Institute for Regional and International Studies

Current Staff

Stefan Ralchev

Position: Programme Director and Policy Analyst

Stefan Ralchev is Programme Director and Policy Analyst at IRIS. He has been with the Institute since 2009. Stefan coordinates project implementation at IRIS and contributes to fund-raising and event organisation. His main responsibility, however, is research and academic writing. Areas of expertise include democracy, security, Bulgarian politics, Balkan politics, regional cooperation in Southeast Europe and the Black Sea area, and EU integration.

Stefan holds a joint Master’s degree in Democracy and Human Rights in Southeast Europe from the Universities of Sarajevo and Bologna and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science/International Relations from the American University in Bulgaria.

The Institute for Regional and International Studies (IRIS) is an independent, non-government think tank. IRIS was established on June 11, 1997 by leading Bulgarian public and political figures, NGO leaders and prominent Bulgarian scholars in international relations, Balkan studies, history, social and political science, anthropology and economics.

The Institute for Regional and International Studies initiates, develops and implements civic strategies for democratic politics on national, regional and international level. The Institute promotes the values of democracy, civil society, freedom and respect of law, assists the process of Bulgarian integration in NATO and the EU and provides public policy analyses on current domestic and international issues. IRIS represents a strategic combination of advocacy-oriented and education-oriented think tank.