Jovica Pavlović, PhD

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Jovica Pavlović, PhD

Research Associate

Employment

  • 2018 – present: Research Associate (Full-time), Institute of European Studies, Belgrade (Serbia)
  • 2015 – 2017: Researcher (Contract), Faculty of Political Science – University of Belgrade, Belgrade (Serbia)

Education

  • PhD in Political Science, Faculty of Political Science – University of Belgrade, Belgrade (Serbia)
  • MA in Political Science, Department of Political Science – Stockholm University, Stockholm (Sweden)
  • BA in Political Science, Department of Political Science – Stockholm University, Stockholm (Sweden)

Foreign Research Fellowships

  • 2025 – 2026: Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Hong Kong Baptist University, SAR Hong Kong (China)
  • 2022: Visiting Research Fellow, Macquarie University, Sydney (Australia)

Research Projects

  • 2025-2026: “Reconciliation and its Resentments: The Suppression of Justice and Truth Recovery in Germany, Northern Ireland, and Western Balkans”, carried out by Hong Kong Baptist University, funded by the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong.
  • 2024-2025: “Harnessing Local Potential – Community-Led Strategies for Sustainable Heating in the Western Balkans”, carried out in cooperation with dr Uroš Ćemalović, funded by the Open Society Foundations Western Balkans.
  • 2024-2025: “The May Platform – Society’s Response to Violence”, carried out by the May Platform Citizens’ Initiative, funded by the Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability (CRTA).
  • 2022-2025: “Cultural Transfer between Serbia and Europe from the 19 th  to the 21 st  Century (CTES)”, carried out by the Faculty of Political Science of the University of Belgrade, the Institute of European Studies, the Institute for Balkan Studies of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, the Faculty of Philology of the University of Belgrade and the Institute for Contemporary History, funded by the IDEAS Program of the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia.
  • 2022-2023: “Towards Energy Transition through Cross-Border Inter-Municipal Cooperation – Unexplored Potentials of Decentralization and Demetropolization”, carried out in cooperation with dr Uroš Ćemalović and Stefan Stojaković, funded by the Open Society Foundation and the Institute of Philosophy and Social Theory.
  • 2022-2023: “Legislation in the Field of Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development – The Situation in Serbia and the Experiences of Croatia’s Membership in the European Union”, carried out by the Institute of European Studies and the Faculty of Law Osijek of the Josip Juraj Strossmayer University, funded by Hanns Seidel Foundation.
  • 2022-2023: “Media Pluralism Monitor 2023 (MPM2023)”, carried out by the Florence Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom of the European University Institute, funded by the European Commission.
  • 2021-2022: “Media Pluralism Monitor 2022 (MPM2022)”, carried out by the Florence Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom of the European University Institute, funded by the European Commission.
  • 2020-2022: “Liberalism, Democracy, State and Secession (LibDemStaS)”, carried out by Macquarie University and the Institute of European Studies, funded by the Diaspora Collaboration Program of the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia.
  • 2018-2019: “Toward Long-Lasting Resolution of Serbia’s Open Issues with its Neighbors”, carried out by the Center for Applied European Studies, funded by the European Union.
  • 2018-2019: “Serbia in European Integration Processes: Global Context, Institutions, Identity”, carried out by the Institute of European Studies, funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia.
  • 2017: “Minority Politics in Serbia – Supporting Integration”, carried out by the Forum for Ethnic Relations, funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria.
  • 2016: “Minority Politics and European Integrations – The Role of Bilateral Relations”, cаrried out by the Forum for Ethnic Relations, funded by the Open Society Foundation.
  • 2015-2017: “Media, Conflict and Democratization (MeCoDEM)”, carried out by University of Leeds, University of Belgrade, University of Hamburg, University of Cape Town, University of Oxford, Stockholm University, Ruhr University Bochum and American University in Cairo, funded by European Union’s Seventh Framework Program for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration.
  • 2014-2015: “National Minorities and Serbian Relations with Neighboring States – The Status of National Minorities in Serbia and the EU Negotiation Process: The Role of Neighboring Countries”, carried out by the Forum for Ethnic Relations, funded by the Embassy of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Serbia.

Courses Taught

  • 2025-2026: “Comparative Regionalism and Regionalization”, Undergraduate Course (Fall Semester), Hong Kong Baptist University – Department of Government and International Studies, SAR Hong Kong (China)
  • 2025-2026, “Sustainable Peace: Conflict-Resolution and Reconciliation of Divided Communities”, Undergraduate Course (Spring Semester), Hong Kong Baptist University – Department of Government and International Studies, SAR Hong Kong (China)

Invited Lectures

  • 2024: “Normative Discussions on Secession and the Legitimacy of Nation States”, Theodor Heuss Academy – The Friedrich Naumann Foundation, Gummersbach (Germany)
  • 2022: “Serbia’s Foreign Policy after Kosovo’s Proclamation of Independence: Understanding Belgrade’s ‘sanctions standoff’ with the EU”, University of Sydney – Department of European Studies, Sydney (Australia)
  • 2018: “The Rebirth of Nationalism: Balkan States in Search of Legitimacy”, Regional Summer School organized by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, Ohrid (North Macedonia)

Areas of Interest

  • Political Theory: Ethics of Secession
  • Political Science: Balkan Politics, Peace Building and Reconciliation Studies
  • Media Studies: Digital Authoritarianism

Memberships

  • 2020 – 2021: The Political Studies Association (PSA), London (United Kingdom)
  • 2016 – 2017: International Political Science Association (IPSA), Montreal (Canada)

Publications

Journal Articles:

  • Pavlović, Jovica; Pavković Aleksandar and Miša Đurković, “Nations, Corrective Justice and State Creation: How Normative are Normative Theories of Secession?”, Nations and Nationalism, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1111/nana.13079
  • Pavlović, Jovica. “Gavrilo Princip – Freedom Fighter or Terrorist: Perspectives from Contemporary Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina”, Serbian Review of European Studies, vol. 3, no. 2, 2024, pp. 102-123.
  • Pavlović, Jovica. “The Evolution of Environmental Parties and Green Political Movements in the Republic of Serbia”, Political Review, vol. 79, no. 1, 2024, pp. 85-102.
  • Pavlović, Jovica and Aleksa Filipović. “The Swedish 2022 Parliamentary Election: Positioning of Left Wing and Right-Wing Parties”, Politeia, vol. 13, no. 25, 2023, pp. 11-23. (Written in Serbian)
  • Pavlović, Jovica and Uroš Ćemalović. “Energy Transition and Innovative Public Policies in Serbia and the Region: The Challenges of Decentralization and Demetropolization”, Administration and Public Policy, vol. 19, no. 1, 2023, pp. 39-61. (Written in Serbian)
  • Milutinović, Irina and Jovica Pavlović. “Serbia and Kosovo Between Secession and Normalisation: Exploring Media Discourses on the Washington Agreement (2020)”, Political perspectives, vol. 12, no. 2, 2022, pp. 35-60.
  • Pavlović, Jovica. “Examining Normative and Applicable Aspects of the Plebiscitary Theory of Secession”, Culture of Polis, vol. 19, no. 3, 2022, pp. 93-109.
  • Milutinović, Irina; Jovica Pavlović and Srbobran Branković. “Reporting on Secession in Serbian Media: The Cases of Scotland and Catalonia”, Serbian Political Thought, vol. 68, no. 2, 2020, pp. 247-274. (Written in Serbian)
  • Milutinović, Irina and Jovica Pavlović. “Discourse on Violence Against Women in Serbian Online Media: Dominant Communication Strategies”, CM – Communication and Media, vol. 14, no. 45, 2019, pp. 5-36. (Written in Serbian)
  • Pavlović, Jovica. “Elections to the European Parliament in Sweden, Denmark and Finland in 2019: Party Positioning in Relation to Domestic and European Election Topics”, Culture of Polis, vol. 16, special no. 3, 2019, pp. 167-180. (Written in Serbian)
  • Pavlović, Jovica. “Digitalization of the Public Sphere in Serbia: Online Executive Power Pressure on the Ombudsman and the Reaction of the Oppositional Twitter Community”, Political Perspectives, vol. 7, no. 3, 2017, pp. 51-74. (Written in Serbian)
  • Pavlović, Jovica. “The Influence of Institutional Factors on National, Religious and Linguistic Cleavages in the United Kingdom and Switzerland During Different Party Eras”, Political Review, vol. 45, no. 3, 2015, pp. 171-190. (Written in Serbian)

Book Chapters:

  • Pavlović, Jovica. “Yugo-Scandinavian Cultural Transfer During the Interwar Period”, in: Aleksandra Đurić- Milovanović and Ivana Pantelić (eds.), Echoes of Europe: Cultural Transfer Europe-Serbia in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Institute of European Studies and Zepter Book World, Belgrade, 2025, pp. 251-264.
  • Pavlović, Jovica. “The Attitude of Leading European States towards Croatian, Slovenian and Catalan Declarations of Independence: A Comparative Analysis”, in: Rajko Petrović (ed.), Yugoslav-Spanish Parallels, Institute of European Studies, Belgrade, 2023, pp. 108-124. (Written in Serbian)
  • Pavlović, Jovica. “Scandinavians on Serbs and Serbs on Scandinavians during the 19 th  Century”, in: Slobodan Markovich (ed.), Cultural Transfer Europe-Serbia during the 19 th  Century, Institute of European Studies and Dosije Studio, Belgrade, 2023, pp. 307-324. (Written in Serbian)
  • Milutinović, Irina and Jovica Pavlović. “Framing of Media Discourse Online on Violence Against Women in Serbia” in: Vesselina Valkanova et al. (eds), Communication Management: Theory and Practice in the 21st Century, Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication – Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, Sofia, 2020, pp. 140-149.
  • Vladisavljević, Nebojša; Aleksandra Krstić and Jovica Pavlović. “Communicating Power and Resistance in Democratic Decline: The 2015 Smear Campaign Against Serbia’s Ombudsman” in: Katrin Voltmer et al. (eds.), Media, Communication and the Struggle for Democratic Change, Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2019, pp. 205-228.
  • Marković, Ksenija and Jovica Pavlović. “Territorial or Cultural Autonomy for National Minorities? The Case Study of the Republic of Serbia” in: Tibor Varadi (ed.), The Right of National Minorities in the Constitutional and Legal System of the Republic of Serbia, Board for Human Rights and National Minorities of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Belgrade, 2019, pp. 83-98. (Written in Serbian)

Conference Papers, Reviews and Commentaries:

  • Pavlović, Jovica. “Zlatko Hadžidedić, Nations and Capital: The Missing Link in Global Expansion”, Philosophy and Society, vol. 35. no. 3, 2024, pp. 727-279.
  • Pavlović, Jovica. “On Media in the Context of Competitive Authoritarianism: Irina Milutinović, Hybrid Media and Hybrid Regimes”, Sociology, vol. 66. no. 2, 2024, pp. 307-309. (Written in Serbian)
  • Pavlović, Jovica. “On Democracy in Serbia: Nebojša Vladisavljević, The Rise and Fall of Democracy after October the 5 th ”, Sociology, vol. 63. no. 4, 2021, pp. 736-739. (Written in Serbian)
  • Pavlović, Jovica. “Yoram Hazony, The Virtue of Nationalism”, Culture of Polis, vol. 18, no. 46, 2021, pp. 285-286. (Written in Serbian)
  • Pavlović, Jovica. “Philip Roeder, National Secession: Persuasion and Violence in Independence Campaigns”, Philosophy and Society, vol. 32, no. 1, 2021, pp. 137-138.
  • Pavlović, Jovica. “Aleksandar Savanović, Theory of the Republic”, Culture of Polis, vol. 17, no. 43, 2020, pp. 645-647. (Written in Serbian)
  • Pavlović, Jovica. “Jovo Bakić, European Far Right 1945-2018”, Philosophy and Society, vol. 31, no. 2, 2020, pp. 273-275. (Written in Serbian)
  • Pavlović, Jovica. “Reviews of Lectures Held at the Institute of European Studies”, Yearbook of the Institute of European Studies, vol.2018/19, 2019, pp. 9-13, 47- 50, 60-63, 84-90, 110-118 and 150-153. (Written in Serbian)
  • Pavlović, Jovica. “Jovan Babić, Essays on Defense”, Theoria, vol. 61, no. 3, 2019, pp. 179-183. (Written in Serbian)
  • Pavlović, Jovica. “Margaret Moore, A Political Theory of Territory”, Philosophy and Society, vol. 29, no. 2, 2018, pp. 305-307.
  • Pavlović, Aleksandar et al. “Comments on Tamar Meisels’ ‘Targeted Killing with Drones? Old Arguments, New Technologies’”, Philosophy and Society, vol. 29, no. 1, 2018, pp. 17-46.
  • Pavlović, Jovica. “Nationalism, Myth, and the State in Russia and Serbia”, Annual Review of the Faculty of Political Science, vol. 9, no. 14, 2015, pp. 201-204. (Written in Serbian)

Dissertations:

  • Pavlović, Jovica. Evaluating the Justifiability of Independence Claims in Eastern and Southeast Europe by Applying Secession Ethics, PhD Thesis, University of Belgrade, Faculty of Political Science, defended on 27th of September 2022, pp. i-350. (Written in Serbian)
  • Pavlović, Jovica. A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Serbian Society’s Perception of the Roma Population, Master Thesis, Stockholm University, Department of Political Science, defended on the 13th of June 2011, pp. i-57.
  • Pavlović, Jovica. A Debate on the Reasons for the Kosovo Intervention: A Critical Analysis of Different Views on the Issue, Bachelor Thesis, Stockholm University, Department of Political Science, defended on the 15th of November 2007, pp. 1-58.

Other Publications:

  • Ćemalović, Uroš; Jovica Pavlović and Stefan Stojaković. What Do We Mean When We Say Energy Transition through Cross-Border Municipal Cooperation?, Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, Belgrade, 2023, pp. 1-16. (Written in Serbian)
  • Milutinović, Irina et al. Monitoring Media Pluralism in the Digital Era: Application of the Media Pluralism Monitor in the European Union, Albania, Montenegro, Republic of North Macedonia, Serbia & Turkey in the Year 2022 (Country Report: Serbia), European University Institute, Florence, 2023, pp. 1-42.
  • Pavlović, Jovica. “Kosovo as a Platform for Political Interplay: An Issue of National Identity, State Interests of Populist Demagogy?” in: Duško Lopandić and Igor Davidović (eds.), Political Interplay of Western Balkan Countries, Center for Applied European Studies, Belgrade, 2022, pp. 243-283. (Written in Serbian)
  • Pavlović, Jovica. The Future of Belgrade-Pristina Relations: A Comparative Critical Analysis of Suggested Policies, Solutions and Guidelines, Center for Applied European Studies, Belgrade, 2019, pp. 1-41. (Written in Serbian)
  • Janjić, Dušan et al. Minority Politics – Encouraging Minority Integration in Serbia: Analyzing the Scope and the Difficulties of Implementing the Serbian Government’s Action Plan for Guaranteeing Minority Rights, Forum for Ethnic Relations, vol. 7, no. 2, Belgrade, 2017, pp. 1-130. (Written in Serbian)
  • Pavlović, Jovica. “Serbian Cooperation with Neighboring EU States”, in: Nenad Đurđević (ed.), National Minorities and Serbian Relations with Neighboring States – The Status of National Minorities in Serbia and the EU Negotiation Process: The Role of Neighboring Countries, Forum for Ethnic Relations, vol. 7, no. 1, Belgrade, 2017, pp. 25-57. (Written in Serbian)

Translated Texts

  • Strauss, Leo. “German Nihilism”, in: Damjan Krnjević Mišković (ed.), Leo Strauss, Stanley Rosen and Pierre Manent: Selected Essays, Institute of European Studies, Belgrade, 2024, pp. 93-118. (English to Serbian)

Peer Reviewer for Academic Journals

  • Democratization, https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/fdem20/about-this-journal#aims-and-scope
  • Philosophy and Society, https://journal.ifdt.bg.ac.rs/fid/about
  • The Policy of National Security, https://www.ips.ac.rs/magazines/politika-nacionalne-bezbednosti/about/

Peer Reviewer for Academic Books and Edited Volumes

  • Petrović, Rajko (ed.), Portugal: From Global Empire to European Periphery, Institute of European Studies and Institute for Political Networking, Belgrade, 2024, pp. i-260. (Written in Serbian)
  • Pavković, Aleksandar, Essays on Secession, Arhipelag and Institute of European Studies, Belgrade, 2025, pp. i-264. (Written in Serbian)

Conference Participation

  • 2025, Belgrade (Serbia): Participated in a roundtable entitled “Achievements and Perspectives of the Brussels Dialogue”, organized by the Institute of International Politics and Economics.
  • 2024, Florence (Italy): Participated in a workshop entitled “How to Measure Complex Phenomena in the Digital Society?”, organized by the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom of the European University Institute.
  • 2024, Prague (Czech Republic): Participated in a roundtable entitled “Understanding Matters: SEE Region as Battlefield of Narratives”, organized by the Institute for Modern Development and the Visegrad Fund.
  • 2023, Munich (Germany): Presented research findings at a conference entitled “Online Disinformation in Serbia by Foreign and Domestic Actors”, organized by the University of the Bundeswehr Munich.
  • 2022, Osijek (Croatia): Participated in a roundtable entitled “Environmental Protection and Sustainable Economic Development in the European Union and in Candidate States”, organized by the Faculty of Law Osijek of the Josip Juraj Strossmayer University.
  • 2021, Skopje (North Macedonia): Participated in an online seminar entitled “Society and Religion: Ethnic Groups, Identity and Nationalism”, organized by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies.
  • 2020, Edinburgh (United Kingdom): Research findings presentation proposal accepted by the UK Political Studies Association 70 th Annual Conference Program Committee, but the event was cancelled due to COVID-19.
  • 2019, Sofia (Bulgaria): Presented research findings at the 12 th Central and Eastern European Communication and Media Conference, organized by the Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communication of Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski.
  • 2018, Belgrade (Serbia): Participated in a seminar with Michael Zürn entitled “The Struggle Over Borders: A Political Sociology of Cosmopolitanism and Communitarianism”, organized by the Institute of Philosophy and Social Theory.
  • 2017, Belgrade (Serbia): Participated in a seminar with Margaret Moore entitled “A Political Theory of Territory”, organized by the Institute of Philosophy and Social Theory.
  • 2017, Brijuni (Croatia): Presented research findings at the 21 st Scientific Conference for International and Security Studies, organized by the Center for International and Security Studies of the Faculty of Political Science of the University of Zagreb.
  • 2016, Cape Town (South Africa): Presented research findings at Project MeCoDEM Final Consortium Meeting, organized by the Department of Political Studies of the University of Cape Town.
  • 2016, Poznań (Poland): Presented research findings at International Political Science Associations’ 24 th World Congress of Political Science, organized by the Faculty of Political Science and Journalism of the Adam Mickiewicz University.

Other Professional Activities

  • 2022 – 2025: Researcher (Contract), Center for Ecology and Sustainability, Belgrade (Serbia)
  • 2019 – 2025: Researcher (Contract), Center for Applied European Studies, Belgrade (Serbia)
  • 2017 – 2018: Translator (Freelance), Independent, Belgrade (Serbia)
  • 2015 – 2016: Public Diplomacy Intern (Internship) – Embassy of the United States of America, Belgrade (Serbia)
  • 2014 – 2017: Researcher (Contract), Forum for Ethnic Relations, Belgrade (Serbia)
  • 2013 – 2014: Political Talk Show Host (Contract), Fokus Radio, Belgrade (Serbia)
  • 2011: Student Intern (Internship), Embassy of the Republic of Serbia, Tehran (Iran)

Language Skills

  • Serbian: Native language
  • English: Fluent
  • Swedish: Basic knowledge

Biography

I am a political scientist (PhD) employed as a research associate at the Belgrade Institute of European Studies. Born in 1989 in Warsaw (Poland), I grew up in various cities around the world, including New York
(USA), Stockholm (Sweden) and Belgrade (Serbia). During my time in the United States (1999 – 2003), I graduated from the Robert F. Wagner Middle School. In Sweden (2005 – 2011), I graduated from the International School of the Stockholm Region under the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme and moved on to study at Stockholm University. There, I first obtained a bachelor’s degree and later a master’s degree in political science, becoming the youngest master of political science to graduate from Stockholm University at the young age of just twenty-two years old.
Having demonstrated academic potential, I decided to continue my education by becoming a PhD student of political science at the University of Belgrade in 2013. I obtained my doctoral degree in 2022, having successfully defended my thesis dealing with the ethics of secession; the act of withdrawing from an existing state and forming an independent country.

During the course of my PhD studies, I started working as a political scientist, first at University of Belgrade’s Faculty of Political Science (2015 – 2017), and later at the Belgrade Institute of European Studies; a publicly funded scientific research institute devoted to the comprehensive study of political, economic and cultural processes in Europe (2018 – onwards). Having first held the title of a junior research assistant, I became a research assistant in 2019 and a research associate in 2023.
During this time, I also cooperated with several Belgrade-based research-oriented NGOs, such as the Center for Applied European Studies and the Center for Ecology and Sustainability, where I performed the role of a researcher working on various projects. In 2025, I became a post-doctoral research fellow at Hong Kong Baptist University’s Department of Government and Internationals Studies, where I teach two courses at the undergraduate level.

Before dedicating all of my time to my academic career, I was a public diplomacy intern at the Embassy of the United States of America in Belgrade, Serbia (2015 – 2016), a cultural diplomacy intern at the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in Tehran, Iran (2011), and a political talk show host at Belgrade’s Radio Fokus (2013 – 2014). Since translating is my passion, I have long worked as a freelance translator (translating from English to Serbian and Serbian to English), which I continue to do in my spare time.


I am married and a father of two girls. My hobbies include reading and jogging.