I received my PhD in political science from Carleton University in Ottawa (January 2000). Prior to joining Laurier in 2001, I was a postdoctoral fellow at the Centre for the Study of Democracy, Queen’s University (2000-2001) in Kingston, Ont.

I came to Canada from Belgrade, Serbia, in 1990. Even though I received an honours degree in economics in 1984 from Belgrade University, once I moved to Canada I fell in love with all things “political” and gladly “traded” my economics degree for one in political science.

Deep economic, social and political changes in the past 20 years in what is now known as the Western Balkans have shaped my interests as an academic and a researcher. My research intersects comparative democratization, ethnic conflict management, and external state and nation building in the Western Balkans. I am particularly interested in the links between nationalism and law in the context of power-sharing institutions, citizenship and minority rights, and the European Union’s reform policies in the region (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Serbia).

• CIGI (Centre for International Governance Innovation, Waterloo) Collaborative Research Award (2014-2015).
• CIGI Collaborative Research Award (2012-2014).
• Wilfrid Laurier University Faculty Merit Award (2003/2004).
• Wilfrid Laurier University Students’ Union Teacher of the Year Award, 2003-2004.

Graduate students interested in the issues pertaining to my research (politics of the Western Balkans; comparative democratization and ethnic conflict management; European neighborhood policy; and the European Union’s support for external state/democracy building) are strongly encouraged to contact me.

My publications can be viewed on wlu-ca.academia.edu/DejanGuzina.

Fall 2023

PO481 - Comparative Ethnic Politics

PO484 - Democrats, Despots, Demagogues

Winter 2024

PO221 - Comparative Politics: States, Citizens and Identity

PO480/691Y - The Age of Anger and the Rise of Populism