Dr. Ivona Lađevac is a senior research fellow and Deputy Director at the Institute of International Politics and Economics (IIPE) in Belgrade, Serbia, with over two decades of experience in research on international relations and global governance. Since joining the Institute in 2001, she has played an active role in shaping research agendas, coordinating international projects, and strengthening institutional cooperation with academic and policy-oriented partners worldwide.

Dr. Lađevac completed her undergraduate and master’s studies in International Relations at the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Belgrade, and earned her Ph.D. at the Faculty of Security Studies. Her doctoral dissertation, “Strategic Partnership of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China within the Global Security Context,” reflects her long-standing scholarly interest in great-power relations, global security, and the transformation of the international order.

Her research focuses on contemporary global governance challenges, with particular emphasis on international institutions, strategic partnerships, emerging powers, and multilateral cooperation. She has a strong interdisciplinary orientation and extensive experience in policy-relevant research, linking academic analysis with real-world governance processes. From 2017 to 2021, Dr. Lađevac served as first Head of the newly established Center for “One Belt, One Road” Studies at IIPE, where she coordinated research on global connectivity initiatives and their implications for international governance and regional development.

Dr. Lađevac has held key editorial and leadership roles, including serving as Editor-in-Chief and currently as Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the peer-reviewed journal International Problems. She was the principal investigator and project manager of several nationally funded research projects, including “Serbia and Challenges in International Relations in 2025” and the COMPASS project, which examines Serbia’s relations with the European Union and China from a governance and policy perspective.

Her academic output includes numerous scientific articles, three monographs, and edited volumes, with publications addressing global governance, international security, China–Russia relations, and the evolving architecture of international cooperation. She regularly presents her research at international conferences and contributes to expert discussions and policy dialogues.

Dr. Lađevac is actively engaged in international research networks and governance-oriented initiatives. She is a member of the Governing Board of the International Center for Research and Training in Science and Technology (CISTRAT) under the Chinese Academy for Science and Technology for Development, as well as a member of the International Board of the Center for Global Changes at the University of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Skopje.