Mr. Tomislav Jakic is the political advisor to former President of the Republic of Croatia, Stjepan Mesic. He has a great experience in foreign policy as journalist, reporter, editor and commentator. Mr.Jakic has interviewed presidents, prime ministers, foreign ministers, members of government of Federal Republic of Germany, Austria, Sweden, Finland German Democratic Republic, Portugal, Egypt, Israel, Jordan and he is the author of special programs dealing with arms race, end of the war in Vietnam, Middle East, unification of Germany. He is the only journalist from former Yugoslavia who ever visited NORAD. His NGO activity conclude member of the Civic Committee for Human Rights, member of the expert group investigating ways and means for fostering mutual confidence and understanding between the countries of the so called Dayton triangle (Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro).

Nadge Ragaru holds a PhD in Political Science (2005), a double Master’s Degree in Political Science and East European Studies and a BA from Sciences-Po Paris, as well as a Master’s Degree in International Affairs from USC (USA). Former Reid Hall Fellow at Columbia University (1999-2000). Member of the editorial boards of Critique internationale and Balkanologie.Her doctoral dissertation was devoted to the domestication of post-socialist changes in Bulgaria and the role of political connections and exchanges of favours in this process.She is currently conducting research on popular culture and the social history of socialism in Bulgaria (1970-1980). Her other research interests include ethnic mobilizations and everyday ethnicity in Bulgaria and Macedonia, as well as EU conflict management policies in the Balkans. Since 2010, Nadège Ragaru is also the Scientific editor of CERI’s Webcast series “Au fil des mots”.

Jens Woelk is presently Research Associate and Lecturer (Ricercatoreconfermato) in Comparative Constitutional Law at the Law Faculty of the University of Trento, and Senior Research Advisor at the European Academy, Bozen/Bolzano, Italy (Dept. “Minorities and Autonomies”). Mr. Woelk is teaching courses in comparative constitutional law, comparative administrative law and European Union Law. His main fields of interest in research are comparative constitutional law, especially federalism/regionalism, minority-issues and South Eastern Europe, as well as the constitutional law of the European Union. After his graduation in law at the University of Regensburg, Bavaria, he continued to work there as a Research Assistant to the Chair of Comparative Public Law and European Community Law (Prof. Dr. Rainer Arnold) and received his PhD in Comparative Constitutional Law (thesis on constitutional principles of co-operation in federal and regional systems). In 1994 he passed the Bavarian Bar examination and received his admission as lawyer at the District Court in Regensburg. From 1994 to 2000 he worked as a Senior Researcher at the European Academy Bozen/Bolzano, since 1996 as the coordinator of the Research department “Minorities and Autonomies”.

Tomoyuki (Tom) Hashimoto has an LL.M. European Master in Law and Economics (EMLE), MSc (Merit) in Comparative Politics, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and BA (Summa cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa) in International Relations, Boston University. His specializations are Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, South-East Europe (the Balkans, Turkey), Political Geography in Transition, Law & Economics, English School of International Relations and Efficient EU Enlargement Management, EU-Russia Geo-strategic Talks, Energy Security. Mr. Hashimoto has held many academic and editorial positions and has many different membership affiliation such as University Association for Contemporary European Studies (UACES), British Association for Slavonic and East European Studies (BASEES), American Association for Advancement of Slavic Studies (AAASS), Chatham House, International Studies Association (ISA), Regional Studies Association (RSA), International Political Science Association (IPSA), European Association for Law and Economics (EALE), European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR)