Ildiko Otova, Assoc. Prof.

Ildiko Otova holds a PhD in Political Science and is a laureate of the Mozer Scholarship for excellence in political science studies and civil courage. She is currently an Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Political Science at New Bulgarian University, where she also serves as a researcher at CERMES (Centre for Refugees, Migration and Ethnic Studies). Her teaching and research focus on migration and refugee issues, populism, the far right and extremism, and contemporary forms of antisemitism. Her latest book is “Migration and Populism in Bulgaria” (Routledge, 2021, co-authored). Otova is also an affiliate fellow and visiting scholar at the Schusterman Centre for Israel Studies at Brandeis University.

She has extensive experience in coordinating and participating in national and international research projects, including several Horizon 2020 projects, and serves as an external expert evaluating project proposals for the European Commission.

Beyond academia, Otova has worked in the non-governmental sector as a project expert and as a fundraising and advocacy consultant for leading humanitarian organizations. She has contributed to the design, coordination, and implementation of field projects for organizations such as the IRC and UNHCR. 

She has also worked in the public sector as a political analyst and speechwriter for the President of Bulgaria under three administrations.