Sabine Freizer

Europe Program Director
Istanbul, Turkey

Crisis Group role:

Sabine Freizer is the Brussels-based Director of the Europe Program. She started with Crisis Group as Caucasus Project Director in July 2004. As Europe Program Director, Sabine Freizer oversees projects covering the Caucasus, Kosovo, Serbia and Montenegro, and Turkey. She has a PhD from the London School of Economics, and a Masters from the College of Europe (Bruges, Belgium) which she obtained as a Fulbright Scholar.   

Areas of expertise:

• Balkans
• Caucasus
• Turkey
• Moldova
• Civil society and conflict prevention

Professional background:

• Caucasus Project Director (Tbilisi-based), International Crisis Group, 2004-2007
• Political Officer, OSCE Election Observation Missions Azerbaijan and Georgia, 2003-2004
• Human Dimensions/Legal Expert, OSCE Central Asia Liaison Office, Tashkent, 1999-2000
• Civil Society Coordinator, OSCE Mission to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Sarajevo, 1996-1998

Publications and media:

Solving the EU-Turkey-Cyprus Triangle, regular analysis and commentary

• "Soccer diplomacy - lessons for Armenia and Azerbaijan", Today's Zaman, 18 October 2009
• Kosovo: "Eyes on the Ball", Transitions Online, 14 October 2008
• "EU:n tarkkailijoiden päästävä myös kiistellyille alueille", Helsingen Sanomat, 10 October 2008
• "A Mission for All of Georgia", EU Observer, 7 October 2008
• "Reassuring Kosovo's Serbs", The Guardian, 20 March 2008
• "Combustible Caucasus", The Wall Street Journal, 13 March 2008
• "Nagorno-Karabakh – A Frozen Conflict That Could Boil Over", European Voice, 31 January 2008
• Nagorno-Karabakh: "Putting the Freeze on a Frozen Conflict",The Boston Globe, 25 December 2007
• "Kosovo's appointment in Samara", EU Observer, 16 May 2007
• "Why Kosovo's Independence is Necessary", IslamOnline.net, 14 May 2007
• "The EU’s Inexcusable Pardon for Serbia", with Andrew Stroehlein, European Voice, 29 March 2007
• "Nagorno-Karabakh: Between Vote and Reality", openDemocracy.net, 14 December 2006
• Interviews with local and international media outlets, including BBC, Deutsche Welle, RFL, AFP, among others

Languages:

• English (native)
• French (native)

Click here for a high-resolution photo of Sabine Freizer.