Warwick Law School welcomes a new Leverhulme Early Career Fellow to our community.

Marina Velickovic joins us from Kent Law School where she was previously a Lecturer. Prior to that Marina finished her PhD in International Law at the University of Cambridge.

When asked about joining Warwick Law School, Marina told us “I am really excited about joining Warwick as it has such a brilliant reputation for critical international law, and so many people whose work has profoundly shaped my own work are based here. So, I am definitely excited, and maybe just a little bit intimidated”.

We chatted to find out more...

What will you be doing at Warwick?

I will be a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, which means that my role is 100% research focused, which is honestly a dream. So, I have quite a lot planned for the next three years, but the first thing I’ll be working on is my book manuscript and getting the logistics in place for my fieldwork later on in the year.

What are your research interests and what current research projects are you involved in?

I am interested in how international law (re)produces structures of violence. So, on the one hand I am interested in different theories that provide an account of this aspect of law’s operation, and on the other hand I am interested in exploring this dynamic in practice. In my current project I am doing this by looking at the role that international organisations and financial institutions played in post-war reconfiguration of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and specifically its transition from socialism to something-like-capitalism. This is all a long way of saying that I’m interested in political economy, Marxism and critical theory as lenses that can help me understand this dimension of international law.

Why did you decide to study/work in law?

I grew up in Bosnia after the war and international law was just everywhere – from televised trials at the ICTY, to peacekeepers and so many different UN agencies. On one hand, the messaging was that all these things were meant to be making our lives better, but what I was learning from my environment was that people didn’t necessarily feel that they were. Therefore, I was really interested in how international law gets to keep telling this story of its benevolence and greatness when it doesn’t really seem to be doing that. I went to law school to try and figure that out, so I was always very focused on international law, and then I slowly realised that critical theory could help me figure out some answers. In a sense I’ve always wanted to be doing exactly what I am doing now (even if I didn’t really have the vocabulary to articulate it), and so I do feel incredibly fortunate that I get to work on this puzzle every day.

What do you like to do when you are not working?

We have a border collie who is incredibly active so we spend a lot of time on walks. I also spend a lot of time googling how to keep my plants alive and I’m an (almost) enthusiastic runner.

Professor Andrew Williams, Head of School has said "I am delighted to welcome our new colleagues to our academic team. They are outstanding scholars in a variety of fields who each promise to become a major part of our community over the coming years".

Good luck in your first term Marina, we are thrilled to have you with us.