Maintaining International Peace and Security

What societal challenge does our connected community aim to address? Weakening societal perception of the need for scientific research due to the abundance of quasi-expert sources of information. To address this challenge, the connected community will perform an all-year mentoring programme of teaching via research and culminate in a hybrid online-Ljubljana-organized event called “international student conference”, where students will present the results of their research.

The other societal challenge is Western Balkan-based universities’ low institutional capacity to integrate with EU-based institutions’ research and teaching activities. To address this challenge, teaching-by-research activities and the “international student conference” will actively engage students and teachers from universities of Western Balkan Countries as one of the priority research issues addressing the EU enlargement via the accession process.

The aspiration is to strengthen the opportunity for students to apply their research competencies practically. For this purpose, extra academic stakeholders will be included in the connected community activities:

• interdisciplinary practical challenge-driven assignments in the form of policy hubs: policymakers, businesspeople, civil society representatives and diplomats will be invited to participate in presentations of solutions created by students and evaluate their policy proposals.
• These stakeholders will receive the publication of conference proceedings, namely abstracts of student essays and PhD papers.
• Potential for student internships will be actively developed.

The transnational dimension of EUTOPIA is utterly necessary to understand challenges to international peace and security properly, address these challenges via independent and collaborative scientific research, and propose globally responsible and constructive policy solutions.

Upcoming Activities

1. Cross-Campus Reciprocal Teaching
2. Ljubljana Student Conference in International Relations

Past Activities

5th Student Conference on International Relations: Introductory Online Lecture “How to make a research plan?”

On Tuesday, December 17, 2024, an online lecture titled "How to make a research plan?" was held. The lecture was delivered by Prof. Dr. Ana Bojinović Fenko from the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Ljubljana. This lecture was part of the preparatory activities for the 5th Student Conference on International Relations, scheduled to take place on May 8–9, 2025, in Ljubljana. It was intended for students who expressed interest in participating in the Conference. During the lecture, students had the opportunity to learn how to make a research plan, which will serve as the basis for developing a final research essay to be presented at the Conference in May.

 

The launch of the Call for papers for the 5th Student Conference on International Relations

The Call for Papers for the 5th Student Conference on International Relations was launched on October 4th. The Conference will be held on May 8-9, 2025, at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, with student essay presentations organized in a hybrid format. The Conference is intended for Bachelor’s and Master’s students in the broader field of International Relations (IR).

The Conference is organized by the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Social Sciences, Chair of International Relations, the Student Association Globallis, and the EUTOPIA Connected Community “Maintaining International Peace and Security”.  In addition to being published on the Faculty of Social Sciences' website, the Call was also shared with partners and colleagues from other universities.

Reciprocal Teaching: guest lecture by Professor Ana Bojinović Fenko, University of Ljubljana at University of Gothenburg

As part of the EUTOPIA project and the “Reciprocal Teaching" activities, a guest lecture titled “Comparative Regionalism: The Case of the Western Balkans” was held on November 7, 2024. The lecture was delivered by Professor Ana Bojinović Fenko, from the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, to students at the School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg, as part of the Global and Regional Governance module, led by Professor Fredrik Söderbaum. The lecture took place in an online format, via the Zoom platform.

 

 

Reciprocal Teaching: guest lecture by Professor Fredrik Söderbaum, University of Gothenburg at University of Ljubljana

As part of the EUTOPIA project and the “Reciprocal Teaching” activities, a guest lecture titled “Non-mainstream theories of global and regional Governance” was held on November 13, 2024. The lecture was delivered by Professor Fredrik Söderbaum, from the School of Global Studies University of Gothenburg, to students of the Faculty of Social Sciences University of Ljubljana, as part of the International Regionalism course, led by Professor Ana Bojinović Fenko. The lecture took place in an online format, via the Zoom platform.

 

Connected Community Members

Lead: Ana Bojinović Fenko (UL). Email: ana.bojinovic@fdv.uni-lj.si 

Ana Bojinović Fenko is Professor and Researcher in International Relations at the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Social Sciences. Her fields of Research are Foreign Policy Analysis, International Regionalism and EU external action. Empirically, she focuses on post-Yugoslav small states, EU enlargement policy towards Western Balkans states and the Mediterranean region.

Support to the Lead: Azra Kerić (UL). Email: ak7035@student.uni-lj.si

Azra Kerić holds a master's degree in European Studies from the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana. Previously, she obtained a bachelor's degree in International Relations and Diplomacy from the Faculty of Political Sciences at the University of Sarajevo. Azra has prior administrative experience in both the non-governmental and governmental sectors in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia. She was also a participant in the Globallis International Student Conference in 2024. Her research interests include the European Union, the former Yugoslavia, the Western Balkans, and specifically socio-political developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina. She will be contributing as an administrative assistant to the connected community.

Partner: Brian Schmitt (CY). Email: brian.schmitt@cyu.fr  

Brian Schmitt is an associate professor (maîtres de conférences) of American Studies at CY Cergy Paris Université where he teaches in the Master's program Language & International Trade, as well as undergraduate courses on contemporary American society and business studies. His research investigates agency and social power informed by the work of the comparative historical sociologist Michael Mann. Before emigrating to France in 2005, he worked for five years as Director of Research at the Community Development Venture Capital Alliance in New York City.

Partner: Fredrik Söderbaum (UGOT). Email: fredrik.soderbaum@globalstudies.gu.se

Fredrik Söderbaum is Professor of Peace and Development Research in the School of Global Studies (SGS), University of Gothenburg and an Associate Research Fellow of the United Nations University Institute of Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS). His research focuses on comparative regionalism, regional and global governance, peace and security, development theory and policy, EU foreign policy, and African politics. He has conducted field research in a wide range of African countries and in Europe and Asia. He regularly provides advice to international development agencies and international organizations. ,

Partner: Philippe De Lombaerde (VUB). Email: pdelombaerde@cris.unu.edu

Philippe De Lombaerde is the Director of UNU-CRIS since January 2022. He is also a Lecturer at the Brussels School of Governance of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and Associate Professor of International Economics at Neoma Business School (Rouen) (currently on leave). Previously, he worked as Director a.i., Associate Director and Research Fellow at UNU-CRIS, Associate Professor of International Economics at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia (Bogotá), Researcher and Lecturer at the University of Antwerp, and as Researcher at the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) (Bangkok), among other appointments.

Partner: Alice Cunha (NOVA). Email: alice.cunha@fcsh.unl.pt

Alice Cunha is Assistant Professor with Habilitation in International Relations at the NOVA University of Lisbon – School of Social Sciences and Humanities (NOVA FCSH), and Researcher at the Portuguese Institute of International Relations (IPRI NOVA), where she has worked on European Union Studies, an area in which she has published extensively. Her main research interests are related to enlargement policy, Europeanization, European funds, and Portuguese foreign policy. She is a member of the European Union Liaison Committee of Historians.

Partner: Julija Brsakoska Bazerkoska (External partner). Email: j.brsakoskabazerkoska@pf.ukim.edu.mk

Julija Brsakoska Bazerkoska is a Professor at Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Law Faculty in Skopje, Republic of North Macedonia, where she teaches International Relations, EU External Relations Law and Multilateral diplomacy. She was engaged as a researcher under the Curriculum Research Fellowship program at the Central European University in Budapest, Hungary. During the summer of 2019 she was a visiting fellow at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law at the University of Cambridge, UK.

Partner: Marko Kovačević (External partner). Email: marko.kovacevic@fpn.bg.ac.rs

Marko Kovačević is an Assistant Professor at the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Political Science. His core research and teaching interests are in IR theory, constructivism, critical security studies, European security, small states’ studies, and academic writing. More recently, he has focused his research on regional cooperation and governance in the Western Balkans, and various forms of agency and practices of small states within the UN system.

Partner: Lidija Kos-Stanišić (External partner). E-mail: lidija.kos-stanisic@fpzg.hr

Lidija Kos-Stanišić is a Full Professor at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Political Science. She teaches Civilizations in IR and Comparative politics of Latin America at BA level, and The International Relations of Latin America and EU Policies towards Latin America and the Caribbean at MA level. Her work significantly contributed to the development of Croatian political science in the field of IR, national security, and comparative politics, as well as to the broadening of the scope of area studies research on Latin America, which is her main research focus. 

Partner: Ljupcho Stojkovski (External partner). E-mail: lj.stojkovski@pf.ukim.edu.mk

Ljupcho Stojkovski is an associate professor at Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Faculty of Law “Iustinianus Primus”, where he teaches international public law and international relations courses. He has an MSc and a PhD in international law and international relations from the same University and an MA in philosophy from KU Leuven. His research interest has been focused on the interplay between legal, political and ethical aspects of international security issues and the related questions of responsibility and global governance, such as the questions of Responsibility to protect and the UN Security Council. His more recent research interest also includes climate action and sustainable development, as well as AI and philosophy of technology.