Sasja Beslik: Future of the Balkans and BiH is in an integrated economic system, first between the former republics and then towards other regional centers
Intro
Latest news regarding an engagement of Saša Bešlić, internationally renowned financial expert who began his career as a journalist and humanitarian, concerns reports on the impacts and risks of climate change on Bosnia and Herzegovina. While this will still be read and commented on, Bešlić is interesting to the media as one of the leading European bankers who does not advocate neoliberal capitalism, but a kind of new deal, to say it Roosevelt-like. His origins, that is, the path he took from the war-torn Zenica of the 1990s to the position of director of Sustainable Investment Department of the Swiss bank J. Safra Sarasin, are certainly intriguing. In addition to the accolades he has won in the last ten years, the current unofficial titles of the most influential environmentally conscious man in the world of finance, the most famous story circulating about him is that he is not afraid to oppose the greatest, most powerful, to protect the least endangered, from the Sioux in USA and to the most exploited people of Congo and Bangladesh.
What is it like to be, from Your perspective, the best banker, when in our country (in BiH) jokes are still told that everyone, not only bankers but also lawyers at the bottom of the sea a good start for a more humane mankind?! It is certainly much different in Sweden and especially in Switzerland, but it also occurs to me that Brecht said that it is not the thieves who rob the banks, but those who establish them ... You are, it seems, something like the banking Robin Hood?!
It is not only a good joke but also true in many ways. I am a banker who 25 years ago realized that the role of banks and the financial system in the general economic context must undergo a major change. There are several reasons why this is necessary, and one of the most important is the realization that the financial system needs a new social contract with the society in which it operates and lives. In essence, finance is a kind of tool for achieving the goals of society and this tool can be used to build society and prosperity or to destroy society. It is up to us if we want to change that. With a responsible investment, good earnings, but also a peaceful sleep are guaranteed. And, I am a real example of that. Therefore, this global financial system can be directed in responsible way. What needs to change is the goal of that system and the goals of those investments. I have traveled the planet three times and been to places where you usually do not go if you work with finances, saw sadness, sorrow, slavery but also happiness, joy and progress. In the end, it all starts with people and ends with people.
I am very interested in your transition, not only from war-torn Bosnia and Herzegovina to Northern Europe, but in your career, from the field of journalism, the Red Cross, Africa, to the ranks of people in suits, with ties ... And without losing moral compass and ethical engagement, which you managed to impose on even the most stubborn, most retrograde capitalists ... Where did such a development line come from?
I have always looked for real situations and real stories, from the field, from production projects, discussions and conversations with people who do what I want to invest in. Moral compass is quite simple. I survived the war healthy and alive, after that there is no real fear of defeat or hardship for me anymore, besides, what I got from life I have to give back to life in some way. We live in an individual, quasi-capitalist system that has to overcome essentially all its troubles by the collective. It is this syntax of capitalism that is now in a historical crisis and the only way forward is together no matter what we think of it as individuals.
What can you say about your life path, which was not easy at all, on the contrary? Where did you find the motivation and will to achieve what you have achieved and still don’t stop?
I had both crazy luck and great courage, youthful naive courage. These stories from the world, I have visited almost 100 countries, where human dreams, anxieties, hope and courage are changing countries, industries and history, and they are forever a part of me. Watching a young mother in Africa using a mobile phone for the first time for business or watching the sky on Indian nights with farmers who are afraid of climate change are things that create an even greater motivation to work. We can change the future for the better.
Media in Bosnia and Herzegovina like to report that you are full of praise for people of our origin, but there is no lack of the impression that they shine much more often abroad. Why does this strange "plant" of ours thrive better elsewhere than at home and rarely would return home?
Of course this is not strange, it is part of the game of the media and the protagonist of such a success. My biggest success is having three kids who are becoming normal people. I can go back to visit, but I don’t believe living there given that nationalist populism still deeply rules the narrative of society, unfortunately. I have lived longer in Sweden than I have lived in BiH. I love my background and I am proud of the spirit of the people I grew up with. That part of me with this kind of Swedish combination gives me a lot in life.
I recently heard a "smart" man continue to advocate the idea that there are no Bosnians and Herzegovinians, only Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks, now it will be 25 years after the bloody dissolution of Yugoslavia. Do you have any idea how to overcome the horrors of that war, which left the deepest consequences in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and move forward once, or backwards, when many lived better and more unburdened?
I look at the situation through an economic and financial prism. The future of the Balkans and BiH is in an integrated economic system, first between the former republics and then towards other regional centers. EU will play a role for perhaps another ten years, after which it will disintegrate into the northern and southern part (as well as the former Yugoslavia). Internal dysfunction of the EU will lead to that, although there is a scenario where that will not happen. People in the Balkans may need to understand that we are not the center of the world and that we need to find ways to live and work in a global context.
When it comes to the development of diaspora from Bosnia and Herzegovina, apropos the relationship with country of origin, what are Your experiences or recommendations for improving the mutual position, what is called bilateral cooperation?
I have had sporadic contacts with the diaspora and more on some general level. It's always interesting and there are actions, but there is more talk and less work. There are many opportunities for real exchange, but our people need to understand that it takes time and conditions. Sometimes you need everything quickly and immediately.
What tools, means, processes are necessary for the economy to prevail over politics, in order for the Bosnia and Herzegovina society to have a perspective in the rapidly changing modern world?
Corruption, lack of rule of law, a thousand laws, nepotism, entity politics, nationalism. All of this is part of the rocking foundation of BiH, which survives because of the fear of the West that we will kill ourselves again. Above all, a strange construction that survives out of that fear, and is essentially the biggest obstacle to development. Without this change there will be no progressive future. Young people will leave the country, and only those who have to will remain.
And how can help the diaspora in Sweden, Switzerland?
We must show by examples that one can work and live in a more progressive way and stand up for the economic issues of Bosnia and Herzegovina without sectarianism and nationalism.