Fields of research
State and nation building in Southeast Europe (19th–21st century); Nationalism
European integration; Political left
Current research projects
Responses of the political left on the consequences of globalization: (In)Equality growth, rise of the political right, media deregulation, crisis of the left; External and internal obstacles of the European integration; Attitudes of the 19th century intellectual elite towards Serbia’s foreign policy
Biography
The year of receiving the highest degree of professional qualification 2017.
Irena Ristić completed her undergraduate and master’s studies in history and political science at the University of Passau (Germany), and her PhD in the field of history of Southeast Europe at the University of Regensburg. As a historian her research focuses lies in the dynamics of the state and nation building process in both 19th-century Serbia and the post-Yugoslav states, with a special interest in the origins of anti-west/anti-EU sentiments and nationalism among the so-called small/non-imperial nations. Another area of research interest is the causes of the breakup of Yugoslavia, and its impact on the process of democratization and European integration of the successor states.
She co-coordinated the international research projects “Democracy in Unstable Social Spaces: Serbia” (2010–2011) as well as “Impact of International Criminal Tribunals on Media, Political Discourse and Institutional Reforms” (2013-2018).
Longer visiting research stays in Vienna (Institut für die Wisseschaften vom Menschen/IWM), Regensburg (Leibniz-Institut für Ost- und Südosteuropaforschung/IOS) and Florence (European University Institute/EUI).
Recent publications include books on the influence of international criminal courts on institutions and public opinion, a thematic compendium on the challenges of the contemporary left in Europe, as well as articles/chapters dealing with the causes of failed European integration of the Western Balkan countries.
Apart from her academic education, she graduated from the Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia.
Membership of professional organisations
IPSA – International Political Science Association
Scholarships, fellowships, grants
– European University Institute, Florence, Department of History and Civilisation (2018)
– Leibniz-Institut für Ost- und Südosteuropaforschung/ Regensburg, Germany (2012–2013)
– Leibniz-Institut für Ost- und Südosteuropaforschung/Regensburg, Germany (2010)
– Robert Bosch Fellow, Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen, Vienna, Austria (2007–2008)
Major publications
Ristić, I. (ed.). (2021). Resetting the Left in Europe: Challenges, Attempts and Obstacles, Institute of Social Sciences, Belgrade.
Bachmann, K., Kemp, G., Ristić, I., et al. (2019). Like dust before the wind, or, the winds of change? The influence of International Criminal Tribunals on narratives and media frames. International Journal of Transitional Justice, 13 (2), July 2019, 368–386.
Bieber, F., Ristić, I. (2012). Constrained Democracy: The Consolidation of Democracy in Yugoslav Successor States? Southeastern Europe 36, 3, 373–397.
Ristić, I. (2011). Rapprochement as a Paradigm Shift: Does the Wheel Come Full Circle in Former Yugoslavia? Südosteuropa, 59, 3, 286–300.
