Vasiljević Jelena
Jelena Vasiljević is a Senior Research Associate at the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade. She holds a PhD in Ethnology and Anthropology from the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade. Following her PhD, she was a Research Fellow at the Centre for Southeast European Studies at the University of Graz. Throughout her academic career, she has also worked as a researcher at the University of Edinburgh and as a Visiting Professor at the University of Trieste.
Her research brings together political anthropology and citizenship studies with the study of solidarity, social movements and civic engagement, memory politics, and identity narratives in Southeast Europe. She is particularly interested in how citizens and civic initiatives shape political communities, challenge existing power relations, and create space for democratic change. Her more recent work explores the theories and practices of solidarity, as well as the relationships between civil society, institutions, and democratic action.
She has authored and co-authored three monographs, published extensively in academic and professional outlets, and worked as a consultant and researcher on numerous international projects and collaborations with civil society organisations. She is an expert member of The Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG) and a member of the Transnational Board of Trustees of the European Alternatives.
Latest publications
- (2026) Coming full circle or escaping the loop? Identity narratives in postsocialist Serbia, U: Mishkova, D., B. Trencsényi, J.M. Kovács, V. Zentai, M. Kopeček (eds.) The Collapse of the “Liberal Consensus” in East Central Europe: Scenarios of Transformation, Cognitive Dissonances, and Political Polarization. Amsterdam University Press – CEUP.
- (2026) sa B. Radovanović, Blurring the Boundaries between Political and Associational Civic Engagement: Insights from Serbia, Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations. doi:10.1017/S0957876526000677
- (2026) with I. Fiket and G. Pudar Draško, Navigating institutional (dis)trust: perspectives of democratic social movements and effects on cooperation with institutions, In: Lahusen, Christian. (ed.), Political Trust and Distrust in Governance: A Comparative Analysis in Times of Crisis. London and New York: Routledge.
- (2025) with I. Rajković, Ghosts, Rewilded: Environmental Reverberations in the Balkans, East European Politics and Societies 39(4): 921-938
- (2025) with I. Fiket, A. Đorđević and L. Štěpánková, The Role of Bureaucratic Procedures and ‘Caring Professionals’ in Fostering User Trust: Evidence from Serbia and the Czech Republic, Social Policy and Society
- (2025) with B. Radovanović and S. Nikolić, Izazovi u izgradnji baze podrške među organizacijama građanskog društva Srbije: nalazi kvalitativnog istraživanja [Challenges in building constituency among civil society organizations in Serbia: findings from qualitative research], Sociologija67(2): 213-238
- (2025) with B. Baća, Being or Becoming Political? Performative Citizenship in Central and Eastern Europe, In: Kolleck, Nina and Karolewski, Ireneusz Pawel (eds.), Rethinking Citizenship in Central and Eastern Europe. Insights from Education and Political Research, Bristol University Press, 158-179.
- (2024) with Igor Štiks, How we (used to) remember the Partisans. Culture of memory and art form during and after Yugoslavia. Canadian Slavonic Papers, 66(1–2), 49–65