Alexander J. Poto?nik originally graduated as an architect. Since the year 2000, he has been involved in fortification heritage studies and has published several books on this topic in the Slovenian and English languages. In 2006, he became an associate partner of the Ad Pirum Institute, a Slovenian institution devoted to the study and preservation of architectural heritage. He has also worked for the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia (ZVKDS). In 2023, Poto?nik obtained a PhD in history at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.
