Center for Advanced Studies Southeast Europe (CAS SEE), University of Rijeka

Dr. Tena Prelec is an Assistant Professor in Politics and IR at the University of Rijeka’s Centre for Advanced Studies (CAS SEE). Among her main research focuses are the transnational linkages in corruption studies, the political economy of transition, and the intersection of illicit finance and geopolitics. She has held positions at the University of Oxford and the London School of Economics and earned her PhD from the University of Sussex’s Centre for the Study of Corruption. She is currently also Work Package leader of the Horizon Europe project GEO-POWER-EU, which looks at EU enlargement in a shifting geopolitical context, and Principal Investigator of the GI-ACE project Lawyers: Gatekeepers, Enablers or Technicians?. A member of the Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group and a Marshall Memorial Fellow of GMFUS, she has published widely in academic and policy outlets. She is co-author of Indulging Kleptocracy: British Service Providers, Postcommunist Elites, and the Enabling of Corruption (OUP, 2025).

Sonja Stojanović Gajić is an experienced researcher and practitioner of security governance and conflict transformation. She has two decades of experience supporting security sector reforms (SSR) and peace-building as a researcher, leader of civil society, and consultant to a number of organizations in Wider Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East. She specializes in participatory research, capacity-building, strategic planning, evaluation and facilitation of multi-stakeholder dialogues among security and justice professionals, civil society and politicians. In the GEO-POWER-EU project, Sonja Stojanović Gajić serves as WP3 Deputy Leader and is the main UniRi contact for WP2.

Sonja holds a PhD in International Relations from the University of Belgrade. She was the director of the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP) (2006-2019) and previously taught security studies at the Faculty of Political Science, the University of Belgrade. Her recent publications include Stojanović Gajić, S. and D. Pavlović (2021), State Capture, Hybrid Regimes and Security Sector Reform, Journal of Regional Security, 16(2):89-126. and editing of Special issue on State Capture and Security, Journal of Regional Security, 16(2); Stojanović Gajić, S. and Ejdus, F. (eds.) (2018). Security Community Practices in the Western Balkans. London: Routledge.

Tina Perić Lukačević is a program associate at the Centre for Advanced Studies South East Europe, University of Rijeka. She gained her Master’s degree in Cultural Studies at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Rijeka (FFRI). During her studies, she investigated the relationship between art, individual/collective memory, and healing in the context of traumatic events which led her to interest in body-related topics including performing arts and gender studies.

Stefania Petris is a Financial Assistant at the Regional Network of Centres for AdvancedStudies in Southeast Europe (RECAS) and a team member at the Center for Advanced Studies (CAS-UNIRI). She graduated from the Faculty of Economics in Rijeka, specializing in Entrepreneurship. Her career began in the private sector, where she gained substantial experience in financial management and analysis. Through her work, she developed expertise in budgeting and strategic planning, supported by a strong analytical approach and a proven ability to foster financial stability and growth.Within GEO-POWER-EU, she serves as Financial and Administrative Manager.

Sanja Bojanić, the Executive Director at the Center for Advanced Studies of South East Europe (CAS SEE) at the University of Rijeka, will serve as an honorary member of the GEO-POWER-EU project. While she will not be involved in the day-to-day work of the project, her expertise in the philosophy of culture, media, and queer studies will continue to provide valuable insights. Sanja Bojanić’s research focuses on contemporary forms of gender, racial, and class practices that drive social and affective inequalities, particularly within modern societal and political contexts. She is also an associate professor at Rijeka’s Academy of Applied Arts.