Neli V. Kirilova

Neli Kirilova is a Bulgarian researcher, analysing international relations - politics and security studies. Currently, Neli Kirilova is a PhD Fellow at the European Doctoral School on CSDP/CFSP, European Security and Defence College (ESDC), Brussels, Belgium, and a PhD candidate in International Relations and Security Studies at the Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary. Her PhD research explores geopolitical competition in the Black Sea region between Russia, Turkey and the EU, and the incompatible concept of power as a reason for international conflicts and security crises. As a visiting researcher at the Brussels School of International Studies – University of Kent, she developed a theoretical framework on contemporary balance of power theory (2020), which she applies to the Black Sea region. Ms Neli Kirilova holds an International Masters degree in Russian, Central and East European Studies (University of Glasgow, UK); an MA in Political Science (Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary); an MA in International Relations: International Public Administration and a BA in International Relations (University of National and World Economy, Sofia, Bulgaria). She implemented international exchange studies at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain; and held visiting fellowships at the Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod, Russia; the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy in Baku; and the Ilia State University in Tbilisi, Georgia. She successfully defended two MA theses: ‘The role of Russia within BSEC. Implications to regional diplomacy’ (2015) and ‘Energy diplomacy in the EU-Russia relations and the role of Bulgaria’ (2013).(2013).

Publications

Regional Conflict Prevention and Perceived Power Competition: Six Elements of Power
Regional Conflict Prevention and Perceived Power Competition: Six Elements of Power
Neli V. Kirilova. © 2024. 23 pages.
The unpredicted escalation of regional security crises and conflicts challenges the stability in the contemporary international system. The conflict prevention phase is key to...