About

Florian Bieber is a political scientist and historian working on inter-ethnic relations, ethnic conflict and nationalism, focusing on Southeastern Europe. He is a Professor in South East European History and Politics and director of the Center for South East European Studies at the University of Graz. He coordinates the Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group and is President of the Association for the Study of Nationalities. He held the Jean Monnet Chair on the Europeanisation of Southeastern Europe from 2019 to 2023.

He is also a Visiting Professor at the Nationalism Studies Program at Central European University and is the editor of the book series Southeast European Studies, published with Routledge (formerly Ashgate).

He was the editor in chief of Nationalities Papers between 2009 and 2013 and is the associate editor of Southeastern Europe as well as being on the editorial board of Global Society,  Problems of Post Communism, Comparative Southeast European Studies, Politička misao, Političke perspektive, Civis. Montenegrin Journal for Political Science, Migracijske i etničke teme, European Autonomy and Diversity Papers,  Croatian International Relations Review, Demografija, Czech Journal of International Relations, and the Journal of Southeast European & Black Sea Studies. He is also a member of the board of the Südosteuropa Gesellschaft.

He studied at Trinity College (USA), the University of Vienna and Central European University (Hungary) and received his M.A. in Political Science and History and his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Vienna, as well as an M.A. in Southeast European Studies from Central European University (Budapest).

Before coming to Graz, he was a Lecturer in East European Politics at the Department of Politics and International Relations of the University of Kent, Canterbury, UK. From January to May 2009, he held the Luigi Einaudi Chair at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York and in Spring 2010, he was a visiting fellow at LSEE – Research on South Eastern Europe at the London School of Economics. In Spring 2016, he was a visiting fellow at the Remarque Institute of New York University.

Between 2001 and 2006, he has been working in Belgrade (Serbia) and Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina) for the European Centre for Minority Issues. and has taught at the Regional Masters Program for Democracy and Human Rights,  University of Sarajevo and the Interdisciplinary Master in East European Studies, University of Bologna. He has been an International Policy Fellow of the Open Society Institute and taught at the Balkan Studies Program of the IDM.

His work includes expert advice on minorities and minority rights for the European Commission, the OSCE, and the Council of Europe and has provided advice to governments and international organizations on the Balkans. He has extensive training experience in the field of diversity and minority rights.

His research interests include institutional design in multiethnic states, nationalism and ethnic conflict, as well as the political systems of South-eastern Europe. He published articles on institutional design, nationalism and politics in South-eastern Europe in Social Sciences Quarterly, Nationalities Papers, Third World Quarterly, Slavic Review, Current History, International Journal of Politics, Culture and Society, International Peacekeeping, Ethnopolitcs and other journals. He is the author of Negotiating Unity and Diversity in the European Union (with Roland Bieber, Palgrave 2021), Debating Nationalism. The Global Spread of Nations (Bloomsbury 2020) and The Rise of Authoritarianism in the Western Balkans (Palgrave 2020), Nationalism in Serbia from the Death of Tito to the Fall of Milošević (Lit Verlag 2005, in German) and Post-War Bosnia: Ethnic Structure, Inequality and Governance of the Public Sector (Palgrave, 2006) and edited and co-edited ten books on South-eastern Europe.

For a full CV, click here and a list of publications.