prof. dr. Simona Kukovič / Prof. Dr. Simona Kukovič
simona.kukovic@fis.unm.si
Dr. Simona Kukovič je redna profesorica s področja politologije. Strokovno področje dr. Kukovič je politično in upravno lokalno vodenje, širše pa preučuje vodenje, primerjalne regionalne in lokalne oblasti, lokalno demokracijo in participacijo, lokalni in regionalni razvoj, javno upravo ter upravne in politične procese ter institucije. Je slovenska predstavnica v mrežah COST, generalna sekretarka in članica izvršilnega odbora Central European Political Science Association (CEPSA) ter glavna urednica mednarodne znanstvene revije Journal of Comparative Politics. Leta 2024 je dr. Kukovič uspešno zaključila specializacijo na Univerzi Yale (Connecticut, ZDA), na Fakulteti za menedžment, na programu vodenja.
Dr. Kukovič je bila gostujoča profesorica in/ali raziskovalka na več univerzah, med drugim na De Montfort University v Leicesterju (Velika Britanija, 2015), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Severna Karolina, ZDA, 2018), Paris Lodron University of Salzburg (Avstrija, 2018–2019) ter Montana State University (Montana, ZDA, 2022). Bila je nosilka podoktorskega projekta »Vodenje lokalne skupnosti: birokratizacija politike ali politizacija birokracije?« (2018–2020) ter šestih bilateralnih projektov med Republiko Slovenijo in ZDA, Črno goro, Avstrijo ter Bosno in Hercegovino.
Leta 2022 je dr. Kukovič prejela naziv Jean Monnet profesorica. V letih 2022–2024 je bila nosilka Jean Monnet katedre, v okviru katere je ustanovila Poletno akademijo vodenja. Leta 2024 je postala vodja Jean Monnet Centra odličnosti.
V obdobju 2025–2027 deluje v vlogi projektne menedžerke projekta Social Media Leadership Incubator for Danube Region (SMILE Incubator), ki se izvaja v okviru programa Interreg Danube Transnational Programme.
Dr. Kukovič je (so)avtorica več znanstvenih publikacij; med monografijami velja izpostaviti The Peculiar Evolution of Slovenian Local Government in Slovenian Politics and the State (obe izdani pri založbi Rowman & Littlefield, ZDA) ter Political System of Slovenia (Sampark, Kalkuta, Indija). Urednikovala je tudi zbornik z naslovom The Rise of Populism in Central and Eastern Europe (Edward Elgar, VB). V domačem prostoru je poznana po znanstvenih delih s področij lokalnega vodenja in lokalne samouprave, prav tako je avtorica standarda kakovosti »Upravljavska sposobnost občin (USO)«.
Celotna bibliografija je dostopna v sistemu Cobiss/SICRIS (www.sicris.si) pod evidenčno številko raziskovalke 33786.
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Dr Simona Kukovič is a Full Professor in the field of political science. Her primary area of expertise is political and administrative local leadership; more broadly, her research focuses on leadership, comparative regional and local government, local democracy and participation, local and regional development, public administration, as well as administrative and political processes and institutions. She is the Slovenian representative in COST networks, Secretary General and a member of the Executive Committee of the Central European Political Science Association (CEPSA), and Editor-in-Chief of the international academic journal Journal of Comparative Politics. In 2024, Dr Kukovič successfully completed an executive education in leadership at Yale University (Connecticut, USA), Faculty of Management.
Dr Kukovič has been a visiting professor and/or researcher at several universities, including De Montfort University in Leicester, United Kingdom (2015), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA (2018), Paris Lodron University of Salzburg, Austria (2018–2019), and Montana State University, Montana, USA (2022). She was the principal investigator of the postdoctoral project “Local Community Leadership: Bureaucratisation of Politics or Politicisation of Bureaucracy?” (2018–2020) and of six bilateral projects between the Republic of Slovenia and the USA, Montenegro, Austria, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In 2022, Dr Kukovič was awarded the title of Jean Monnet Professor. From 2022 to 2024, she held a Jean Monnet Chair, within the framework of which she also founded the Summer Leadership Academy. In 2024, she became the Head of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence.
For the period 2025–2027, she serves as the Project Manager of the Social Media Leadership Incubator for the Danube Region (SMILE Incubator), implemented within the Interreg Danube Transnational Programme.
Dr Kukovič is the (co-)author of numerous scholarly publications. Among her monographs, particular mention should be made of The Peculiar Evolution of Slovenian Local Government and Slovenian Politics and the State (both published by Rowman & Littlefield, USA), as well as Political System of Slovenia (Sampark, Kolkata, India). She also edited the volume The Rise of Populism in Central and Eastern Europe (Edward Elgar, UK). In Slovenia, she is well known for her academic work in the fields of local leadership and local self-government, and she is also the author of the quality standard “Municipal Governance Capacity (USO)”.
Her complete bibliography is available in the Cobiss/SICRIS system (www.sicris.si) under researcher ID number 33786.