Marika Djolai

Dr. Marika Djolai is a Senior Research Associate and Head of Conflict and Security Cluster at the European Centre for Minority Issues. She is also a member of the Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group. She holds masters degrees from the University of Novi Sad and the University College London, UK, and received her Doctorate in Development Studies (Conflict and Violence) in 2016 from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex. Her research focuses on community dynamics, violence and post-war social interactions and social identities, while her policy work is oriented towards the EU accession of the Western Balkans countries and bilateral disputes resolution. Within the field of minority studies, Dr. Djolai is particularly interested in challenging the mainstream interpretations of conflicts in countries dominated by ethnic complexities; searching for new paradigms in defining conflict drivers and security challenges in complex environments; participatory approaches to managing group relations, group boundaries and collective as well as individual identities; links between development, security challenges and minorities, including group behaviour against this backdrop.