We would like to welcome Shpend Kursani who joins our steering committee as Outreach officer! The post responds to the ongoing growth of our network and would lead on outreach strategy and implementation, and we are excited foe the contribution that Shpend will be making to this new position. 

Shpend Kursani is a Lecturer at the University of Tartu. He defended his PhD thesis on Contested States: The Struggle for Survival and Recognition in the Post-1945 International Order (European University Institute, 2020). He has published on coordinated recognition practices of de facto states and has ongoing works on conceptual, theoretical, and methodological aspects of the study of de facto states.

Upon taking up the position, Sphend reflected: ‘I am excited to have the opportunity to serve as an outreach office for our ECPR Research Network where I aim to contribute and build greater awareness and understanding of academic and practical issues and challenges related to statehood, sovereignty, and conflict. I am very much looking forward to continuing and building on the great work that our team has been doing, hoping to expand the outreach of the network and its activities’.