Dr Marika Djolai is a Senior Researcher 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 (BiEPAG). She holds masters degrees from the University of Novi Sad and University College London, UK, and she received her Doctorate in Development Studies (Conflict and Violence) in 2016 from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex. She was a Visiting Researcher at the Faculty of Political Science in Sarajevo in 2012 and held a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Centre for Advanced Studies of Southeast Europe, University of Rijeka. She previously worked in Bosnia and Herzegovina for UNICEF, the British Council, and BBC Media Action, as well as in Kosovo and Eurasia region. Her research focuses on community dynamics, social identities and post-war group interactions, minority rights and securitisation of minorities. Her policy work is oriented towards the EU accession of the Western Balkans countries, bilateral disputes resolution and democratic trends.