The Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Research on the Consequences of War (BIK) was founded in 1993. Since its foundation, the Institute has been investigating the effects of wars and conflicts of the 20th century. This includes state, societal, economic as well as social, humanitarian and cultural consequences. At the locations Graz, Vienna and Raabs the current research projects are assigned to the following four program lines: "World Wars", "Cold War", "Children of War" and "Migration". In addition to research, the main pillars of the BIK are mediation in the form of publications, conferences or, for example, media reports, as well as service for inquiries in connection with prisoners of war in the Soviet Union.

The partnership with the Karl-Franzens-University Graz and the City of Graz, the anchoring in the national research community as well as the cooperation with international research institutions are of great importance to the institute. Thanks are due to the Ludwig Boltzmann Society and all sponsors who make the successful implementation of research projects possible. In 2018, Barbara Stelzl-Marx took over from Stefan Karner as director, and Peter Ruggenthaler has been deputy director since then.

The Institute of Balkan Studies at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences was founded in 1964 under the auspices of UNESCO. It was established as a research and educational centre for languages, history, culture and modern development of the Balkans.

The Centre of Thracology ‘Prof. Alexander Fol’ is the successor to the Institute of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, founded in 1972. It existed as an independent unit at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences till the reforms from 2010. Then it joined the Institute of Balkan Studies creating the Institute of Balkan Studies and Centre of Thracology ‘Prof. Alexander Fol’ (IBSCT – BAS).

The IBSCT – BAShas been accredited by the National Evaluation and Accreditation Agency for education of PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, interns and trainees in 2 professional fields and in 5 programs, including Early Modern and Modern History, Archives and Document Studies, Palaeography (including Historiography and Sources), and Balkan Literature and Culture, which is a guarantee that the applying organization has the scholarly capacity to carry out the proposed research. The Institute of Balkan Studies has its own prestigious edition, Études Balkaniques (http://www.etudesbalk.org/), a peer-reviewed series ‘Studia Balcanica’ and a peer-reviewed journal ‘Balkans’, which will be a place to promote the results of the project.

As a multidisciplinary institute, IBSCT – BAS conduct researches in the political, socio-economic, ethnic, religious and cultural interactions in Southeaster Europe and their interconnection with the processes taking place on the European continent. The competence of the scholars from the Institute makes them valuable experts who cooperate with a number of Bulgarian and foreign state institutions, leading scholarly organizations, libraries and museums, cultural information centres. Among them are the Institute for the Culture of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the Republic of Bulgaria, the Archives State Agency, the Embassy of the Kingdom of Spain in the Republic of Bulgaria, the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Sofia University ‘St. KlimentOhridski’ St. St. Cyril and Methodius National Library, Instituto Cervantes in Sofia, the French Institute in Bulgaria, regional history museums, etc. These are just few examples of the institutions with which IBSCT – BAS has signed agreements for cooperation and whose activities directly correspond to the objectives of the project.

During the assessment of units at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences for the period 2004-2008, the International Commission of Representatives of the European Science Foundation (ESF) and the European Federation of National Academies of Sciences (ALLEA – ‘All European Academies’) praised the Institute for its interdisciplinary research activities, for the relatively good international and regional visibility, for the numerous publications abroad, as well as for the potential for regional leadership. The Institute is a member of the International Association for the Study of Southeaster Europe at UNESCO (AIESEE) whose chairman since 2015 is a scholar from the IBSCT – BAS.

The international prestige of IBSCT – BAS is also visible from the many partnership agreements signed with leading scholarly institutions abroad. Important for the implementation of this project are partnerships with the National Research Centre (Athens), the University of Macedonia (Thessaloniki), Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences (Athens), the Institute for study of Southeaster Europe (Bucharest), the Turkish History Society, the Institute of Balkan Studies (Belgrade), the Institute for Social Sciences ‘Ivo Pilar’ (Zagreb), the Institute of Slavic Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow), National Research Center – CNRS (Paris).