On this page, you will find:

To find organisations working for LGBTQI+ rights, visit our Montenegro LGBTQI+ Resources page.
To find organisations providing legal or other types of assistance to refugees in Montenegro, visit our Montenegro Legal Assistance page

COI Experts

Email: BRadeljic@nebrija.es or branislav.radeljic@gmail.com  

Branislav Radeljic is a seasoned professional, focusing on European and Middle Eastern political and socioeconomic developments. He has a BA from the University of Rome La Sapienza, two MA degrees from the Free University of Brussels, and a PhD from the University of London. He lectured for many years in the United Kingdom and, more recently, he has held professorships in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. In addition, he has held visiting appointments at Nebrija University in Madrid, the London School of Economics and Political Science, the University of California at Berkeley, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Michigan and the University of Pittsburgh. 

Professor Radeljic is the author of Europe and the Collapse of Yugoslavia: The Role of Non-State Actors and European Diplomacy (2012), editor of Europe and the post-Yugoslav Space (2013), Debating European Identity: Bright Ideas, Dim Prospects (2014), European Community-Yugoslav Relations: Debates and Documents that Mattered (1968–1992) (2017), and The Unwanted Europeanness: Understanding Division and Inclusion in Contemporary Europe (2021), and co-editor of Religion in the post-Yugoslav Context (2015), Kosovo and Serbia: Contested Options and Shared Consequences (2016), Researching Yugoslavia and Its Aftermath: Sources, Prejudices and Alternative Solutions (2021), and Turkey’s Return to the Western Balkans: Policies of Continuity and Transformation (2022). For a complete list, please see Professor Radeljic’s Google Scholar profile. 

Professor Radeljic has conducted research and provided specialized services to a broad range of clients, including government entities and non-governmental stakeholders. His work has involved thorough evaluations of governance regimes, institutional transparency and accountability, and prospects for increased citizen participation. He has conducted in-depth analyses of risk and conflict management, identifying effective strategies for mitigation and resolution. His expertise extends to examining regional cooperation initiatives and the roles of international organizations in facilitating collaborative efforts across borders.

As an expert witness, Professor Radeljic has provided reports and testimony in legal proceedings in relation to asylum, refugee, and immigration matters. In terms of countries of origin, he covers Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Russia, Serbia, Türkiye, and the United Arab Emirates. His working languages are English, Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), Italian, Macedonian, Montenegrin, and Russian. 

Email: florian.bieber@uni-graz.at

Prof Dr Florian Bieber is a political scientist and historian working on inter-ethnic relations, ethnic conflict and nationalism, focusing on Southeastern Europe. He is a Professor in South East European History and Politics and director of the Center for South East European Studies at the University of Graz. He coordinates the Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group. He is also a Visiting Professor at the Nationalism Studies Program at Central European University and is the editor of the book series Southeast European Studies, published with Routledge (formerly Ashgate) and edits the open access journal Contemporary Southeastern Europe.

He studied at Trinity College (USA), the University of Vienna and Central European University (Hungary) and received his M.A. in Political Science and History and his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Vienna, as well as an M.A. in Southeast European Studies from Central European University (Budapest). Before coming to Graz, he was a Lecturer in East European Politics at the Department of Politics and International Relations of the University of Kent, Canterbury, UK. From January to May 2009, he held the Luigi Einaudi Chair at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York and in Spring 2010, he was a visiting fellow at LSEE – Research on South Eastern Europe at the London School of Economics. Between 2001 and 2006, he has been working in Belgrade (Serbia) and Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina) for the European Centre for Minority Issues. His work includes expert advice on minorities and minority rights for the European Commission, the OSCE, and the Council of Europe and has provided advice to governments and international organizations on the Balkans. He has extensive training experience in the field of diversity and minority rights.

Email: dzankic@gmail.com

Dr Jelena Dzankic is a Research Fellow at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies of the European University Institute and is affiliated with the European Union Democracy Observatory (EUDO) on Citizenship. She currently coordinates the EUDO network. Dr Dzankic’s doctoral dissertation from Cambridge analysed the development of Montenegrin statehood and nationhood in the period from 1997 to 2007. In addition to a number of articles, her monograph, Citizenship in Bosnia Herzegovina, Macedonia and Montenegro Effects of Statehood and Identity Challenges has been published with Ashgate in 2015.

Email: sinisa.malesevic@ucd.ie

Siniša Malešević is a Full Professor/Chair of Sociology at the University College, Dublin. He is an elected member of Royal Irish Academy and Academia Europaea (the European Academy).  He is also a Senior Fellow and Associate Researcher, at CNAM, Paris, France. Previously he held research and teaching appointments at the Institute for International Relations (Zagreb), the Centre for the Study of Nationalism, CEU (Prague), NUI, Galway, the London School of Economics, the Institute for Human Sciences (Vienna), Université Libre de Bruxelles (Visiting Professor/Eric Remacle Chair in Conflict and Peace Studies) and Uppsala University. His recent books include Contemporary Sociological Theory (Sage, 2021) and Classical Sociological Theory (Sage, 2021) both with S. Loyal, Grounded Nationalisms: A Sociological Analysis (Cambridge University Press, 2019, runner up/honorable mention in the 2020 Stein Rokkan book award), The Rise of Organised Brutality: A Historical Sociology of Violence (Cambridge University Press, 2017, American Sociological Association PWSC outstanding book award 2018), Nation-States and Nationalisms: Organisation, Ideology and Solidarity (Polity 2013) and The Sociology of War and Violence (Cambridge University Press). He has also authored over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters and his work has been translated into 13 languages.

Website
Email: info@albkos.co.uk

Vebi Kosumi is an international lawyer holding a Master of Laws (LLM) in International Law with International Relations from the University of Kent, the UK and a Law Degree (LLB) from the University of Prishtina, Kosovo. He is an international legal expert, author, and prominent leader in the international human rights movement. As the former Director of the Dover Detainee Visitor Group (Now Samphire) he led the support efforts to improve the treatment of asylum seekers, working across the UK to raise awareness in the community. Before serving as a Team Leader of Hestia – Modern Slavery Response Team (Anti-Human Trafficking) in Kent in 2017, he volunteered with the British Red Cross and Save the Children (London). 

Vebi is accredited Country of Origin Witness Expert by Academy of Experts. He is a trustee of Music in Detention since 2006, board member of Kent Coast Volunteering (Connecting Communities in Dover, Thanet, Folkestone & Hythe. He was a trustee of the Asylum Aid (2013-2020), and the Migrant Resource Centre (changed name to Consonant), 2016-2020. Vebi has written over 100 country expert reports focusing mainly on Human Trafficking, blood feud, honour, mafia risk of harm and other issues. He provides reports for  Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia (Presevo Valley). He is fluent in Albanian, Serbian, and English languages. Vebi Kosumi provides a free initial assessment of the case and some pro bono work may be taken. 

COI Resources

The following sections contain documents that can be consulted when looking for country of origin information.

Website

The Europeanisation of Citizenship in the Successor States of the Former Yugoslavia (CITSEE) Research Project, under the University of Edinburgh’s School of Law, provides detailed research into the national citizenship regimes of the seven new states now existing on the territory of the former Yugoslavia. There are also extended reports focusing on the broader political and ideational context in which the respective citizenship regimes are evolving and relevant photographs and other graphic material, such as scanned examples of identity documents and passports.

Montenegro Legal Assistance

Find organisations offering legal and other types of assistance to refugees in Montenegro.

Montenegro LGBTQI+ Resources

Find organisations working for refugee LGBTQI+ rights in Montenegro.

We are always looking to expand the resources on our platform. If you know about relevant experts, or you are aware of organisations and/or resources to include in our directories, please get in touch.

Last updated August 2024