Political scientist and researcher with over a decade of experience supporting anti-corruption and good governance projects for organizations including Transparency International, Freedom House, and the European Commission.
I am a political scientist and researcher with over a decade of experience working at the intersection of academia and the non-profit sector. My work spans political economy, anti-corruption, and good governance, with a focus on translating research into actionable insights.
I have collaborated with various organizations on anti-corruption and democratization projects, including Transparency International, Freedom House, the European Commission, and the Government Transparency Institute. In these roles, I have supported NGOs in mapping the quality of open data for political integrity in the Western Balkans, analyzed political finance regulations to identify corruption vulnerabilities, utilized big data and network analysis to detect corruption risks in public procurement, authored democratization reports and country profiles, and conducted project evaluations.
My academic research examines the evolving nature of political-business networks, their influence on the allocation of public funds, and their effects on institutional development, democratic backsliding, and the durability of illiberal regimes. I have published in journals such as Comparative Political Studies and Europe-Asia Studies. My forthcoming book with the University of Michigan Press draws on original corporate registry data and interviews with oligarchs, politicians, and bureaucrats to understand the political logic of renationalization in Serbia.
I have taught courses on state capture and political economy at institutions including Central European University in Vienna and Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest. I hold a PhD in Political Science from Central European University.
Transparency International
Jan 2021 – Present
Authored over 20 desk-based research papers on anti-corruption topics, including public integrity, harnessing artificial intelligence for anti-corruption, and safeguarding donor funds from corruption.
Freedom House
July 2026 – Present
Contributing analyst for the annual Freedom in the World report, assessing political rights and civil liberties in North Macedonia.
European Commission
Brussels · Oct 2025 – Jan 2026
Freedom House
Washington, D.C. · Jun 2025 – Jan 2026
Transparency International
Berlin · Jan 2024 – Mar 2025
Transparency International
Berlin · Jun 2023 – Jan 2024
Higher School of Economics
Moscow · Sep 2020 – Aug 2021
Government Transparency Institute
Budapest · Jan 2019 – Jul 2019
Institute for Human Sciences (IWM)
Vienna · Feb 2018 – Jun 2018
University of California Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, CA · Oct 2017 – Dec 2017
Vera and Donald Blinken Open Society Archives (OSA)
Budapest · Jun 2016 – Jul 2017
Europe-Asia Studies
This article examines why incumbents in electoral democracies reverse initial efforts to prosecute political corruption committed under previous governments. Using a process-tracing comparison of Serbia before and after the 2014 elections, it argues that varying levels of electoral uncertainty shape incumbent incentives. High electoral uncertainty incentivises prosecutions to broaden electoral support, while consolidation of power shifts priorities towards co-opting business and political elites and judicial capture. Co-optation secures resources to finance the incumbent’s political machine and weakens the opposition, while judicial capture addresses the strategic fear of insulated courts and prosecutors potentially threatening the incumbent’s own corrupt network.
Read ArticleEurope-Asia Studies
This article analyses the nature and the evolution of state capture in Serbia. I approach this process from a micro-level perspective, utilising interview data and rich case studies, focusing on the interaction between political parties and business. In the context of high political uncertainty and underdeveloped institutions in the period 2000–2012, oligarchs benefited from the privatisation process and resource extraction, while political parties were after short-term extraction. After 2012, amid low political uncertainty, a top-down political colonisation by the ruling party can be observed, manifesting through the involvement of businesses directly owned by political officeholders or their families in the state-capture dynamic.
Read ArticleComparative Political Studies
Based on an original large-N data set of Serbian firms privatized between 2002 and 2011, and qualitative evidence, this article applies survival modeling to network data to analyze the political foundations of renationalization. Building on embeddedness scholarship, the study hypothesizes that renationalization is influenced by varying patterns of embeddedness of firms in political and ownership networks. The findings show that politically connected firms are more likely to be renationalized than non-politicized ones.
Read ArticleTransparency International & U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre
This Helpdesk Answer examines interagency coordination in anti-corruption efforts in the UK, focusing on three key dimensions: data sharing, referral processes and multi-agency coordination mechanisms. Effective coordination is critical for reducing duplication, closing enforcement gaps and addressing complex corruption cases that often intersect with other forms of criminality. The UK benefits from a strong legal framework for data sharing, established referral pipelines and dedicated coordination bodies. However, persistent challenges remain, including institutional fragmentation, siloed data, inconsistent data-recording practices, capacity constraints, and weaknesses in whistleblower reporting mechanisms and case prioritisation. International experience highlights practical approaches to strengthening coordination, including interoperable data systems, structured corruption risk assessments, multi-disciplinary teams, improved whistleblower protection and the use of advanced analytics and artificial intelligence.
View ReportTransparency International & U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre
Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being applied to anti-corruption efforts, offering significant opportunities and introducing new challenges. Evidence from academic studies and public policy applications shows that AI can strengthen prevention by predicting corruption risks and hotspots in public fund allocation, as well as by deterring petty corruption through simplified procedures and citizen access to accurate information. In detection, AI has been used to analyse political integrity datasets and satellite imagery, enabling the identification of risky tenders, fake bidders, conflicts of interest and environmental harms linked to corruption.
View ReportTransparency International & U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre
Rapid donor exits have been on the rise in recent years, driven by shifting geopolitical priorities, domestic budget pressures and evolving aid strategies. When poorly coordinated and if responsibilities shift too abruptly to local actors, exits can face corruption risks such as the diversion of residual funds, favouritism in fast-tracked hiring, procurement manipulation and reduced whistleblowing capacities. Donors rarely have exit-specific anti-corruption frameworks, but practices such as corruption risk management, proactive auditing and remote monitoring may help safeguard funds and assets.
View ReportFreedom House
Contributing analyst for annual assessments of political rights and civil liberties in North Macedonia.
View ReportTransparency International & U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre
Contexts characterised by systemic corruption require alternative strategies to anti-corruption programming to effectively enhance public sector integrity. Traditional anti-corruption interventions rooted in the principal-agent model — such as strengthening monitoring systems and promoting transparency — are unlikely to succeed on their own but can be more effective when complemented by alternative strategies that are sensitive to local contexts and realities. These strategies include social norms interventions, social empowerment, reducing vulnerabilities to corruption, horizontal enforcement and top-down leadership changes.
View ReportTransparency International & U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre
Lebanese and international stakeholders have spearheaded reconstruction efforts in response to recent national challenges, such as the Beirut port explosion and the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Corruption – especially patronage, clientelist networks and state capture – undermines these efforts by weakening planning processes, public contracting and the delivery of construction, waste management and related services. While progress has been made in passing anti-corruption laws, local NGO watchdogs note significant challenges in their implementation. Some donors elect to bypass the state in the short term, instead channelling aid through trusted local and international networks while simultaneously investing in the capacity of Lebanese oversight institutions.
View ReportTransparency International
This report underscores how open data can be utilised to uphold political integrity in the Western Balkans and Türkiye, focusing on three key areas: political financing, law-making and resource allocation. These three areas are of particular significance for anti-corruption and political integrity in the region given the existing evidence of opaque political finance, the undue influence of vested interests in law-making and favouritism in public contracting.
View ReportTransparency International & U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre
The literature broadly finds that improved electoral integrity has a constraining effect on corruption, but this relationship is largely dependent on the existence of conditions that enable voters to hold politicians accountable for corrupt behaviour. Specific measures considered especially significant include political finance measures such as subsidies and financial disclosure laws, building the capacity of election management bodies and the presence of an open media environment.
View ReportTransparency International
Integrity training for public officials aims to raise awareness about integrity standards and corruption prevention in the public sector. They can focus on various areas including codes of conduct and ethics, conflict of interest, ancillary activities, pre and post-employment rules, proactive disclosure and others. Recent experiences from countries that provide integrity training suggest there is a growing use of e-learning tools that combine theory and interactive material in the form of videos or case-based scenario exercises. These types of training provide more flexibility and are cost effective. Evaluations on the effectiveness suggest the benefits of short, thematic modules and interactive content for efficient learning.
View ReportGovernment Transparency Institute
This paper relies on both quantitative and qualitative data in analyzing major corruption and state capture risks in the defence procurement process in the UK.
View ReportFor a complete list of publications, visit:
Central European University
Vienna, Austria · Jan 2022 – Jun 2022
Eötvös Loránd University
Budapest, Hungary · Sep 2021 – Jan 2022
Eötvös Loránd University
Budapest, Hungary · Aug 2019 – Jan 2020
ECPR Summer School in Methods and Techniques
Central European University · Aug 2019
ECPR Summer School in Methods and Techniques
Central European University · Jul 2017
Central European University
Budapest, Hungary · Jan 2016 – Apr 2016
Comparative Politics
Central European University • Budapest, Hungary
Thesis: Network Ties and the Politics of Renationalization: Embeddedness, Political-Business Relations and Renationalization in Post-Milosevic Serbia
Political Science
Central European University • Budapest, Hungary
Thesis: News Coverage of Domestic Violence in Serbia
Political Theory, Political Sociology and Institutions
University of Belgrade, Faculty of Political Sciences • Belgrade, Serbia
Thesis: Twilight of Democracy and Rise of Authoritarianism: Impediments to Democratization in Central Asia
Journalism and Communication
Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Belgrade • Belgrade, Serbia
Thesis: News Agencies in Serbia: Development and Changes
Network Ties and Renationalization in Serbia
Forthcoming from the University of Michigan Press, the book examines how political-business networks shape ownership reversals and why some privatized firms are targeted for renationalization while others are protected.
25 September 2026
New articleMy new article in Europe-Asia Studies examines how electoral uncertainty shapes reversals of anti-corruption efforts in Serbia.