About us

Strategic Analysis is an independent consulting company and boutique think-tank providing cutting-edge expertise for the private sector, public institutions, media, and civil society. Slovakia-based Strategic Analysis focuses primarily on the European Neighbourhood with particular emphasis on the Western Balkans and South Caucasus. Strategic Analysis team combines over ten years of experience working and networking across the Western Balkans and South Caucasus.

Our expertise includes a thorough knowledge of both regions in terms of geopolitics, internal politics, international relations, security, economy, business environment, civil society, and culture. Moreover, thanks to years of developing relationships with the public as well as non-state actors across the regions, Strategic Analysis has an extensive networking capacity for interested decision-makers, business as well as civil society partners.

The Strategic Analysis offers its expertise and capacities vis-á-vis the Western Balkans and South Caucasus in four different courses: via Trainings; Support of actions; creation of partnerships (Network) and through Research.

Executive Team

Ján Cingel is the Founder and President of the Strategic Analysis, formerly a Research Fellow and the Head of the European Neighborhood Programme of the GLOBSEC Policy Institute, a Slovakia-based think-tank. Before, he worked as a project manager of the European Neighbourhood Development Programme at GLOBSEC (previously the Slovak Atlantic Commission). His areas of expertise are: the Western Balkans, South Caucasus, radicalisation, violent extremism, NATO, and the EU integration-related issues and processes. He has run numerous projects in Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia. Before joining the Slovak Atlantic Commission, Jan worked at the Bilateral relations office of the Defence Policy, International Relations and Legislation Department of the Ministry of Defence of the Slovak Republic. He is one of the co-founders of the Bratislava Global Security Forum – GLOBSEC (since 2005). Jan graduated from the Faculty of Political Sciences and International Relations of the Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, with an MA. degree in International Relations and Diplomacy.

Alexandra Tóthová is the Executive Director at Strategic Analysis.  She is a political science graduate from BISLA, later she studied at the University of Vienna. Over her career, she interned at AmCham Slovakia, she worked for various Slovak think tanks including the GLOBSEC Policy Institute and MESA10, as well as for the humanitarian organization People in Need Slovakia in Ukraine and has experience from the corporate sphere. She volunteered at UN Climate Change Conference COP24. Alexandra is also a Fellow at the Internews’ Journalist Security Fellowship in Central Europe.

Tomáš Baranec is a Research Fellow and the Head of the Caucasus Programme of the Strategic Analysis. Tomas is a graduate of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Charles University in Prague. He also spent one year as an exchange student at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, where he studied the transformation of the Caucasus region after the collapse of the Soviet Union. After finishing university, Tomas spent another year as a volunteer in Georgia, conducting monitoring and research on the Georgian-Ossetian ABL. Before joining Strategic Analysis, he worked as an analyst at the Institute of Security and Defence Studies in Bratislava, in the private sphere, and most recently in the News Agency of the Slovak Republic and Daily Standard in Slovakia. His research interests include nationalism, factors of ethnic conflicts and separatism, as well as the formation of collective identities with a focus on the Caucasus region.

Petra Bošková is a Project Manager and Junior Researcher. Petra studied International relations at Masaryk University in the Czech Republic. She was a Program Assistant at Euro- Atlantic Centre in Banská Bystrica. During her studies, Petra interned at Jagello 2000 during NATO Days and Czech Airforce Days at the VIP department, also at the Representation of European Commission in Slovakia at the Political and Media Department. Moreover, she participated in the project University Debates, organised by MESA10, during which they debated in Belgrade and Brussels about the role of the European Union and NATO and their influence in the Western Balkans. Her research interests include Russia’s influence in Western Balkans, Montenegro`s relations with the EU and Russia, and European Union`s neighbourhood policy.

Romana Burianová is a Research Fellow at Strategic Analysis, mainly focusing on Western Balkans matters. Romana is pursuing her doctoral degree in International Relations and European Politics at the Faculty of Social Sciences at Masaryk University in Brno. During her studies, she spent one year as an exchange student at the University of Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She recently completed her traineeship at European Policy Centre – CEP in Belgrade, where she spent six months. During her professional career, she gained skills in external and internal communication. She also conducted several internships in political science, particularly at the Slovak Embassy in Sarajevo or Schuman Traineeship at the European Parliament’s Liaison Office in Bratislava. In her research, she focuses on democratization, European Union, enlargement policy, and politics in the Western Balkans.

 Young Leaders Programme

Tibor Čech is an Intern of the Young Leaders Programme. Tibor is a student of Economic Diplomacy at the University of Economics in Bratislava. He participated in Erasmus+ Program and studied at Georg-August Universität Göttingen at the Faculty of Business and Economics. In the past, his research included Afghanistan and Central Asia with a focus on new players in that region. He is interested in following the current situation and development in Eastern Europe and in the Balkan region.

Lýdia Chobotová is an Intern of the Young Leaders Programme.   Lýdia is a student of European Studies at Comenius University in Bratislava, where she is mostly interested in human rights, cultural wars, and the integration of the Western Balkans into the European Union. She has also partaken in summer schools focused on extremism, radicalization, human rights, and democracy. 

Chiara Mihalčatinová is an Intern of the Young Leaders Programme. Chiara is a student of International Relations and Diplomacy at Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica. During her studies, she participated in the Erasmus exchange at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium and was also an intern at the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in The Hague. Her academic work focuses on geopolitical developments in the Western Balkans with regard to the influence of state and non-state actors on the region. 

Laura Ďorďová is an intern of the Young Leaders Programme. She is in her bachelor year of International and Diplomatic studies, an English taught programme, in the Prague University of Economics and Business. Laura is a volunteer, activist and part-time employee of the international non-governmental organisation Greenpeace, where she deepens her knowledge of environmental policies and threats of climate change. Moreover, Laura is a member of the Young Political Scientists club at her university, where she helps with the organisation of discussions, debates and conferences. She also manages the club’s social media and creates their graphic designs. The topics of her interest include international security relations and military threats, peace studies, media and information policies, historical as well as contemporary international relations and diplomatic protocol. Laura enjoys studying languages and so far she is actively learning English, German, Spanish and Chinese language.

Sára Gregová is an Intern of Young Leaders Programme.   Sára is a student of International Relations at Masaryk University in Brno. She participated in Erasmus+ Program and studied International Politics at University of Bologna. In the past, Sára participated in V4 Conference Youth Project. Recently, she undertook an internship at the Demagóg.SK. Sára is also a member of Student Section of the International Institute of Political Science. She is  interested in French foreign policy, Caucasus region and the integration of the Western Balkans into the European Union.

Barbora Tomanová is an Intern of the Young Leaders Programme. She studies International Relations and European Studies at Masaryk University in Brno. During her studies, she took a part in the Erasmus programme and spent one semester at the University in Malta. Barbora was an intern at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic and is an active member of the Student Section of the International Institute of Political Science. Last year, she attended a course at Tallinn University in Estonia on the Impact of EU-Russia relations on the Eastern Partnership. Her academic interests include the South Caucasus region, the EU foreign policy, and the security situation in the Middle East.

Victoria Valová  is an Intern of the Young Leaders Programme. She is a graduate of International Relations and Organisations at Leiden University in The Hague. In the upcoming year, Victoria will continue deepening my knowledge in the field of security studies by doing my master’s degree in Crisis and Security Management, with a specialization in Intelligence and National Security. In the past, she was an intern at the GLOBSEC Forum in Bratislava. Currently, Victoria is an intern at the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in The Hague. She interested in security-related topics, mainly terrorism, authoritarian regimes, and cybersecurity. During her studies, she has extensively researched civil wars and terrorism in the MENA region.

Katarína Žiaranová is an Intern at the Young Leaders Programme. Katarína is a graduate of Regional Geography, Regional Development and European Integration at Comenius University of Bratislava. The focus of her diploma thesis was the politico-geographical analysis of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. The bachelor thesis was about the politico-geographical characteristics of an internationally unrecognized state, Transnistria. As a student she was an intern at Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Slovak Republic and at City Hall of Bratislava – the Capital City of Slovakia. She was working in Norway or in Spain during her summers as a student.

Victoria Mária Širocká is an Intern in the Young Leaders Programme. She is a student of International relations and European studies at the University of Masaryk in Brno. Regarding to the Erasmus+ program, she spent her last semester in Paris where she studied at theInstitute of Political Studies, SciencesPo. She is currently interning at the Parliamentaryinstitute of the National Council of the Slovak Republic while being an active member of the student Section of the International Institute of Political Science at her university. Victoria is generally interested in human rights issues. Still, her academic area of interest entails the EU and French foreign policy, security development in the MENA region and the rule of law issues in Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans.

Natália Lešňovská is an Intern in the Young Leaders Programme. Natália is a student of International Relations at Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica. During her studies, she participated in the Erasmus exchange in Spain at the Complutense University of Madrid and interned at Globsec Bratislava Forum and at NATO Days and Czech Airforce Days. Natália is an active member of the student organization Euro-Atlantic Centre. In 2022 she was a Project Manager of Slovak Security Forum 2022, the second largest security conference in Slovakia. Right now she is doing her internship at the Slovak Embassy in Skopje. Natália is interested in the domestic and foreign policy of North Macedonia, with a specific interest in the country´s integration process with the European Union.

Matej Jadroň is an Intern in the Young Leaders Programme. Matej is a student of Economic Diplomacy at the University of Economics in Bratislava. He participated in the 2019 Ministerial Council of OSCE in Bratislava as an intern. He is an intern at the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Skopje, North Macedonia, where he deals with the political situation in the country with the main emphasis on economic matters. His main research interest is the economic situation in the countries of the Western Balkans. 

Zuzana Šmilňáková is an Intern in the Young Leaders Programme. Zuzana is an International Relations student at Masaryk University in the Czech Republic focusing primarily on the post-conflict reconstruction of countries and democracy building. She was an intern at the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in Skopje, North Macedonia. She spent a semester abroad at Haifa University in northern Israel where she studied under experts on peace-building. Now she uses this expertise to analyze regional developments in the Balkans and Southern Caucasus. Apart from the academic sphere, Zuzana is involved in the NGOs working towards bettering democracy in the Slovak Republic. 

Štefan Talarovič is an Intern in the Young Leaders Programme. Štefan is a BA student of International Relations and Security & Strategic Studies at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic. Currently, he undergoes an internship program at Adapt Institute as a Junior Analyst. He also participates in the project ‚Practice for universities, solutions for companies‘ by the Slovak Investment and Trade Development Agency (SARIO), where he is part of the marketing team. His areas of interest include the security issues in the post-Soviet states, the region of MENA and Latin America.