INSTITUT DRUSTVENIH ZNANOSTI IVO PILAR

Their core work

The Ivo Pilar Institute is a Croatian social sciences research institute that studies how societies handle conflict, identity, and cultural change across Europe. Their core work spans youth radicalization and deradicalization, cultural heritage and identity formation, and the social effects of inequality and exclusion. They contribute empirical social research — surveys, cohort studies, policy analysis — to large European consortia tackling questions about what holds diverse societies together and what pulls them apart.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their earlier H2020 work (2016–2019), the Institute focused sharply on conflict-related social dynamics: youth radicalization, deradicalization, social exclusion, stigmatization, and inequality — often with a security-adjacent lens on Islamist and anti-Islamist movements. From 2018 onward, the emphasis shifted toward cultural identity, heritage, and the societal value of culture, alongside growing involvement in research infrastructure for cohort studies. The trajectory shows a move from studying social fractures to understanding the cultural and institutional foundations that promote cohesion.

Moving from studying social problems (radicalization, exclusion) toward building the cultural policy frameworks and research data infrastructure needed to address them — a shift from diagnosis to systems-level response.

How they like to work

Institute Pilar operates exclusively as a consortium partner, never as coordinator, contributing specialized social science expertise to larger European research teams. With 70 unique partners across 30 countries in just 6 projects, they join broad, geographically diverse consortia rather than returning to the same small group of collaborators. This pattern suggests they are sought after as a reliable Central/Southeast European voice in pan-European social research efforts.

Remarkably broad network for a mid-sized institute: 70 unique consortium partners spread across 30 countries from only 6 projects, indicating participation in large-scale pan-European research initiatives with strong geographic diversity.

What sets them apart

Institute Pilar offers a rare combination: deep expertise in both security-relevant social dynamics (radicalization, extremism) and cultural identity research, rooted in Croatia's specific post-conflict, EU-accession perspective. For consortium builders, they provide credible Southeast European coverage in social sciences — a region often underrepresented in Western-led projects. Their growing role in cohort research infrastructure also makes them a bridge between social science analysis and large-scale data collection networks.

Highlights from their portfolio

• CHIEF
  Largest single grant (EUR 358,868) — a major cultural heritage and European identity project that anchored the Institute's pivot toward cultural policy research.
• DARE
  Addressed one of Europe's most politically sensitive topics — radicalization and deradicalization — examining both Islamist and anti-Islamist movements with a gender lens.
• COORDINATE
  Most recent and infrastructure-focused project, building a pan-European cohort data network — signals the Institute's move into research infrastructure and data-driven social science.