Institute for National Security
and Military Studies Speaker Series

Upcoming Sessions

Friend or Foe? Chinese Foreign Policy Perspectives in the Balkans

April 8, 2025
1:00-2:30 P.M.
MUC - 307
Dr. Ivona Lađevac

Are you interested in learning more about the role of China in Europe? Join renowned expert, Dr. Ivona Lađevac, from the Institute of International Politics and Economics (IIPE) in Belgrade (Serbia), as she explains the increasingly dominant role of China in the Balkans.

Dr. Lađevac is the Deputy Director at IIPE, and is a graduate of the University of Belgrade’s Faculty of Security Studies (her thesis was titled: “Strategic Partnership of the Russian Federation and People’s Republic of China within the global security context”).

IIPE, founded in 1947, is a distinguished governmental research institution focusing on international relations, diplomacy and defense policy. Over the years, IIPE has played a pivotal role in shaping Yugoslav and Serbian foreign and defense policy through extensive research, analysis and policy recommendations. It has cemented its position as the main research and policy arm of the Serbian Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense, contributing significantly to the understanding of global affairs in the Balkans and beyond.

Dr. Lađevac joined IIPE in 2001. From 2008 she was in charged of international cooperation, while from September 2017 until July 2021 she was Head of the Center “One Belt, One Road” when promoted to Deputy Director. From 2022 until June 2024 she was  Editor-in-Chief of the journal “International Problems”.

Dr. Lađevac was co-coordinator of IPA project “Debating Serbiaʼs European Future: The Voice of Civil Society in Decision-Making” realized in 2010/2011 by the European Institute from Sofia and IIPE. Currently she is Research Project Manager of the ongoing IIPE project “Serbia and Challenges in International Relations in 2025”, financially supported by the Ministry of Science, Technological Development and Innovation of the Republic of Serbia and principal investigator of the project “Contribution to modern partnerships: the assessment of Serbia’s relations with the EU and China (COMPASS)”, financed by the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia.

Dr. Lađevac has participated in many international conferences and authored numerous scientific papers, including three monographs, editor and co-editor of several thematic and international conference proceedings. Her main research areas are contemporary international relations, focused to relations between China and Russia, the Belt and the Road Initiative, as well cooperation between China and CEEC’s. In July 2022, she became a member of the Governing Board of the International Research and Training Center for Science and Technology Strategy (CISTRAT) of the Chinese Academy for Science and Technology for Development.

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