Nedima Krndžija

Recherche en cours

My current research focuses on the interaction between international crisis-management structures in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the country’s progress toward EU membership. I examine how the Office of the High Representative and the EU Special Representative operate, overlap, and sometimes compete in shaping key reforms. With Bosnia and Herzegovina now holding EU candidate status, understanding these institutional dynamics has gained even more importance. The project concentrates on three main areas that reveal these tensions most clearly: anti-corruption efforts, the rule of law, and migration governance. By comparing how domestic actors and international institutions address these issues, I analyse where cooperation functions smoothly, where contradictions appear, and how these patterns influence political developments and reform trajectories. In addition to mapping institutional roles, I look at the everyday practices through which international guidance is translated, or resisted, within local political structures. This includes examining how mandates are interpreted, how authority is negotiated in sensitive policy fields, and how the presence of multiple international actors affects decision-making. The broader aim is to provide a clearer understanding of how Bosnia and Herzegovina’s hybrid institutional environment shapes its European path, what types of friction slow down reforms, and which approaches have the greatest potential to support stable and credible progress toward EU integration.

Alongside my doctoral work, I am employed at my university’s International Relations Office, where I coordinate cooperation initiatives, mobility programmes, partnerships, and a range of EU-funded and nationally funded projects. My role involves working with ministries, embassies, partner universities, and international organisations, which gives me direct exposure to how institutional decisions are negotiated, communicated, and implemented. I contribute to policy-related activities such as drafting cooperation frameworks, preparing strategic documentation, and aligning institutional practices with European standards and programmes. Being immersed in an international setting while closely following political developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina gives me a unique dual perspective: I observe how European policies are interpreted at the institutional level and how they interact with domestic political debates. This combination of practical engagement and academic research deepens my interest in how institutions influence reform processes, shape priorities, and affect broader political outcomes.