Marius Calu

Marius is a conflict prevention, peacebuilding, governance and development research specialist with more than a decade of experience leading policy analysis, evaluations and evidence syntheses in fragile, conflict-affected and transitional contexts. He provides strategic research and advisory support to UN agencies, donor governments, international organisations and civil-society actors, with expertise in inclusive governance, state–society relations, social cohesion, gender equality, political economy and conflict-sensitive programming.

As Chief Technical Adviser with UNDP Kosovo, Marius led multi-agency initiatives to strengthen social cohesion, interethnic dialogue, youth participation and gender equality. He directed Peacebuilding Fund projects, established monitoring and evaluation systems, supported the development of the Social Cohesion Index, and facilitated policy dialogue among government, civil society, international partners and donors. His work combined programme design and management with political analysis, evidence generation and practical policy recommendations in a sensitive post-conflict environment.

Marius has also worked as an International Consultant for UNDP’s Istanbul Regional Hub, where he led regional analysis on youth, inequality, digital transformation and just transition across Europe and Central Asia. His academic career includes research and teaching posts at King’s College London, University College London and Queen Mary University of London. He is the author of Kosovo Divided: Ethnicity, Nationalism and the Struggle for a State and has published on post-conflict statebuilding, governance in multiethnic societies, minority rights and external interventions. As a Research Associate on the EU-funded MAXCAP project at the London School of Economics, he conducted field research on judicial independence and institutional reform in Serbia in the context of EU enlargement and Europeanisation.

As a Senior Researcher at Bodhi Global Analysis, Marius leads and contributes to complex multi-country research, policy and evaluation assignments for clients across the UN system, donor governments and international NGOs. His current and recent work includes political-economy analysis, conflict sensitivity assessments, systematic evidence reviews, programme evaluations and qualitative comparative research on civic space, climate and conflict, federalism and decentralisation, child rights, social cohesion, gender and cross-border dynamics. He manages multidisciplinary teams, designs mixed-methods research, oversees stakeholder consultations and quality assurance, and translates evidence into policy-relevant recommendations, reports and learning products