Jelena Belic
Assistant professor
- Name
- Dr. J. Belic
- Telephone
- 070 8009512
- j.belic@fsw.leidenuniv.nl
- ORCID iD
- 0000-0002-5984-6911
Jelena Belic is an assistant professor of political philosophy at the Institute of Political Science and a co-director of the Center for Political Philosophy at Leiden University.
I am an assistant professor at the Institute of Political Science and a co-director of the Center for Political Philosophy at Leiden University. My research interests include a range of topics in contemporary political philosophy. So far, I have worked on various fundamental problems concerning global justice as well as the normative foundations of human rights. I am increasingly turning my attention to challenges posed by climate change as well as digital technologies. From 2025-2026, I am pursuing an NWO ‘XS’ grant, Are We Subjected to Digital Coercion?
I have published my work in various journals, including Social Theory and Practice, Journal of Ethics, Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy, Journal of Moral Philosophy and Politics and Global Justice: Theory, Rhetoric, and Practice. I am also a co-editor of the book series Environmental Justice (Leiden University Press).
Besides doing philosophical research, I am also passionate about teaching and supervision, which I understand as thinking together with my students. In particular, I am interested in pedagogical approaches that nurture students’ curiosity and help them develop and enhance their critical and analytical thinking skills. I earned my doctorate in political philosophy from the Central European University in 2018. Before joining Leiden University, I was a Postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for Advanced Studies (University of Rijeka), Central European University as well as at the ‘ETHOS’ Horizon2020 project led by Utrecht University. As a PhD student, I also spent some time as a visiting researcher at the Australian National University (2016).
PhD supervision
I am available to supervise PhD students who have a strong research interest in the areas of:
- Global and climate justice
- Philosophy of human rights
- Political philosophy and digital technologies
See more information on PhD positions:
Assistant professor
- Social & Behavioural Sciences
- Political Science
- Belic J., Canfield M.C., Griffin R., Lahmann H.C. & Sander B.J. (2025), Human rights in the governance of digital platforms: introduction to the special issue, Transnational Legal Theory : .
- Belic J., Canfield M.C., Griffin R., Lahmann H.C. & Sander B.J. (18 June 2024), The promise and perils of human rights for governing digital platforms: symposium introduction. Tech Policy Press: Tech Policy Press. [blog entry].
- Belic J., Meijers T. & Wewerinke-Singh M. (2024), Human rights and climate change: evolving intersections and critical perspectives, Global Justice: Theory, Practice, Rhetoric 14(2): .
- Belic J. (2024), Climate change as inhuman treatment , Global Justice: Theory, Practice, Rhetoric 14(02): 67-91.
- Belic J., Wewerinke-Singh M. & Meijers T. (2024), human rights and climate change: evolving intersections and critical perspectives, Global Justice: Theory, Practice, Rhetoric 14(2): 1-8.
- Belic J. & (2023), Institutions, automation, and legitimate expectations, Journal of Ethics 28(505 - 525): .
- Belic J. & Wewerinke-Singh M. (17 February 2022), Rethinking Human Rights in the Context of Climate Change. Justice Everywhere. [blog entry].
- Belic J. (2022), Institutions and Moral Demandingness , Journal of Moral Philosophy and Politics 10(1): 1-22.
- Belic J. & Bozac Z (2022), Structural injustice, shared obligations, and global civil society, Social Theory and Practice 48(4): 607-628.
- Dorner H. & Belic J. (2021), From an individual to an institution: observations about the evolutionary nature of conversations, International Journal of Academic Development 26(3): 210-233.
- Belic J. & Verschoor M. (21 October 2021), Vrijheid, fair play en de coronapas . Joop.nl, Opinie.
- Belic J. & Miklosi Z. (2020), Cosmopolitanism and Unipolarity: A Theory of Hegemonic Transition, Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy 23(7): 181 - 203.
- Knijn T., Belic J. & Zala M. (2020), Living and theorizing boundaries of justice. In: Knijn T. & Lepianka D. (Eds.), Justice and Vulnerability in Europe: An Interdisciplinary Approach: Edward Elgar Publishing. 233–250 .
- Belic J. (2017), When the Practice Gets Complicated: Human Rights, Migrants and Political Institutions. In: Maliks R. & Schafer J. (Eds.), Moral and Political Conceptions of Human Rights: Implications for Theory and Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press . 181-203.
- Belic J. (2016) The review of "Philosophical Foundations of Human Rights". Review of: Cruft R., Liao M. & Renzo M. (2015), Philosophical Foundations of Human Rights . Oxford: Oxford University Press. Public Law (4): 741 - 745.