Meet Bojan Baca, our scholarship holder from Serbia, who has conducted a research in Slovakia through the CEEPUS programme. His research stay in Slovak Academy of Sciences has enabled him exploring ocial and political questions related to civil society, protest movements, and conspiracy theories.

with his girlfriend at Bratislava CastleCould you tell us where you’re from, what your field of research is, and how long you have been (or were) in Slovakia?
I come from Montenegro, but over the past decade, I have primarily worked at universities in Canada and Sweden. Since early December 2024, I have been based in Slovakia, where I hold a SAIA visiting research position at the Institute for Sociology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava. Broadly speaking, my research focuses on civil society, social movements, and protest politics in Central and Eastern Europe, exploring how individuals constitute themselves as collective political subjects through resistance, mobilization, and contention. On one hand, I examine how what I call “contentious practices” contribute to advancing democracy in the postsocialist region. On the other, I am increasingly engaging with the study of conspiracy theories – particularly how people come together in epistemic communities that produce and disseminate conspiracism as an ideology, one that thrives in the post-truth condition of our digital era.

Bratislava CastleWhat has this scholarship experience provided for you, both professionally and personally?
This scholarship has given me the opportunity to dedicate my workweek almost entirely to my research project and to carry it out in a supportive and excellent academic environment. During the first four months of my stay, I focused primarily on completing data collection and organizing the material. I am now in the process of analyzing the data, with the goal of submitting two manuscripts to leading journals by the end of the scholarship period. In addition, as I currently serve as guest co-editor of a special issue on civic activism and social movements in Central and Eastern Europe for the journal Voluntas, I am also devoting time to editorial duties. I hope my stay will also lead to future collaborative projects with my talented colleagues at the Institute for Sociology, as we share many common research interests.

in front of he colorful hotel Galeria SpiritHow do you like Slovak cuisine? What is your favorite Slovak dish, if you’ve tried any?
I genuinely enjoy spending time in Central Europe, having spent several of my research visits in Austria, Germany, Hungary, and Czechia over the past decade. When it comes to Slovak cuisine, my absolute favorite is kapustnica, but I also love zemiakové placky and bryndzové halušky – and of course, trdelník. I also enjoy Slovak cheeses quite a lot.