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THE TEAM

Permanent Fellows

Johannes Maerk has taught Political Philosophy at the University of Baja California Sur and Cultural Studies at Intercontinental University in Mexico City. He has been Professor in International Relations at the public University of Quintana Roo (Mexico) from 1997 to 2004 (currently on leave). Since 2005 Johannes is director of Ideaz in Vienna and lecturer at various universities in Vienna and abroad. His publications include Existe una epistemología latinoamericana? (co-editor Magaly Cabrolié and Como democratizar la democracia?. A publication list you can find here.

Juan Jorge Bautista Gómez has dedicated his academic work to art, culture and human rights. He has been a research professor (1998-2014) of the Center for Legal Research of the School of Law and Social Sciences at the Autonomous University "Benito Juárez" of Oaxaca (UABJO), Mexico, school of which he was Director (2010-14). He has compiled seven books, and has published his research in various academic journals. He has directed the academic journals Revista Jurídica de Posgrado (2002-05) and Cuadernos de Literatura Jurídica (2006-10) published by UABJO. He is a regular contributor to various newspapers and magazines where he publishes caricatures and feature articles on politics, art and culture. He is an external lecturer of the Faculty of Law of the University of Vienna, Austria (2019-to date) and since 2018 he joined the IDEAZ Institute in Vienna, Austria as a researcher. He is an active visual artist, producer of painting, graphics and sculpture, and has exhibited his plastic work in various cultural centers, museums and galleries in Mexico, Spain, the United States, Cuba, Germany, Italy, Austria, etc. He has a Master in Philosophy of Law and Politics (1996-98) from the UABJO, and a Master (2009-11) and Doctor (2017) in Advanced Studies in Human Rights from the University Carlos III of Madrid, Spain. His artistic training was forged in various Visual Arts Workshops at the UABJO Faculty of Fine Arts. Painting and drawing, (1987-1990) and in the Rufino Tamayo Visual Arts Workshop in Oaxaca, Mexico, Sculpture, (1990-93).

Renata de Melo Rosa holds a degree in Social Sciences from the Rio de Janeiro State University, UERJ (1997), a degree in Sociology and Anthropology from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, UFRJ (1999), a doctorate in Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology from the University of Brasilia ( 2003) and postdoctoral degree from the National Institute of Adminstration, Gestion et Hautes Etudes Internationales of the Haitian State University (2007). She was head of the International Relations Department at the University Center of Brasilia (Uniceub) from 2006 to 2019. Renata has experience in Anthropology, Sociology and International Relations: contemporary migratory flows with gender and race, political history of the Haiti; fragile states; insufficiency of the state; women's participation in politics, analysis of UN civil stabilization missions.

Walter Fend has been working at the Institute of Conflict Research/Vienna and is currently desk officer at the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum (BFA). Between 1998 and 2003 Walter was a member of the OSCE-Mission to Croatia and has been participating since 1996 in several OSCE and EU Election Observation Missions in the Balkans, Palestine and Yemen.

Klaus Fischer obtained a PhD in political science from the University of Innsbruck, Austria. He works as journalist for Austrian and Foreign media. He focuses on energy issues and sustainable development. Klaus has numerous publications in German and English in his field of specialization – among them: „World Energy Security Policy - Asia on the Move“ In: „China: The Rising Power“ (editores Gunter Hauser y Franz Kernic, 2009) asi como „Environmental Protection: Global Challenges for the EU“ In: „The European Union - A Global Actor?“ (Editores Sven Gareis, Gunter Hauser y Franz Kernic, 2013).

Martin Zapata is a researcher with extensive work experience as an expert and consultant for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Inter-American Development Bank, International Development Research Center, Japan International Cooperation Agency, and the Bolivian Ministry for Anti-Corruption, where he also served as Director General of Prevention, Ethics and Transparency. Mr. Zapata also researched and lectured in several academic institutions in Bolivia, Argentina and Austria, including the International Anti-Corruption Academy in Vienna/Laxenburg. Mr. Zapata received his law degree from the San Andres University in Bolivia, and his Master’s degrees from the University of Meiji in Japan (political science) and the University of Melbourne in Australia (public policy and management).

Bojana Kovačević Petrović is a full professor at the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of the University of Novi Sad, Serbia. She has a PhD in Hispanic Philology from the Faculty of Philology of the University of Belgrade. Her research fields are contemporary Spanish-American and Spanish literature, translation, Spanish and Latin American theatre, Hispanic cultures and cultural relations between Latin America / the Caribbean and the Balkans. She has published dozens of academic articles, participated in conferences in Spain, Serbia, Romania, Hungary, Montenegro and has published several articles and essays on the literary creation of Carlos Fuentes, Mario Vargas Llosa, Octavio Paz, Zoé Valdés, Roberto Bolaño, Guillermo Martínez, Federico García Lorca, and Fernando Arrabal. She has translated some thirty books from Spanish to Serbian: novels, essays, stories and plays by Spanish and Latin American authors. She has also edited two volumes of the Anthology of the Spanish-American story of the twentieth century (I), Anthology of the current Hispanic story and Anthology of children's and youth Spanish poetry. She is the author of the book Carlos Fuentes in search of identity in Serbian language (2019).

Visting fellows (2018)

Santiago Espinosa García holds a BA degree in Sociology (National Autonomous University of Mexico), a Diploma in Theory and History of Religions (UNAM), and MA.Sc. in Middle East Studies from  the University of Sakarya (Turkey). Research lines: identity and culturaldiversity in the Middle East and North Africa,  sociology/anthropology of religion, and contemporary Islamic societies. Currently he is studying a PhD in Social Anthropology (University ofGranada).
Outline of his research at the Ideaz Institute: 
The research is within the framework of his PhD. thesis project "Khamlia: Gnaoua Identity and Culture Through Popular Religious Practices. A Window to Contemporary Islamic Animism and Social Organization in the Eastern Moroccan Sahara" carried out at the Department of Social Anthropology of the University of Granada (Spain) under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Ángel Acuña Delgado, financed by the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACyT-Mexico). During his research stay at Ideaz-Institute (between February  and June 2018) he tries to build a bridge of institutional linkage and cultural dialogue. Santiago will use the extensive holdings of the Austrian National Library for this research project.

Eréndira Sarahí Pérez Ponce, BA in Political sciences and Public administration, with specialty in public administration,  National Autonomous University of México (UNAM). MA in Public Management cum laude from the same University and currently Student of the PhD in Social sciences (focus on Political science and  Administration). University of Granada, Spain. Publications of the following research lines: Open government, Transparency, Accountability, politics against corruption, Governance and Cultural governance.  Outline of her research at the Ideaz Institute:
Her doctoral research is about local governance and open government in Mexico in the framework of the implementation of the National Systems of Transparency and Anticorruption (2015-2018). The tesis is developed under the supervision of Dr. Susana Corzo Fernández (University of Granada, Spain). The project locates as starting point the different theories and approaches of the Reform of the State of last 30 years in order to understand why after the recurrent economic and democratic crises “Governance“ and “Open Government” are considered as good tools in the organization of the public good at present in the West. It also analizes its criticism and misunderstandings in the main epistemic communities that are tackling with specific problems of corruption. It results interesting from a political and administrative point of view the establishment during the las five years in Mexico of a National Systems of Transparence (SNT) and Anticorruption (SNA) like process products of governance and governmental opening. The project aims to elaborate an index that could offer the possibility of studying in depth the power structure of the Mexican municipal (local) level by means of both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, studies of good practices and comparative research.

Academic Advisory Board

The Academic Advisory Board provides the staff with guidance on all academic matters, particularly in regard to establishing the research agenda.

Ian Angus, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada.

Ian Boxill, The University of The West Indies, Mona, Jamaica.

Holger Henke, Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs at Wenzhou-Kean University, China.

Thomas Kesselring, University Bern, Switzerland.