Center Administration

Vesko Garčević, Director

Vesko Garčević is Professor of the Practice of International Relations at the Pardee School of Global Studies. Garčević served as the Ambassador of Montenegro in Brussels (NATO) and Vienna (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe – OSCE and other International Organizations). He was a Montenegrin Ambassador to Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. During his diplomatic career he held important positions at the challenging political time of the dissolution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and democratic transition of Montenegro. After Montenegro regained independence in 2006, he served as the first Montenegrin Ambassador to Austria and the OSCE. He has outstanding knowledge of multilateral issues, especially in the field of European Security.

Ambassador Garčević participated in prestigious international conferences on security such as German Marshall Fund’s Brussels Forum, Munich Security Conference and Halifax International Security Forum. With his qualifications he contributed as the panelist to many conferences and seminars about European security, security of South East Europe and Western Balkans. He also participated in many high-level meetings, including NATO Summits, UN General Assembly meetings and ministerial conferences. He was interviewed or quoted by numerous internationally renowned media outlets such as BBC, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, Voice of America etc. He participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program in 2004 and was awarded Honorary Citizen Certificate by the State of Texas.

Ambassador Garčević co-authored a book about the relations between Serbia and Montenegro: Montenegro and Serbia: A Velvet Divorce?(Bloomsbury Academic) which will be released in February 2025. This is the first comprehensive analysis of the often divergent history between Serbia and Montenegro in the tumultuous period between 1988 and 2023.

Ambassador Garčević’s areas of expertise include multilateral diplomacy, European security, EU enlargement and NATO open door policy, democratic transition in Eastern and South-East Europe, the Western Balkans, and diplomacy of small states in global affairs. For a full bio and publication list, please visit Amb. Garčević’s profile on the Pardee School’s webpage.

Alexa Arena, Assistant Director

EMAIL: alarena@bu.edu

Alexa Arena joined the Center for the Study of Europe as Assistant Director in August 2025. Alexa comes to this role with a rich background in program management, education, and community-centered work that bridges academic and civic engagement. Before joining BU, she served as Director of Employment Services and Operations Manager at the New American Association of Massachusetts (NAAM), where she led efforts to connect immigrant and refugee communities with employment, training, and support services and helped remove barriers to stable work and economic inclusion. Her earlier work includes international refugee resettlement and trauma-informed case management with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees  (UNHCR) and cultural orientation training through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, experiences that underscore her deep commitment to equity and global perspectives. Alexa holds a B.A. in International Affairs and Cultural Anthropology from Northeastern University and an M.A. in Global Migration and Policy from Tel Aviv University, and she brings to CSE S a blend of operational expertise, intercultural fluency, and passion for supporting students and faculty in advancing our mission.

Robert Trottier, Communications Assistant

EMAIL: rt23@bu.edu

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-trottier-252388292

Robert Trottier joined the Center for the Study of Europe as Communications Assistant in February 2026. He is a first-year Master’s candidate in International Affairs at Boston University’s Pardee School of Global Studies, specializing in Diplomacy. Robert comes to this role with a strong academic foundation in global politics and policy analysis, as well as hands-on experience in international research and institutional engagement.

Before joining BU, Robert completed an undergraduate double honours degree in Politics & International Relations and Criminology at the University of Western Ontario. His research has taken him to Ethiopia, where he conducted fieldwork on global market access, trade, and development in collaboration with high-ranking officials from the African Union, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Canadian Embassy, and the European Union.

At the Center, Robert aims to help streamline collaborations between students and the Center’s leadership, while supporting the efficiency and academic initiatives that advance its mission.