iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

If you are in Berlin this is a great opportunity to see a taste of what the Ex-Yu Rock Centar has in terms of amazingly curated exhibits!! If you are not in Berlin, this is a great reason to go :-) And as it notes - plans for the new phase of the EYRC are in process....

010

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I spoke with WXXI’s Evan Dawson about Route 66, including how roadtrips can connect people. We also talked about politics, how we would not want AI to plan/drive the route for us, & why you should not accept gifts from oligarchs along the way. Listen at podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

podcasts.apple.com

Valery Perry went on the road in search of democracy

Podcast Episode · Connections Podcast · September 28 · 51m

132

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Great chat with Eric Manton about “Adversarial Analysis,” a model of anti-democratic dynamics in the US. He looks at 4 factions: Corporatist Oligarchs, Christian Nationalists/Heritage, MAGA, & Dystopian Tech Bros - with Pres. Trump as the bonding agent. Listen at open.spotify.com/episode/2R9U...

open.spotify.com

DPC Talks with Eric Manton (U.S.)

DPC Voice - A Podcast from the Democratization Policy Council · Episode

121

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Great chat with Ivan Stefanovski in Skopje on the diminished credibility of the EU enlargement process among people in N Macedonia, the impact of US disengagement, & the bigger picture changing geopolitics that affect the country, the region & beyond. Listen here: open.spotify.com/episode/77H0...

open.spotify.com

DPC talks with Ivan Stefanovski (Skopje, North Macedonia)

DPC Voice - A Podcast from the Democratization Policy Council · Episode

111

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

We talked about what makes assemblies successful: using sortition to select participants; deliberation and selection of topics to discuss and drive policy; and how to hold elected politicians to account so they listen to the people and take steps to implement reform. open.spotify.com/episode/5P3b...

open.spotify.com

DPC talks with Damir Kapidzic (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina)

DPC Voice - A Podcast from the Democratization Policy Council · Episode

042

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

you can also find it here at Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/3U46...

001

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

I spoke with Nidzara Ahmetasevic about the glorification of war criminal Ratko Mladic, & the spectacle of his funeral in Belgrade. We discused these dynamics in the region & beyond, & how language, memory & denial can feed polarization, hate & fascism. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/d...

podcasts.apple.com

DPC talks with Nidzara Ahmetasevic (Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Podcast Episode · DPC Voice - A Podcast from the Democratization Policy Council · September 8 · 53m

141

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

I have long wanted to find corporate or other support to develop a line of Lego sets based on Bosnia and Herzegovina's amazing and underappreciated medieval fortresses..... This could be a first start. Please support! ideas.lego.com/product-idea...

010

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

There will never be space for reconciliation when education reinforces division. This also shows the failure of the EU accession process to be "transformative", as it largely ignores education & turns a blind eye to corrosive political trends that are a slap in the face to democratic values.

130

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

The first 8 minutes of this covers reactions to Mladic’s death, & the ongoing & increasing trend of glorifying war criminals. I argue that a root cause of this is fundamentally unreformed education systems.

120

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Glad to see this important history is getting out into the public space... and that it shows people looked for methods of accountable self-government even before Athens introduced its version of democracy-

011

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

I spoke with Gresa Hasa about the Flamingo Revolution in Albania. While the use of violence against protestors served as a trigger, this bottom-up movement needs to be viewed in the context of 3 decades of frustration with the lack of transparency, pervasive corruption & weak rule of law.

101

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

I reviewed, Shifting paradigms. Three decades after the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement (H. Preljević, M. Mulalić, E. Hadžikadunić, M. Krupalija (eds.). Interesting contributions, but I wish some of the writers had sketched out positive visions for BiH beyond vague notions of an EU future.

100

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

It’s a reminder of why, until recently, successful democratic countries invested in democracy support around the world; comprehensive security that has been increasingly squeezed out by zero-sum and short-term realpolitik thinking.

010

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

I reviewed Justin Gest’s book, Democratic Drain: Global Migration and the Struggle for Democracy. The book looks at people making the choice to emigrate based not on economic motivations, but to live in a society that is grounded in democratic values: balkaninsight.com/2026/08/11/w...

110

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Listen on Spotify here: open.spotify.com/episode/5BDZ... Or on Apple podcasts here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/d...

open.spotify.com

DPC talks with Mike Henning (Baku/DC)

DPC Voice - A Podcast from the Democratization Policy Council · Episode

000

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

I spoke with Mike Henning who spent 31 years with USAID until it was dismantled in 2025. We talked about lessons learned from work supporting democratic resilience globally, & what it means that the US has given up on its soft power influence that enabled comprehensive security for decades.

112

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Louis spent years in the Balkans so has a comparative perspective. He finds hope in collective action and the empowerment of cultural practices that create space that is not dominated by elites yet can generate bottom-up change.

100

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

I spoke with Louis Monroy Santander about the recent elections in Colombia which saw a narrow win by a far-right populist candidate. The left/right split was notable & reflects a polarization that needs to be understood in the context of seven decades of violence in that country.

131

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

I spoke with Randall Puljek-Shank for DPC Voice about what drew him to work in conflict transformation, what brought him to Bosnia, and what it’s like doing activism now back in the United States at a time of substantial democratic challenge. Listen at: open.spotify.com/episode/3G3U...

open.spotify.com

DPC talks with Randall Puljek-Shank (Lancaster, Pennsylvania)

DPC Voice · Episode

110

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

So many people who talk about geopolitics see mostly airports and hotel conferences rooms when "in the field." This trip was illuminating on many fronts-

110

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

The citizens of BiH - citizens everywhere - should know what their representatives are being pressured to sign when it comes to extraction deals (or ANY deals); the lack of transparency on the SIC is just one of the issues Pippa and I discussed--

033

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

Growing up in Buffalo with Canada just over the Niagara River, the deterioration of the relationship between the US and Canada over the past year is painfully acute. I was glad to see the Rochester daily, the Democrat & Chronicle, publish a piece I submitted shortly after the recent tumult in Davos:

011

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 10/01/2026

I"m glad Kurt is doing the math - this is the craven zero-sum politics mentality that will make everyone worse off. Looking at a complex world as if it was the game board in Risk is never a good idea.....

040

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

We explored the downsides of a “sphere of influence” approach to international relations, reflecting on how the rules-based order that the US is actively dismantling was put into place following the violent first decades of the 20th century.

020

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

Were the Trump administration’s actions in Venezuela the first chance to see what operationalization of the new US National Security Strategy looks like? I talked about this on “Connections with Evan Dawson” @WXXINews www.wxxinews.org/show/connect...

wxxinews.org

What does American action in Venezuela mean for democracy abroad?

In the first hour of "Connections with Evan Dawson" on 1/8/26, a democratization policy expert discusses potential repercussions of the Trump administration's attempts to strong-arm other nations.

112

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

Useful reminder that the application of ink to paper is only the first step of a process that requires dedication and support to people who want peace, and the marginalization of spoilers who profit from conflict and chaos at the expense of regular people.

010

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 27/12/2025

Route 66 turns 100 in 2026! If you're thinking about hitting the Mother Road, check out some tips and ideas in this highlights video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=agk9...

youtube.com

The Mother Road turns 100! Some Top Route 66 sites and experiences

YouTube video by Valery Perry

010

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

There is little doubt that the new US National Security Strategy at least provides clarity; the question is whether democratic states who have lost an ally will finally abandon their complacency and resignation

031

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

Good review of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.... As the US trashes allies and embraces $$ this caught my eye: "Although eight countries abstained from the UDHR—South Africa, Saudi Arabia, and six countries from the Soviet bloc—no country voted against it, making the vote unanimous."

030

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

Excellent analysis and a reminder that while resistance against democratic threats does not have a 100% chance of success, continued complacency will have a 100% chance of failure

020

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

Sadly there is still often a sense that women should work on so-called "women's issues" while issues related to security, socio-economic opportunity, governmental accountability and corruption resistant politics are left to the same mostly male political actors who have failed for a generation

010

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

I wrote about this years ago in "Glass Ceilings and Constitutional Barriers: Challenges to Effective Political Participation by Women and Others in Bosnia and Herzegovina" archive.transatlanticrelations.org/wp-content/u...

archive.transatlanticrelations.org

100

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

I will be curious to see what this report says, as the constitution that was included in Annex 4 of the Dayton Peace Agreement will never, ever be good for women because it is inherently a reactionary and regressive structure www.fena.ba/article/1654...

fena.ba

British Embassy Sarajevo to present report on gender dimension of the Dayton Peace Agreement

SARAJEVO, December 1 (FENA) – The British Embassy in Sarajevo is organizing the conference “From Analysis to Action: Gender Dimensions of the Dayton Peace Agreement,” where a report examining how the ...

110

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

Evan Dawson @wxxirochester.bsky.social & I covered a lot of ground: 30 years of the Dayton Agreement; the deals proposed for Ukraine; & shifting tides as geopolitical transactionalists aim to displace the notion of comprehensive security grounded in human rights www.wxxinews.org/show/connect...

wxxinews.org

How to end wars: learning from peace agreements of the past

In the first hour of "Connections with Evan Dawson" on 11/25/25, we reflect on lessons learned about war and conflict on the 30th anniversary of the Bosnian peace agreement.

020

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 24/11/2025

Good perspective on Dayton 30 years later....... if you are interested in a lighter look on Dayton TWENTY years after the war, check out Looking for Dayton: www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZ_Q...

youtube.com

Looking for Dayton

YouTube video by Valery Perry

022

Valery Perry @valeryperry.bsky.social · 22/11/2025

...so many talks and retrospectives on Nov 21 marking 30 years after the Dayton Agreement, but a packed multi-generational crowd for legendary Belgrade band Partibrejkers at Sloga in Sarajevo showed the real energy and spirit of great music in a great city

041