Goldsmiths - University of London

Dr Stefanos Katsikas

Academic qualifications

BA History, Ionian University, Corfu (Greece), 1998

MA Southeast European Studies, University College, London, 2000 

PhD International Relations, University College, London, 2006

Teaching

BA First year
HT51020A Dictators, War and Revolution
HT51019A Religion, Peace and Conflict

BA Second and Third Year
HT52119A/HT53119A The ‘Informal Sector’: Corruption, Human Trafficking and Organised Crime in Modern Europe

MA
HT71126A Explorations and Debates in History
HT71128A Conflict, Trauma and Memory in the Modern Balkans

Administration

• MA/MRes Admissions Tutor
• Programme Convenor MA/MRes in History

Grants & awards

• Academic Year 2011/12: Project Grant by the Belgian Centre for Historical Research and Documentation on War and Contemporary Society (CEGES/SOMA-Brussels) and the Peace Building Division of the Belgian Federal Public Service, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation for my participation in the project ‘Transitional Justice after War and Dictatorship: Learning from European Experience (1945-2000).
• August 2011: Publication was supported by the Scouloudi Foundation, in association with the Institute of Historical Research, University of London for my monograph Negotiating Diplomacy in the New Europe: Foreign Policy in Post-Communist Bulgaria. Electronic Link: http://www.history.ac.uk/fellowships/awards/scouloudi
• January 2008-December 2010: Postdoctoral research grant, John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation, Athens, Greece.
• March 2007: Overseas Conference Grant by the British Academy for my participation in the Association for the Study of Nationalities 12^th Annual Convention (12-14 April 2007) Columbia University, New York.
• July 2005: Bulgarian Ministry of Education for my participation in the Summer School (Leten Seminar),  Bankya, Bulgaria (17 July – 6 August 2005).
• Academic Year 2001/02: School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES), University College London (UCL) & UCL Graduate Office for the purpose of undertaking six month field research in Sofia, Bulgaria.
• Academic Years 2000/01-2003/04: PhD scholarship, Lilian Voudouris Foundation, Athens, Greece.
• Academic Year 1998/99: MA scholarship, Lilian Voudouris Foundation, Athens, Greece.
• Academic Years 1993/04-1997/98: BA studentships, Greek State Scholarships Foundations.

Professional activities

Member of the Association for the Study of Nationalities (ASN), British Association for Slavonic and East European Studies (BASEES), the Modern Greek Studies Association.

Research interests

My academic interests lie in the field of modern history of Southeastern Europe (with emphasis on the political and social history of Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece and Turkey). In particular, my research focuses on the study of democratization, reconciliation and regional security in both contemporary and historical settings: effects of regime changes (especially democratization) on the regional security of Southeastern Europe, post-conflict reconciliation and transitional justice in democratizing environments, with emphasis on the role of historical memory into the process, minority state relations, inter-ethnic as well as inter-religious relations with emphasis on relations between Christians and Muslims. My wider interests include the rise and development of national ideologies in nineteenth and twentieth century Europe, democracy and authoritarian regimes in interwar and Cold War Europe, security implications of the ‘informal sector’ (i.e. corruption, illicit human trafficking and organised crime’ on 20th century Europe, military conflicts and post-conflict reconciliation, Cold and post-Cold War history.

Research Projects in Progress

• Transitional Justice after War and Dictatorship: The Case of Greece (1949-2000):
  The project is funded by the Belgian Centre for Historical Research and Documentation on War and Contemporary Society (CEGES/SOMA-Brussels) and the Peace Building Division of the Belgian Federal Public Service, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation (http://www.cegesoma.be/cms/projectdescrip_en.php)
• Islam and Nationhood in Modern Greece (1830s-1941)

Previous Posts and Fellowships

• Visiting Lecturer, University of Nottingham, 2006 to 2010
• Visiting Tutor, Goldsmiths College, University of London, 2008-2009
• John S. Latsis Research Fellow, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 2007-2009
• Teaching Assistant, SSEES, University College London, 2002-2005

Selected publications

Books and edited volumes

• Negotiating Diplomacy in the New Europe: Foreign Policy in Post-Communist Bulgaria (London, New York: I.B. Tauris, published December 2011, ISBN 9781845118853). The book was supported by the Scouloudi Foundation, in association with the Institute of Historical Research, University of London (http://www.history.ac.uk/fellowships/awards/scouloudi)

Comments from Reviewers include:

‘This book provides the first comprehensive examination of the development of Bulgarian foreign policy since 1989. It is based on a wealth of Bulgarian and other sources and offers perceptive, judicious and balanced analysis. It shows clearly how Bulgaria’s focus on the European Union, which it joined in 2007, and NATO, which it entered in 2004, has shaped the entire course of its foreign policy since the fall of communism’

-  Vesselin Dimitrov, Reader in East European Politics, Department of Government, LSE

‘Negotiating Diplomacy in the New Europe: Foreign Policy in Post-Communist Bulgaria makes this widely neglected subject a matter of successful analysis. The book constitutes a well-organized, meticulous engagement with the existing bibliography on the subject and its arguments are supported with rich empirical evidence which includes material from the Bulgarian archives and interviews with key figures in Bulgarian academia and politics. Written in a simple, accessible, and informative style, this book will be vital reading for students, scholars, politicians and business people who wish to learn more about Bulgaria’s foreign policy transition from the communist to the post-communist era’

-  Evgenia Kalinova, Professor of Contemporary History of Bulgaria, Sofia University ‘St. Kliment Ohridski’ and founding member of the Bulgarian American Studies Association

‘Stefanos Katsikas has produced an excellent book which offers an enthralling perceptive and multifaceted analysis of Bulgaria’s foreign policy in the post-Cold War period and shows how this country has transformed from a ‘pariah state’ into a regional factor of stability and integration. It tests a challenging hypothesis that spans policy making in Bulgaria in both the political economic fields: that post-communist democratization was responsible for this change. The subject is extremely important and relevant, not least because of Bulgaria’s entry into the EU in January 2007 and the EU’s project of expansion eastwards, which is still in operation. It is a well-written book which sheds light on unknown aspects of Bulgaria’s contemporary foreign policy and history’

-  Iskra Baeva, Professor of Contemporary History of Bulgaria, Sofia University ‘St. Kl. Ohridski’ and founding member of the Bulgarian American Studies Association

Edited Books/Journals

• State-Nationalisms in the Ottoman Empire, Greece and Turkey: Orthodox and Muslims, 1830s-1945 (London, New York: Routledge, forthcoming 2012 ISBN: 978-0-415-69056-0), together with Benjamin C. Fortna, Dimitris Kamouzis and Paraskevas Konortas.
  
• Bulgaria and Europe: Shifting Identities (London, New York, New Delhi: Anthem Press, 
• 2010 ISBN 978-1843318460), sole editor.
• European Modernity and Islamic Reformism among Muslims of the Balkans in the Late-Ottoman and Post-Ottoman Period (1830s-1945) (special issue, Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 29, No. 4 (December 2010)), guest editor.     

Comments from Reviewers include:

'Among the now extensive literature on Bulgaria's European accession, this collection of essays, written by an international team of well established as well as young scholars, will shine with its careful social and political contextualization of the issues, its longue duree framework, and its genuine comparative-effort.'

- Maria Todorova, Gutgsell Professor of History, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

'Provides an excellent introduction to the country....the contributions range widely over and dig deeply into Bulgaria's history, its current condition, its culture and its relations with the Europe of which it is now an integral part.'

- Richard Crampton, Professor of East European History and Fellow of St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford 

'This volume offers an enthralling, perspective and multifaceted analysis of Bulgaria's "Return to Europe".'

- Vesselin Dimitrov, Reader in East European Politics, London School of Economics and Political Science

Articles in refereed journals 

• ‘Muslim Minority in Greek Historiography: A Distorted Story?’ in European History Quarterly (forthcoming 2012).
• ‘National Reconciliation after the Greek Civil War’, co-author (with Peter Siani-Davies), Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 46, No. 4 (2009), pp. 559-575.
• ‘Millets in Nation-States: The Case of Greek and Bulgarian Muslims, 1912-1923’, Nationalities Papers, Vol. 37, No. 2 (2009), pp. 177-201.

Chapters in books and other contributions to collected works

• ‘Millet Legacies in a National Environment: Political Elites and Muslim Communities in Greece, 1830s-1923’ in Benjamin C. Fortna, Stefanos Katsikas, Dimitris Kamouzis, Paraskevas Konortas, State-Nationalisms in the Ottoman Empire, Greece and Turkey: Orthodox and Muslims, 1830s-1945 (London, New York: Routledge, forthcoming 2012 ISBN: 978-0-415-69056-0).
• ‘A Hostage Minority: The Muslims of Greece, 1923-1941’ in in Benjamin C. Fortna, Stefanos Katsikas, Dimitris Kamouzis, Paraskevas Konortas, State-Nationalisms in the Ottoman Empire, Greece and Turkey: Orthodox and Muslims, 1830s-1945 (London, New York: Routledge, forthcoming 2012 ISBN: 978-0-415-69056-0).
• ‘Introduction: European Modernity and Islamic Reformism among Muslims of the Balkans in the Late-Ottoman and Post-Ottoman Period (1830s-1945)’, in S. Katsikas (ed.), European Modernity and Islamic Reformism in the Late-Ottoman and Post-Ottoman Muslims of the Balkans (1830s-1945) (special issue, Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 29, No. 4 (December 2009), pp.435-442.
• ‘Conclusion: European Modernity and Islamic Reformism among Muslims of the Balkans in the Late Ottoman and Post-Ottoman Period (1830s-1945)’, in S. Katsikas (ed.), European Modernity and Islamic Reformism among Muslims of the Balkans in the Late Ottoman and Post-Ottoman Muslims of the Balkans (1830s-1945) (special issue, Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 29, No. 4 (December 2009), pp.537-543).
• ‘Introduction: The Europeanization of Bulgarian Society: A Long-Lasting Political Project’, (co-authored with Peter Siani-Davies), in S. Katsikas (ed.), Shifting Identities: Bulgarian and Europe (London, New York, New Delhi: Anthem Press, 2010 pp.1-21).
• ‘Accession into the Euro-Atlantic Institutions: Effects on Bulgaria’s Balkan Policy(-ies)’, in S. Katsikas (ed.), Shifting Identities: Bulgaria and Europe (London, New York, New Delhi: Anthem Press 2010, pp.116-140.
• ‘Epilogue’, in S. Katsikas (ed.), Shifting Identities: Bulgaria and Europe (London, New York, New Delhi: Anthem Press 2010, pp. 176-179).

Book reviews

• Bideleux, R. and Jeffries, I., The Balkans: A Post-Communist History, London, New York: Routledge, 2007, xix + 620p p/b, Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 11, No. 1 (2009), pp. 117-11.
• Giatzidis, E., An Introduction to Post-Communist Bulgaria: Political, Economic and Social Transformations, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2002), Europe-Asia Studies, Vol. 56, No. 1 (2004), pp. 174-76. 

Other Publications

• ‘The Bulgarian Presidential Elections of 2011: Reflections on Process and Outcome’ in Baltic Worlds (http://balticworlds.com/contributors/stefano-katsikas/)

Selected recent conference and seminar papers

• ‘Political Pluralism in Pursuit of the Historical Truth: The Cases of Contemporary Bulgaria and Greece’, in ‘Memory, Culture and History Politics in Post-Dictatorial Societies’, invited lecture in a workshop organized by the ‘Vienna Doctoral College for ‘European Historical Dictatorship and Transformation Research’, Universität Wien, 28 June 2011.
• ‘From ‘the USSR’s Sixteenth Republic’ to Full NATO Member State: The ‘NATO Debate’ in Bulgarian Politics in the 1990s’, invited lecture at the East Central European Centre, Columbia University, New York, 10 November 2010.
• Discussant on Post-War Repression and Resistance Session, presented at Violence and Memory: Considering Repression and Resistance in Spain 1936-1952 in Comparative Perspective, London School of Economics and Political Science, 22 September 2010.
• ‘The Dispute with Greece over the Name’, presented at EU and Macedonia-The Challenges Ahead, London School of Economics and Political Science, 9 September 2010.
• ‘Post-Communist Democratization in Bulgaria’, invited lecture at the History and Politics Society at Francis Holland School (London, NW1), 23 March 2010.
• Discussant in Roundtable with HE Mr David Graeme Blunt, the British Ambassador to Croatia, on Croatia’s Accession to EU, Dialogue Society London, 10 February 2010.
• 'Eastern Europe and the Warsaw Pact', Nottingham Contemporary, 3 March 2010.
• 'Millet Legacies in a National Environment: Political Elites and Muslim Communities in Greece, 1830s-1923', presented at From Religious Communities to Minorities: Greek Orthodox in the Ottoman Empire/Turkey and Muslims in Greece, convened by myself, Dr Paraskevas Konortas,and Dr Dimitris Kamouzis, National and Kapodistran University of Athens, 14 January 2010.
• (together with Peter Siani-Davies) ‘The Tobacco Law of 1953: Smoking Out the Communist Threat from a Heavily Unionized Workforce?’, presented at Greece in the 1940s: A Critical Assessment: Historiography, Methodology, Research Fields, Network for the Study of Civil Wars, Kavala (Greece), 4 July 2009.
• ‘The Muslim Minority in Greek National Historiography’, paper presented at the panel ‘From Millet System to a National Environment: The Greek Orthodox Minority in Turkey and the Muslim Minority in Greece, 1830s to the Eve of World War II’, convened by myself at the conference Empires and Nations, organized by the Institue d’ Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) and Association for the Study of Nationalities (ASN) and held in Paris 3-5 July 2008.
• ‘Muslim Minorities  in an Orthodox World: the Case of the Muslim Communities in Greece, 1881-1923’, presented at Between Two Opposing State Nationalisms: The Greek Orthodox Minority in Turkey and the Muslim Minority in Greece, 1830s to the Eve of World War II, Workshop, Centre for Hellenic Studies, Department of Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, King’s College London and Greek-Turkish Encounters Series, King’s College London, 2 June 2007.
• ‘Muslim Minorities in an Orthodox World: The Legal Framework for Greek and Bulgarian Muslims, 1912-1923’, presented at panel BK1 of the 12th ASN Convention, Columbia University, New York, 12-14 April 2007.
• ‘EU Accession Process and Bulgaria’s post-1989 Balkan Policy’, presented at Bulgaria and Europe: Past, Present, Future, conference, School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES), University College London (UCL), 5 March 2004.
• ‘Foreign Policy Agendas of the Bulgarian Political Parties in the 1990s’, presented at the CE6 panel of the 8th ASN Annual Convention, Columbia University, New York, 3-5 April 2003.
• ‘Bulgarian Political Parties in the 1990s: Questing Political Identities and Modifying Foreign Policy Agendas?’, presented at the annual British Association for Slavonic and East European Studies (BASEES) conference, Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, 29-31 March 2003.
• ‘Muslim Minorities in an Orthodox World: The Legal Framework of the Muslim Communities in Greek and National Macedonia, 1912-1923’, presented at the seminar for postgraduate students, Department of Modern Greek Studies, King’s College London, 1 November 2002.
• ‘Socio-economic and Organizational Changes of the Muslim Communities of the Greek and Bulgarian Macedonia, 1912-1923’, presented at Evolutions of the Modern Historiography, Austrian Academy of Science, 18-21 December 1999.