Western Balkans Task Force

Nedim Hogic, PhD is a legal scholar and corruption researcher. He has advised international organizations, political parties and nongovernmental organizations in democratic peacebuilding and good governance reforms in Southeastern Europe and Central Asia. He holds an LLM from Harvard Law School, a Ph.D. from Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies and has been an Emile Noel Fellow of the NYU School of Law. 

Gentian Elezi, PhD is an Associated Professor and Jean Monnet Chair holder at the Institute of European Studies (IES) of the University of Tirana in Albania. He has 15 years of experience in European integration, democratization and institutional reforms, policymaking, and capacity-building. He has been teaching and researching in several universities, including as Visiting Lecturer at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom (UK). In addition to his academic background, Elezi has practical experience in this field, having held office as Deputy Minister for European Integration of Albania (2013-2016). He has also worked on policy research in Albanian think-tanks and international organizations as an expert/consultant, team leader, and project manager. Elezi has a PhD and MA in European Politics, both from the University of Sussex (UK), and a BA in Political Science from the University of Milan, in Italy. 

Fabian Zhilla is a Senior Fellow at the Global Initiative against Transnational Crime and a Lecturer of Law and Ethics at the Canadian Institute of Technology in Tirana, Albania. He received his PhD in Law from King’s College London in 2012 and was previously a Visiting Scholar at Georgetown University and George Washington University. Zhilla was a recipient of both the Fulbright Scholarship and the Chevening Scholarship for his postgraduate studies. In 2017 he was a visiting scholar at the Center for European Studies at Harvard University.  As a Fulbright Fellow at the Center for European Studies at Harvard University, Zhilla focused on the impact of the European Union policies in strengthening the rule of law and minimizing judicial corruption in Albania. 

Ramadan Ilazi holds a PhD in Politics and International Relations from Dublin City University (DCU). He currently serves as the Head of Research at the Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS), overseeing EU Horizon funded research projects. Previously, he worked as the Deputy Minister for European Integration in the Kosovo government from 2015-2016. Ramadan has around 18 years of work experience, and was actively engaged in civil society, policy, and research initiatives. He has also taught graduate and postgraduate courses in Kosovo, including at DCU in Ireland. His upcoming book titled “The European Union and Everyday State building: The Case of Kosovo,” which will be published as part of the Routledge Studies in Statehood series, looks at the factors that shape EU’s agency in state-building interventions.

Donika Elshani is a researcher at the Kosovar Center for Security Studies (KCSS), researching topics that stand at the intersection of politics, security and digital technologies. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the PPLE College at the University of Amsterdam and a Master’s Degree in “Crisis and Security Management” at the Leiden University in the Hague. Prior to joining KCSS, Donika worked with several local and international civil society organizations, including the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, the Kosovar Civil Society Foundation and the Balkan Civil Society Development Network in Kosovo, as well as the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict and the T.M.C. Asser Institute in The Hague.

Stefan Vladisavljev is a program coordinator at the Belgrade-based Foundation BFPE for a Responsible Society. His research interest is foreign influences in the Western Balkans, with a special focus on the Chinese influence in the region, with Serbia as an outlier. Vladisavljev leads several projects within the scope of his organization that is focusing on examining the impact of Chinese presence in Serbia and the wider Western Balkans region, as well as regional cooperation.  Since 2022, he has been coordinating the Balkan Dialogues Initiative on behalf of the BFPE as a program coordinator of the regional cooperation portfolio.  He has also been a prolific author, publishing work with outlets like War on the Rocks, Just Security, ECFR, and The Diplomat, among others. Vladisavljev received his Masters of Arts in International Security from the University of Belgrade.