BCSP RESEARCHERS AT KCSS

Maja Bjelos and Isidora Stakic, from Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP), will be guest researchers at KCSS for a period of three weeks starting from 23 February to 13 March 2015, as a part of Balkan Trust for Democracy Professional Work Exchange for Enhanced Policy Dialogue Program.

During their stay, the two researchers will engage on drafting a policy paper on “The future of civil protection units in north Kosovo in lights of Brussels agreement” . This paper aims to research the alternatives for the integration of “Civil Protection” units into Kosovo’s security institutions. For the purpose of writing this paper thorough analysis of legal documents and in-depth interviews with relevant stakeholders in Kosovo will be conducted. Under the same framework, BCSP and KCSS conducted last year research on police integration in North Kosovo.

This Program is a series of cross-border policy work exchanges of mid-career professionals from a targeted group of think tanks, CSOs, and universities in Kosovo and Serbia with the aim of enhancing the human resources and knowledge products of host organizations and facilitating the production of multi-perspective policy work in various fields. The overall project is supported by  the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office Conflict Prevention Programme.

Maja Bjelos graduated in International Studies from the Faculty of Political Sciences, University in Belgrade, where she also completed a Master’s programme in International Security. Since 2009 she has worked as a researcher at the BCSP. She specialises in gender and security sector reform in Serbia, but she has also researched and published largely on security issues, such as Republic of Serbia security policy, European security and security sector reform in Serbia and representation of national minorities in security sector reform in Serbia. She co-edits the Gender and Security Newsletter.

Isidora Stakic holds a BA degree in international relations from the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Belgrade, and a joint MA degree in human rights from three universities, Roehampton University, London, UK, University of Gothenburg, Sweden and University of Tromso, Norway. She is currently working as a researcher associate at the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, one of the leading security policy think tanks in the South East Europe. Isidora’s research interests include: regional security and interethnic relations in the Western Balkans region, nationalism, right-wing extremism, identity in the context of security, and minority rights.