organisation. The founding and development of this important platform is a fascinating story of courage, energy and the creativity of young people who have fully taken advantage of the opportunities afforded by a free and democratic society. GLOBSEC is a unique “Made in Slovakia” brand which has the globe in its logo. Its founders, led by Róbert Vass, studied international relations in Slovakia, not at Western universities. However, from the beginning, they have had an audacious desire to attract global political and expert stars to their little known homeland openly to discuss topics of global relevance, look for solutions and create alliances in this city on the Danube. They were not just dreamers. They had to find a lot of allies and supporters and mobilise volunteers for their “non-governmental start-up”. They have never been financially dependent on one large sponsor and they have successfully protected their independence and clear orientation towards Western democratic values, even in times of political change and turbulence. Despite admirable professionalism , the GLOBSEC organisers still rely on a large number of young people, which gives this conference the appropriate freshness and enthusiasm.

The Founding of GLOBSEC

lovakia is one of the youngest European countries and it has a remarkable story of modernisation to tell. It became an independent state in January 1993 after the peaceful break-up of Czecho-Slovakia, which had liberated itself from Communist dictatorship in November 1989 in the Velvet Revolution. The key ambitions of this relatively unknown country with a population of about five million were to build democracy and a market economy and to join the EU and transatlantic institutions. Slovakia’s strategic goals were identical to those of its larger and better-known neighbours from the Visegrad Group – the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. Although Slovakia launched promising reforms and started fulfilling the criteria for joining the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), it was excluded from the integration process in the mid-1990s due to the undemocratic practices of the government of Vladimír Mečiar. The first wave of NATO expansion in 1999 took place without Slovakia. But thanks to the widespread mobilisation of democratic political forces and civil society, the parliamentary election in 1998 led to a change of power, and the coalition government headed by Mikuláš Dzurinda started impressive reforms and strong integration steps. This allowed Slovakia to catch up with the most progress-minded countries of Central and Eastern Europe, and it was admitted into NATO and the EU in spring 2004. Slovaks are proud of this historic period, most especially of the fact that it was thanks to their own efforts that they had become part of the democratic West. At the time, the whole transatlantic family was consumed with optimism about the expansion to post-Communist countries, which raised hopes of a more stable, safer and more prosperous Europe.

01 Students’ grassroot project The first GLOBSEC event took place one year after the so-called “superintegration” year when Slovakia joined NATO and the EU more or less simultaneously. It was founded by ambitious university students who had a desire to anchor Slovakia inside Western values and at the same time to put their country on the world map. The head of this group was a native of Nové Zámky, Róbert Vass, a student at the Faculty of Political Science and International Relations of Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica, who has exceptional organisational talent and leadership skills. Róbert Vass and his colleagues Ján Cingeľ, Ján Gallo and Milan Šuplata gained their first organisational experience and a deeper interest in foreign policy in the EuroAtlantic Center, a student organisation in Banská Bystrica (Mr. Vass was its President in 2003-2006). They had dreamed of founding a forum, which would attract people from all over the world, where major international topics would be discussed. At a summer meeting in 2005, this quartet agreed on the name of GLOBSEC (an acronym for global security).

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We started from zero, without resources, support, finances. We did not have our own premises, bank account or address. However, we had a tremendous vision and strong conviction that it is worth fighting for what we want to achieve. I was not an easy process. We had to learn to stand up after we fell, we needed a huge dose of persistence and youthful passion. It was a huge lesson learned. Many colleagues who were with us still benefit from it.” Róbert Vass, the founder of GLOBSEC

01 They understood that a security conference with global ambitions would have to take place in the capital city of Bratislava and that they would have to find allies at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and among respected experts. As a student intern at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Róbert Vass approached State Secretary (Deputy Minister) Ivan Korčok, who allowed him to organise the first GLOBSEC event in the conference hall of the Ministry in October 2005. The students invested their own money from summer jobs as well many hours of volunteer work into the conference. After graduating from university in Banská Bystrica, Róbert Vass and his colleagues moved to Bratislava. Instead of founding a new organisation, they decided to revive and professionalise the Slovak Atlantic Commission (SAC), which was a member of the Atlantic Treaty Organisation (until then, SAC was a purely voluntary non-governmental organisation founded by diplomats in 1993 with the goal of building transatlantic bonds and joining NATO). Róbert Vass became its head and as a professional started building a

unique network of partnerships with diplomats, foreign policy and security experts, sponsors, the media and student volunteers. He also started attending international events to study modern trends and forms of top conferences. The strategic orientation of SAC was significantly strengthened in 2008 when Ambassador Rastislav Káčer became the head of its Board immediately after returning from Washington D.C. to Bratislava. In launching GLOBSEC, the young founders were helped by the following diplomats and experts (in alphabetical order): Martin Bútora, Pavol Demeš, Milan Ježovica, Ivan Korčok, Igor Slobodník, Tomáš Valášek and others. At the time GLOBSEC was founded, several high-quality think tanks and non-governmental organisations with international programmes operated in Slovakia. The uniqueness of Róbert Vass’ team lay in its organisational and networking strength as well as in an unusual ambition to create a global conference brand in a small Central European country.

2005 - 2014

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The Dynamics of Growth

he first three GLOBSEC events were run by students in the conference venue of the Slovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2009, the professionalised Slovak Atlantic Commission organised the expanded fourth event in the historic building of the National Council of the Slovak Republic (the Parliament). This is when another graduate of the Faculty of Political Science and International Relations in Banskรก Bystrica, Milan Solรกr, became involved. He is at the core of the GLOBSEC team and heads its executive operation. One more such GLOBSEC conferences took place in this historic building. Since 2011, GLOBSEC has taken place in the Kempinski Hotel River Park Bratislava with some meetings taking place in other venues in the Slovak capital. The impressive development of GLOBSEC is best illustrated by the quantitative and qualitative growth of its participants and speakers, and the complexity of the programme. The first GLOBSEC conference hosted about 100 participants, mostly from Slovakia and the neighbouring countries, while the ninth conference in 2014 had more than 800 participants from 65 countries. The first conference was a platform for 27 speakers from 13 countries while the tenth will have 167 speakers from more than 40 countries. In total, 3,333 participants and 564 speakers attended the first nine GLOBSEC conferences. The organisers have cooperated with 104 local and international partners. The ninth event consisted of 11 plenary panel discussions and chats, 14 dinner sessions, four night owl sessions and two keynote speakers.

The complexity of GLOBSEC The first GLOBSEC conference had a relatively simple programme consisting of four panel discussions. At the time, SAC did not yet have its own staff and relied mostly on volunteers. It was coordinated by ten students with an average age of 20 . The significant programme complexity of the events in recent years necessitates a full year’s professional engagement by more than a dozen professionals, and coordination with many local and global partners from the state, non-governmental and private sectors. Every year before the conference the organising team grows to almost a hundred volunteers and another sixty technical support staff. Today, GLOBSEC is not only about the panel discussions. What takes place in the main conference room accounts for less than 40 per cent of the whole programme. Last year, the organisers arranged more than a hundred political, expert, bilateral and multilateral meetings in other venues. For three days, Bratislava is transformed into a city where leaders, the media and experts discuss important foreign policy issues. The SAC staff permanently introduce innovations and new formats which make GLOBSEC an exceptionally complex and multidimensional event. Today, it has progressed towards its own online television – GLOBSEC TV, its own English-language daily

newspaper published during the conference, and it runs a media centre with TV studios and satellite transmission vehicles for more than 150 journalists from all over the world. The organisers use a specially developed mobile application and production is provided by professionals from the BBC. Safety and traffic have to be coordinated with the police and the Department for the Protection of Constitutional Officers and Diplomatic Missions of the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic. Since 2010, the GLOBSEC Young Leaders’ Forum has taken place alongside GLOBSEC. According to the SAC Head of Youth Leadership Programme, Radka Čížová, 298 young professionals from more than 50 countries applied to attend in 2015, and 35 young personalities with the highest potential have been selected as participants. They will get an opportunity to meet in a small group with leaders of international politics that they have until now only read about in books or newspapers. Thanks to the high demand for the conference, in 2014 the organisers decided to open it up to the wider public and launched the GLOBSEC City Talks in cooperation with the city of Bratislava. During the tenth conference, the format will expand also to the eastern and central Slovak cities of Košice and Banská Bystrica.

In its scale, in its ambition, in its organisation GLOBSEC is literally a first-class globaltype of operation.â&#x20AC;?

Zbigniew Brzezinski,

Former US National Security Advisor

â&#x20AC;&#x17E;

02 The Czech and Slovak Transatlantic Award This award has been presented at the GLOBSEC Gala Dinner in Bratislava and at the NATO Days in Ostrava since 2012. The award is presented jointly by the Slovak Atlantic Commission and the Czech non-profit organisation Jagello 2000. In a ceremonial and widely promoted format, the organisers attempt to honour personalities who represent democratic values and have significantly contributed to strengthening transatlantic relations, peace, prosperity and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area and to the integration of Central Europe into the family of developed European countries. The first laureates of the award were US diplomat and political scientist Ronald Asmus (in memoriam) and then Czech Minister of Defence Alexandr Vondra, a former advisor to President Václav Havel. Other award holders include former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Czech diplomat Karel Kovanda, as well as the former Prime Minister of Poland Jan Krzysztof Bielecki and Slovak diplomat Martin Bútora.

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We get thinking people of our region to come together and talk about serious issues. This is where the genuine value of this conference is.” Toomas Henrik Ilves, President of the Republic of Estonia

The Mission of GLOBSEC: Strengthening the Voice of Central Europe in the World

hroughout its history, Central Europe has more often been the object rather than the subject of international relations. The situation started changing when the countries of Central Europe joined the EU and NATO in 2004. GLOBSECâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ambition has been to contribute to making this region part of a strategic European and international discussion where participants look for answers to current issues. In its scale and prestige, GLOBSEC has proven that a high-quality discussion and the shaping of international politics are not privileges of Western cities such as Brussels or Washington D.C. Today, this conference shifts the region

of Central Europe from the periphery to the centre of discussion on global issues. GLOBSEC is not a place for politicians to announce joint decisions or present statements. Its primary goal is to be a part of an open debate and allow Slovakia and Central Europe to influence and shape the debate on key issues so that the final decisions of European and transatlantic institutions also reflect regional interests and needs. GLOBSEC thus contributes to dispelling prejudices about post-Communist countries and to building Central European self-confidence.

In just a few years, GLOBSEC has become one of Europeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s premier venues for the discussion of international security matters. Twenty-five years ago, this part of Europe was the front-line in the fight for freedom. Barbed wire fences were cut. Walls came down. And freedom prevailed over force. Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Former Secretary General, NATO

â&#x20AC;&#x17E;

GLOBSEC

„

Globsec is the most important security conference in the region. It’s where you get the decision-makers, the movers and shakers from all over Western, Eastern Europe and outside Europe, from North America...” Edward Lucas, Economist

The Reputation of GLOBSEC

his Bratislava-based conference has in just a few years become one of the most important events of its kind in the world and has joined the ranks of foreign policy and security conferences in Munich, Brussels, Washington D.C. and Halifax. GLOBSEC is already a platform that is not only in the diaries of Central European politicians and experts but also attracts personalities and media from all parts of the world. In all, three presidents, nine prime ministers, 50 ministers, two NATO Secretaries General, members of the European Commission and the European Parliament, heads of the OECD, OSCE, high-ranking military representatives and representatives of the private sector as well as numerous leading experts have attended GLOBSEC.

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Evolving, maturing, the Bratislava Global Security Forum’s story in many ways reflects Slovakia’s own success story. It kicked off as a student project that gradually grew and picked up on international recognition to eventually settle among the top five global security conferences. GLOBSEC is Central Europe’s contribution to the determinant international security debate. Down the road, the Forum’s brand has inevitably become a part of Slovakia’s external identity.” Miroslav Lajčák, Slovak Minister of Foreign and European Affairs

04 The Media and Social Networks

consisted of more than 500 articles and TV and radio reports in the Slovak and international media. This makes GLOBSEC one of the most watched regular events not only in Slovakia but also in Central Europe.

From the very beginning, GLOBSEC has tried to leave the walls of the conference premises and mediate presentations and discussions of participants to the general public. Coverage has grown thanks to technological advances such as social networks (Facebook, Twitter) In total, 469 journalists from 35 countries and streaming, which it uses more extensively covered the nine previous GLOBSEC than any other conference of this kind in conferences. Media coverage from 2014 Slovakia or in the region.

Notable international media and agencies that have covered GLOBSEC include: The Wall Street Journal, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Le Monde, The Economist, Ria Novosti, The Guardian, Financial Times, International Herald Tribune, The New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, Baltic Times, Den (Kyiv), Kuwait Times, Al-Ahram; Associated Press, Reuters, AFP, IHS Janeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, Bloomberg, Xinhua News Agency, the Egyptian official Middle East News Agency etc.

From the Slovak Atlantic Commission to the Central European Strategy Council

he GLOBSEC conference has grown against the background of an exceptionally dynamic decade in international politics. The transatlantic community has experienced a number of changes and faced unpredictable internal and external challenges. In 2008, the EU and the US were hit by a financial crisis which is still painfully felt in some countries. A serious debate on the stability of the European project has started, with new and troubling acronyms such as Brexit and Grexit entering the stage.

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We often hear from our partners that discussions at GLOBSEC are mentioned and quoted in the most prominent international forums in the OSCE, EU, NATO and at bilateral meetings of official representatives with foreign partners. We consider this as a huge recognition not only for us, but also for Slovakia.”

Milan Solár, SAC Managing Director

Leaders of the Slovak Atlantic Commission decided to respond to the dynamic developments in the transatlantic area and its neighbourhood by adjusting its organisation and programme. Demand for high-quality, flexible and practical projects in the fields of security and international relations has significantly grown. SAC, initially a small Slovak non-governmental organisation, has gradually transformed into a regional player with an ambition to mobilise the talent of the Visegrad Group

The immediate neighbourhood of the EU, both in the south and the east, has been affected by political, economic and social turbulence. The Middle East and the countries of the so-call Arab Spring were exposed to radical and terrorist elements as well as to the return of authoritarian practices. Six EU Eastern Partnership countries have found themselves in an unenviable position, mostly due to Vladimir Putinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Russia which has decided to form an alternative integration grouping â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the Eurasian Union. Russia has started to use armed force in its neighbourhood. In 2008, it was militarily engaged in Georgia. The annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the subsequent military presence in the east of Ukraine have caused the most serious security crisis since the end of World War II. A strategic partner of the West has unexpectedly become an open adversary. This mobilises both institutions and tests their cohesion and ability to act.

countries and strengthen their influence in the international arena. This ambition has naturally led to the need also to build analytical capacity beyond the know-how related to organising conferences. The Slovak Atlantic Commission gradually set up two sister organisations of a think-thank type – the Centre for European Affairs (CEA) and the Central European Policy Institute (CEPI). The three non-governmental entities (SAC, CEPI and CEA) then created a consortium called the Central European Strategy Council. This non-governmental “holding” is headed by Róbert Vass, who is its Executive VicePresident, and Rastislav Káčer (currently Slovak ambassador to Hungary) who acts as Honorary President. The Strategy Council is advised by the International Advisory Board consisting of eminent experts from Europe and the US such as Jan Kryszstof Bielecki, Jiří Schneider, János Martonyi, Štefan Füle, Réka Szemerkényi, John Allen, Michael Chertoff, Kurt Volker, Damon Wilson and others. Thanks to the success of its flagship project GLOBSEC -- the Central European Strategy Council has managed to build an institution which now has 33 internal staff from Central Europe and dozens of external collaborators. It runs more than sixty projects in eighteen countries and organises a number of events (conferences, seminars, brainstorming sessions) in Slovakia and abroad. The scope of its activities, staff and collaborators makes it one of the biggest nongovernmental organisations in the region.

Partnerships and the Fundraising Strategy

ne of the decisive factors behind the dynamic growth of the GLOBSEC conference has been the strategic and systematic building of a wide network of partnerships with state and nonstate subjects at the local and international level. Currently, the funding of the Slovak Atlantic Commission and the Central European Strategy Council is based solely on projects. Approximately half of the budget is from funds and foundations and to a lesser extent from EU grants and ministries. The second half of the budget is from private companies.

GLOBSEC has never been dependent on one big, state or private, donor. Similar security and foreign policy conferences are usually financially and organisationally tied to ministries of defence or foreign affairs, or to resources from foundations. Although SAC closely cooperates with these ministries and several donors in organising GLOBSEC, this does not interfere with its autonomy and professional approach. Currently, GLOBSEC has about thirty donors. However, none of them contributes more than 15 per cent of the budget. This ensures unprecedented independence, and the sustainability of the A high diversity of financial resources has conference. allowed the non-governmental organiser of GLOBSEC â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the Slovak Atlantic Commission The most important partners in the ten-year â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to preserve its independence and flexibility. history of GLOBSEC include: the Ministry

of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, NATO, the International Visegrad Fund, the Atlantic Council, BAE Systems, SAAB, Microsoft, BMW and Kempinski Hotel River Park Bratislava. One of the defining characteristics of GLOBSEC is the high participation of volunteers, particularly university students, who give the event a touch of freshness and spontaneity. The conference is also a platform for their professional growth.

A New Dimension of Diplomacy

LOBSEC created in Slovakia, but also in a wider context, a new model of private-public cooperation. The GLOBSEC organisers have managed to preserve political neutrality while maintaining clear value orientation. This privatepublic project in the field of foreign and security policy multiplies Slovak diplomacy, and strengthens its voice, reputation and image. Thanks to this network of cooperation, a new quality of relations between public institutions, non-governmental organisations and companies is created. In ten years, governments and ministers of foreign affairs and ministers of defence have changed repeatedly but all governments and ministers, regardless of their party allegiance, have recognised the unquestionable added value of the Forum and have cooperated with the GLOBSEC organisers. Thus, they have contributed to building a security and foreign policy community in Slovakia, its reliability, and professionalism.

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I consider GLOBSEC a bright example of a win-win cooperation model for Slovakia’s diplomacy. The bond has grown into a robust and serious partnership becoming Slovakia’s copybook Government-to-NGO project. Ten years later, the Bratislava Global Security Forum is a firm slot in the Foreign Ministry’s yearly schedule. The successful cooperation stretches from logistics up to strategic heading of the Forum involving literally all of the Slovak diplomatic missions abroad and the Ministry’s staff in Bratislava.” Miroslav Lajčák, Slovak Minister of Foreign and European Affairs

Slovakia and Bratislava as a Diplomatic Hub of Central Europe

mong the Visegrad Group countries, Slovakia is the smallest and globally least known. Compared to Prague, Warsaw and Budapest, Bratislavaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s perceived status for organising a regular security conference was less favourable. Despite this, it was in the Slovak capital where the biggest annual meeting, which now has a Central European character, was launched. Political leaders and experts from the Visegrad Group countries consider GLOBSEC their platform for exchanging views and experiences as well as for communication with partners from various regions of the world. SAC has strategically involved not only ministries of foreign affairs of the Visegrad Group countries but also leading think tanks such as PISM of Poland and Jagello 2000 of the Czech Republic. Thanks to GLOBSEC, Bratislava and Slovakia have made it onto the diplomatic map of the world.

Bratislava as a Congress Centre The cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading representatives realise that GLOBSEC helps develop the city as a congress destination. In the last few years, the GLOBSEC organisers have more intensively cooperated with the City Council of Bratislava in better informing the participants and the foreign media. The goal of these activities is to highlight the new possibilities of Slovakia and promote Bratislava to the position of a city with the potential to host global congresses.

09 The Agenda for Peace, Freedom and Democracy

LOBSEC pays a lot of attention to the agenda of security, freedom and democracy while it strategically contributes to strengthening transatlantic cooperation. This is immensely important for the region of Central Europe which has suffered a lot throughout its history. SAC representatives have gained appropriate respect in eminent European and American analytical centres and among foreign policy experts. They have launched intensive cooperation with several prestigious organisations such as the Atlantic Council and the Center for European Policy Analysis (Róbert Vass has been a member of its International Advisory Board since 2014). Ambassador Rastislav Káčer, Chairman of the SAC Board, has significantly helped in opening doors and building partnerships. The values of freedom and democracy are being severely tested these days. They are not to be taken for granted even in the transatlantic family where we have seen a rise in populism and a decline of public trust in elites. Tensions in the Balkans, the expansion of terrorist groups and the emergence of armed conflicts in the EU’s direct neighbourhood make GLOBSEC a very up-to-date and needed platform.

Ready for the 10th Conference

he jubilee tenth GLOBSEC conference will take place at an exceptional time when the issues of security dominate local and international discourse. On 19-21 June 2015, about 800 participants from more than 70 countries will come to Bratislava to discuss urgent topics such as the conflict in Ukraine and its international context, the fight against the Islamic State and the future of the European Union and NATO. It will host a record number of outstanding personalities, including heads of state and government as well as international organisations. The conference will once again take place in the Kempinski Hotel River Park Bratislava as well as some other venues in Bratislava. The organisers will pay great attention to informing the public, which will be able to watch the GLOBSEC conference via livestream on the official website of the conference as well as on the websites of media partners. The activities and events during the conference will be covered in a special daily newspaper by the organisers and DennĂk N â&#x20AC;&#x201C; GLOBSEC Daily. The public will be able to watch the conference also on its own GLOBSEC TV. Publishing the highlights on social media such as Twitter and Facebook goes without saying.

Conclusion

he title of this publication may sound a touch provocative. However, I believe that after reading the story of ten years of the Bratislava Global Security Forum, the reader will have discovered that it is not exaggerated. GLOBSEC is a remarkable phenomenon born in Slovakia, a small Central European country, which has found its anchor in the world of Western values. It is not only our eminent diplomats who serve in prestigious institutions and troubled territories but also experts from civic society who have made Slovakia well-known abroad. GLOBSEC and its organiser – the Slovak Atlantic Commission – are without any doubt Slovakia’s most cited non-governmental brands in the international arena. GLOBSEC is a symbol of an ongoing generational desire of young people in Slovakia whose enthusiasm, ability to act, and professionalism have carried representatives of the state and business along with them. And not only in Slovakia. In their ambitions, they have not been limited by curtains and barriers, and they have not looked for opportunities and fortunes in developed Western cities. It was at home where they have found the point from which they have decided to move the globe and increase its security. To put it better, they have occupied a space for professionalism and world class activity in an environment which still suffers from low self-confidence. Leaders such as Róbert Vass, Rastislav Káčer, Milan Solár and their team send out a remarkable signal about their country. And not only that. They try to mobilise the values of freedom, democracy and responsibility in Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans and other regions. It is a rare asset in these times of wavering belief in the transatlantic family and its ability to solve internal and global challenges. This mental attitude linked with exceptionally high-quality organisation, networks of partnerships and hospitality every year bring more and more people who care about international relations to Bratislava. This jubilee tenth event promises to be another milestone, and the gateway to GLOBSEC’s next decade.

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A lot of conferences die before they grow this old. Leadership in today’s world requires courage and guts combined with the ability to take things into perspective and have a long term vision of what you want to achieve.” Rastislav Káčer, the Honorary Chairman of the Slovak Atlantic Commission

© Pavol Demeš © Slovak Atlantic Commission, 2015 Photographs: Archive of the Slovak Atlantic Commission Graphic design: Adam Cisár / W.R.P.R., s.r.o. English translation: Tomáš Mrva Copy Editing: Robin Shepherd, Paul Hacker Print: REMprint, s. r. o. First edition. Not for sale ISBN 978 - 80 - 972020 - 0 - 2 Pavol Demeš is a Senior Non-Resident Fellow with the German Marshall Fund of the United States. An author and photographer based in Bratislava, he is also a former Foreign Affairs Minister of Slovakia, and long-term external advisor to the Slovak Atlantic Commission