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The Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG) is an open group of policy analysts, scholars and researchers, established as a joint initiative of the European Fund for the Balkans and the Centre for Southeast European Studies of the University of Graz.

The goal of the Group is to support the integration of the Western Balkans in the European Union, and to contribute to the consolidation of democracy in the region, through the facilitation of evidence-based policy dialogue.

To this end, BiEPAG is conceptualised as a platform to bring closer the various political and developmental stakeholders of the individual countries of the Western Balkans – on one side, and the bodies and branches of the European Union and the governments of its constituent countries – on the other.

Four main methods are used in BiEPAG’s work:

1. Preparation of research-based proposals for policy measures aimed at the acceleration of reforms and at the democratisation of the Western Balkan countries, as well as at overcoming the enlargement hiatus inside the European Union;

2. Dissemination of the recommendations and – with support from BiEPAG’s vast network of partners in the European Union and in the Western Balkan countries – the advocacy of the recommended measures at high-level meetings and in expert fora;

3. Promotion of expert debate – through bringing together policy and expert communities and stimulating the exchange of divergent views;

4. Promotion and the democratisation of public debate on topics relevant to the Europeanisation of the Western Balkans – through the BiEPAG blog, which brings together policy makers, analysts and scholars to debate the most pressing issues in the region.

This blog is dedicated to sharing reflections on research on Southeastern Europe. In it, we discuss our experiences on how to research Southeastern Europe, notes from archives, methodological challenges, experiences in the field and broader reflections on conducting research on the region from an interdisciplinary background. This blog is an open platform for researchers at all levels and from an interdisciplinary background.