Chief Advisor to the REDETE Network

Prof. Vassilios Fouskas
University of East London, UK


Call for Papers:

University of Banja Luka & Marche Polytechnic University
organise
The 13th REDETE Conference
REDETE – Rethinking Economic Development, Entrepreneurship and Territorial Cohesion

Theme: Geopolitical Shifts, Supply Chains, and Regional Resilience in the Adriatic–Ionian Region and the Western Balkans

9–10 September 2026 | Ancona, Italy

REDETE26 invites scholars, policymakers, and practitioners to contribute to its 14th annual conference dedicated to economic development and entrepreneurship in transition economies. The 2026 edition takes place amid profound geopolitical and geo-economic transformations reshaping global value chains, industrial strategies, and regional development models. Heightened geopolitical tensions, supply-chain disruptions, energy insecurity, and the twin green and digital transitions are redefining Europe’s approach to strategic autonomy, territorial cohesion, and EU enlargement. In this context, the Adriatic–Ionian region and the Western Balkans emerge as strategically pivotal spaces linking EU Member States and accession countries, global markets, and regional production systems.

REDETE26 provides a forum to examine how geopolitical uncertainty, nearshoring, innovation policy, and entrepreneurship interact to shape regional development trajectories, with a particular focus on the European Union Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region (EUSAIR) and the EU Growth Plan for the Western Balkans.

Topics of Interest Include (but Are Not Limited to):
  • Geopolitical risk and geo-economics
  • Supply-chain restructuring, nearshoring, and industrial resilience
  • EU enlargement, Europeanisation, and macro-regional strategies
  • Smart Specialisation Strategies and innovation ecosystems
  • Entrepreneurship and SMEs: future perspectives
  • Digital transformation, data governance, and economic sovereignty
  • Energy security, green transition, and sustainable development
  • Youth, skills, and labour-market transformation
  • Free movement of goods, services and workers

Both theoretical and empirical papers are welcome, as are policy-oriented and applied contributions.

Important Dates:
  • Abstract Submission Deadline: May 1, 2026
  • Full Paper Submission Deadline: June 30, 2026

The submission must be sent by the deadline to the following address: redete@unibl.org.

Local Organising Committee
  • Donato Iacobucci
  • Daniele Bregoli
  • Ilijana Radaković
Scientific Committee
  • Ruta Adis, USA
  • Nikša Alfirević, Croatia
  • Jovo Ateljević, BiH
  • Nemanja Berber, Serbia
  • Erblin Berisha, Italy
  • Giulia Bettin, Italy
  • Predrag Bjelić, Serbia
  • Jelena Budak, Croatia
  • Andrew Burke, UK
  • Ron A. Boschma, Netherlands
  • Marco Cucculelli, Italy
  • Dragan Gligorić, BiH
  • Donato Iacobucci, Italy
  • Diego d’Adda, Italy
  • Maja Đukić Ivanović, Serbia
  • Ljiljana Eraković, New Zealand
  • Valentina Giannini, Italy
  • Daniele Bregoli, Italy
  • Ilijana Radaković, Italy
  • Dejan Jović, Croatia
  • Joern Kleinert, Austria
  • Milenko Krajišnik, BiH
  • Marco Ciro Liscio, Italy
  • Dragan Milovanović, BiH
  • Ana Mugoša, Montenegro
  • Martina Orci, Italy
  • Georgios Panos, UK
  • Andrea Perna, Italy
  • Francesco Perugini, Italy
  • Saša Petković, BiH
  • Schampa Roy-Mukherjee, UK
  • Peter Rosa, UK
  • Paolo Sospiro, Italy
  • Suzana Stefanović, Serbia
  • Andreas Stergiou, Greece
  • Ilija Stojanović, U.A. Emirates
  • Marjan Svetličić, Slovenia
  • Roy Thurik, Netherlands
  • Kivanc Ulusoy, Turkey
  • Marko Djogo, BiH