Filip Ejdus
Head of the Centre
Filip Ejdus is a Professor in International Security at the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Political Science. He studies how identity, memory, emotions, and rationality affect security policy and international interventions, while the geographic focus of his interests is the EU, Western Balkans, the Horn of Africa and the Middle East.
He was a Marie Curie Fellow at the School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies (SPAIS), University of Bristol, working on a project titled Local Ownership in Security Sector Reform Activities Within CSDP Interventions of the EU (2015-2017). He has published extensively in academic journals in the fields of political science, international relations and security studies. His most recent book is Crisis and Ontological Insecurity: Serbia’s Anxiety over Kosovo’s Secession (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020).
Filip currently serves as the Head of the Centre for International Security, co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Regional Security, a board member of the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP), co-chair of the Regional Stability Study Group at the Partnership for Peace Consortium, and President of the Central and Eastern European International Studies Association (CEEISA).
Marko Kovačević
Research Fellow
Marko Kovačević is an Assistant Professor in International Security at the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Political Science. His research and teaching focus on international relations theory, critical security studies, European security, small states, and academic writing, including the coordination of the MA Program in Peace, Security and Development in the academic year 2024/2025.
Marko’s current research explores regional security cooperation in the Western Balkans, role theory and Eastern European candidacies for elected UN bodies. During 2022–2025, he was the work package leader on the MIND research project, funded by the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia, and currently contributes to the Horizon Europe project Geo-Power-EU (2024–2027).
Some of his articles have appeared in European Political Science, The Hague Journal of Diplomacy, Journal of International Relations and Development, Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, Journal of Contemporary European Studies, and Third World Thematics: A TWQ Journal, including the chapters in edited volumes published by Routledge and Springer. Marko is a Co-editor-in-chief of the Journal of Regional Security. He earned his PhD in Political Science from the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Political Science (2021).
Tijana Rečević
Research Fellow
Tijana Rečević holds a Ph.D. in International and European Studies and currently serves as a Teaching Assistant at the Faculty of Political Science, University of Belgrade. She earned her BA and MA degrees in International Relations from the University of Belgrade and an MA in Conflict Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Her doctoral research explores the role of public opinion in foreign and security policy. Her primary academic interests include international relations and security theory, critical security studies, foreign policy analysis, and European studies.
Tijana has published several articles and book chapters with reputable academic publishers and has participated in multiple international research projects on EU security and defence policy, including the ongoing GeoPower Europe project funded by Horizon Europe. Since 2019, she has served as Managing Editor of the Journal of Regional Security.
Zorana Antonijević
Research Fellow
Zorana Antonijević holds a PhD degree in Gender Studies from the University of Novi Sad. The focus of her thesis was gender inequalities in the care sector, with additional attention on critical studies of men and masculinities.
At the core of her research interests are gendered institutions, gender mainstreaming in care and security policies, and critical studies on men and masculinities. For more than twenty years, Zorana has been working as a gender equality consultant for various international, regional and national organisations and institutions.
She is also on the roster of gender experts for the European Institute for Gender Equality, OSCE/ODIHR and Folke Bernadotte Academy. Currently, she is the national researcher in two Horizon 2020 research projects on gender-based violence in research organisations and gender and intersectional inequalities in COVID-19 times. She is active in the women’s movement in the Western Balkan region, especially around care, security and gender backlash.
Milan Varda
Research Fellow
Milan Varda is a Junior Researcher and PhD Student at the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Political Science. He is very passionate about using serious games for choosing an optimal strategy, forecasting, and as a tool for teaching.
His search is centred around critical approaches to global governance, peace, and security. More specifically, he is interested in how identity and collective memory impact the strategic decisions of great powers. His doctoral research is exploring how the ontological insecurity of the Russian Federation has led to the invasion of Ukraine.
Previously, he has worked for the UNDP, the IOM, the Global Policy Journal, as a lecturer at the Humboldt University in Berlin, and for various NGOs.