Alen Musaefendic has built a career focused on defending democracy against disinformation and foreign interference. As a senior analyst at the Swedish Psychological Defence Agency, currently stationed in Brussels at the European External Action Service, he works to counter hybrid threats in the Western Balkans and support the region’s path toward the European Union.
Much of Alen’s work revolves around monitoring and analyzing the information environment in the region, particularly efforts by foreign actors to destabilize democratic processes and undermine EU integration.
“The aim of malign actors in the region, notably Russia, is to sabotage and derail the EU path that all six Western Balkan countries have taken,” Alen explains.
Alongside analysis, his role involves close collaboration with journalists, academics, activists, civil servants, and politicians across the region to help strengthen resilience against disinformation.
“It would be impossible to create change without close contact with local journalists, media professionals, academics, activists, civil servants, and politicians,” he says. “The Western Balkan countries belong in the EU, and my main goal is to help them get there.”
Alen’s interest in foreign and security policy stems from his upbringing in Bosnia and Herzegovina during and after the Yugoslav wars. Experiencing political instability firsthand gave him an early understanding of how fragile democracy can be.
“Just because you do not take an interest in politics does not mean politics will not take an interest in you,” he says.
He believes the field of psychological defense and information security is changing rapidly, especially following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“The Russian aggression against Ukraine has changed everything,” Alen says. “The role of AI in spreading and countering disinformation over the next 10 years is on everybody’s lips, but nobody has the answer.”
The students are what makes SSE special. The breadth of interests I encountered among them was a daily inspiration and the ultimate career guide. Unsurprisingly, it was a classmate at SSE who introduced me to the world of think-tanks, lobbying and political writing in Sweden, and opened venues I did not know existed. This inspired me to major in economics instead of finance, which I've never regretted. If you want to understand how society works, economics is a rigorous way to go about it.
For current students, Alen encourages taking advantage of opportunities beyond academics, attending company presentations, exploring different career paths, and building genuine relationships.
“Be social, but do not ‘network’,” he advises. “Long-lasting connections and mutual benefits are most likely to be grounded in genuine friendship.”
Asked to describe his time at SSE in three words, Alen’s answer is simple: “Exciting, intensive, life-changing.”