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07/09/2026

📣 We are pleased to announce that our Research Fellow Anton Markoč will deliver a lecture tomorrow (8 September) at the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory (IFDT), University of Belgrade, entitled:

“A Cry Is Not a Complaint: On the Quasi-Legal Character of Contractualism”

In his lecture, Anton will offer a phenomenological critique of T. M. Scanlon’s contractualism, drawing on Simone Weil’s critique of rights-based theories. Focusing on the lived experience of subjugation and the perspective of the victim, he will examine the limits of contractualism’s quasi-legal framework and question whether interpersonal morality can be adequately understood solely through the comparison and justification of competing complaints.

The lecture will take place at 12:00 at IFDT in Belgrade and will also be recorded and made available on IFDT’s Engaged Thought YouTube channel.

The lecture was organised as part of the project “Beyond Ethnification: Post-Nationalist Perspectives on Montenegrin Identity,” supported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation of Montenegro. 🇲🇪📚

More information is available via the link in the comments.

27/08/2026

📢 We are proud to share that Maša Ždralević, Research Fellow at our INStitute, has co-authored a new scientific paper published in RNA Biology, an internationally recognised Q1 journal indexed in the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE).

The study, entitled “Conserved miRNA regulators of PD-1/PD-L1 in glioblastoma and colorectal cancer,” investigates the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in regulating the PD-1/PD-L1/PD-L2 immune checkpoint axis in glioblastoma (GBM) and colorectal cancer (CRC).

Although immune checkpoint inhibitors have transformed cancer therapy, their effectiveness remains limited in GBM and highly variable in CRC, underscoring the need to better understand immune checkpoint regulation. The researchers identified five conserved miRNAs — miR-106a-5p, miR-106b-5p, miR-20a-5p, miR-20b-5p and miR-138-5p — consistently dysregulated in both cancers. Their associations with patient survival and key immune checkpoint genes point to their potential as regulators and biomarkers of tumour biology. Notably, miR-20a-5p and miR-20b-5p were preferentially expressed in microsatellite-stable (MSS) colorectal cancer, a subgroup in which current immune checkpoint therapies remain of limited benefit.

The publication is an outcome of the ongoing bilateral scientific research project between Montenegro and Slovenia, focused on translational oncology and precision medicine.

The article is open access and available through PubMed. The link is available in the comments below.

23/07/2026

📢 We are delighted to share that our Research Associate Nikola Zečević has published a new academic article in Europe-Asia Studies, a Q1-ranked international journal in the field of Area Studies.

The article, entitled “The Montenegrin Government in Exile and Yugoslav Unification: A Losing Battle in the League of Nations, 1920–1922,” examines the diplomatic campaign of the Montenegrin government in exile following the abolition of Montenegrin statehood and the creation of the Yugoslav kingdom.

Drawing on recently digitised archival correspondence between the Montenegrin government in exile and the League of Nations, the article explores how its political strategy evolved—from advocating a confederal arrangement within Yugoslavia to demanding the restoration of Montenegro’s independence. It also places these efforts within the broader international context, with particular attention to the policies of Serbia and the Great Powers.

Further information and access to the article are available via the link in the comments.

Congratulations to our colleague Nikola!

14/07/2026

📣 It was a great pleasure for us at the INStitute to host Vujo Ilić, Research Fellow at the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory in Belgrade, who delivered a lecture entitled “Social Ties and Insurgent Mobilisation in Montenegro in 1941.”

The lecture offered an insightful analysis of the social ties, local networks, and circumstances that enabled the remarkably rapid and large-scale mobilisation during the 13 July Uprising.

We warmly thank Dr Ilić for his inspiring lecture, as well as everyone who attended and contributed to the engaging discussion.

The lecture was organised as part of the project “Beyond Ethnification: Post-Nationalist Perspectives on Montenegrin Identity,” supported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation of Montenegro. 🇲🇪📚

09/07/2026

📢 Sjutra će na Institutu za napredne studije, u susret obilježavanju državnog praznika — Trinaestog jula, dr Vujo Ilić, naučni saradnik Instituta za filozofiju i društvenu teoriju Univerziteta u Beogradu, održati predavanje „Društvene veze i ustanička mobilizacija u Crnoj Gori 1941.“

Trinaestojulski ustanak predstavlja rijedak primjer masovne i brze ustaničke mobilizacije u okupiranoj Evropi. Za svega nekoliko dana desetine hiljada ustanika oslobodile su najveći dio teritorije Crne Gore. Kako objasniti obim i brzinu ove mobilizacije?

Predavanje dr Ilića nudi odgovor zasnovan na analizi predratne društvene strukture i njenog odnosa sa ratnim akterima. Polazeći od dvostruke osnove mobilizacije — u kojoj predratna kohezija društvenih grupa oblikuje spremnost civila na učešće, dok ponašanje oružanih aktera utiče na dalju regrutaciju — predavanje pokazuje kako su iste društvene veze koje su omogućile masovni ustanak protiv okupatora 1941. godine potom oblikovale i dinamiku građanskog rata 1942. godine.

Analiza kombinuje istorijske izvore, predratne izborne rezultate i etnografske podatke, ukazujući na značaj podetničkih društvenih struktura za politikološko razumijevanje političkog nasilja — kako u istorijskim, tako i u savremenim oružanim sukobima.

Predavanje je zasnovano na doktorskoj disertaciji dr Ilića ''Cousins in Arms: Social Structure and Civil War Mobilization in Montenegro'', koja je 2020. godine nagrađena prestižnom nagradom CEU Best Dissertation Award.

📍 Institut za napredne studije
Naučno-tehnološki park, drugi sprat, soba broj 11
🗓 10. jul
🕐 13:00h

Predavanje se organizuje u okviru projekta „Izvan etnifikacije: postnacionalističke perspektive crnogorskog identiteta“, koji je podržan od strane Ministarstva prosvjete, nauke i inovacija Crne Gore.

03/07/2026

📣 We are honored to announce that our Research Fellow, Bojan Baća, has been awarded the Dragutin Leković Prize for the best work in philosophy and social theory by the Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts.

His article, “QAnon and the Epistemic Communities of the Unreal: A Conceptual Toolkit for a Sociology of Grassroots Conspiracism”, published in Theory, Culture & Society (vol. 41, no. 4), was recognized as an outstanding contribution to the advancement of the social sciences in the tradition of critical theory.

This important recognition affirms Bojan Baća’s exceptional scholarly contribution to contemporary social theory, particularly through his research on civil society, social movements, and protest politics, as well as his more recent work on epistemic communities and the digital public sphere.

We warmly congratulate Bojan Baća on this distinguished achievement! 🎉

18/06/2026

📣 On June 15–16, our Research Associate Fedja Pavlovic participated in the international academic conference “EU Enlargement in a Time of Increasing Geopolitical Challenges: ‘Fresh Momentum’ and Beyond”, organised in Belgrade by the Institute for European Studies.

At the conference, Fedja presented a paper titled “Europa Über Alles: On Montenegro’s Post-Democratic Condition.” The paper examined how the dominant discourse underpinning Montenegro’s EU accession process constructs the meaning of democracy and democratisation, and explored its consequences for popular self-determination, democratic deliberation and agonistic pluralism.

08/06/2026

📢 Last week, members of the INS project team — Anton Markoč, Teodora Stanković, Feđa Pavlović, Nikola Zečević, and Vuk Uskoković — had a productive study visit to the European University Institute in Florence.

During the visit, our team met with Jelena Džankić, Programme Director for the Widening Europe Programme and the CIVICA Alliance at the EUI; Giancarlo Casale, Head of the Department of History; Joanna Zofia Wielgo, Project Manager at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies; Andrea Gaiba, Programme Manager at the Transnational Democracy Programme at the Florence School of Transnational Governance; as well as researchers Teona Nešović Birkner and Nemanja Kidžin.

The visit provided an excellent opportunity to discuss possibilities for future cooperation, exchange ideas on ongoing research, and explore potential forms of institutional collaboration. We are grateful to our colleagues at the EUI for their warm welcome, generous exchange, and inspiring conversations.

The visit was organised as part of the project “Beyond Ethnification: Post-Nationalistic Perspectives of Montenegrin Identity”, supported by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Innovation of Montenegro. ✨🇲🇪📚

05/06/2026

📣 It is our honour to share that our colleague, Andrej Mihailović, has been awarded the title of Visiting Senior Research Fellow at King’s College London.

This recognition reflects Andrej’s long-standing work and engagement with King’s College London over almost three decades, particularly within the Department of Engineering and its Centre for Telecommunications.

The visiting appointment also testifies to the high regard in which Andrej’s links with engineering at King’s are held, while opening up valuable opportunities for future collaboration between King’s College London and the University of Montenegro.

29/05/2026

📢 We are pleased to share that our Research Associate Feđa Pavlović has published a paper in the HEPP Working Paper Series, Vol. 5, issued by the Helsinki Hub on Emotions, Populism and Polarisation at the University of Helsinki.

In his paper, “The Good Underdog: On Populism’s Construction of ‘the People’”, Pavlović addresses one of the central questions in contemporary populism studies: how do populists envisage “the people”? Are they depicted primarily as a morally pure and homogeneous entity, or as the underdog in a struggle against entrenched power?

Critically engaging with these two prominent approaches, the paper proposes a third, synthesising perspective: the “good underdog thesis.” According to this thesis, populist discourses tend to construct “the people” through two distinct but interrelated criteria: normative valuation and power.

The paper is available here:
http://hdl.handle.net/10138/631665

Address

Cetinjski Put Br. 2
Podgorica
81000

Website

https://www.ucg.ac.me/ins

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