Dr Michaelina Jakala is an ethnographer with a background in Peace Studies.  She has a PhD in Peace Studies (2011) from the University of Bradford in the UK (PhD research on peacebuilding, transitional justice and reparation amongst survivors of wartime sexual violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina), an MA in Central and Eastern European Studies (2004) from the Jagiellonian University in Poland, and a BA in Justice and Peace Studies (2002) from St. Catherine University in the United States.  Her research interests broadly focus on the everyday experiences of peacebuilding and transitional justice with particular interest in justice, reparation, and education amongst marginalised groups.  She has experience with participatory research and arts-based methods.

Prior to joining CPS she worked on the ESRC funded Localising International Law: Examining the Outreach Strategies of the War Crimes Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina project led by Dr Alex Jeffrey at the University of Cambridge.  

Dr Jakala has organised, chaired and presented at a variety of international conferences and workshops, previously led the MA in Peace and Conflict Studies and currently supervises PhD students.  She also has experience working with young people, peacebuilding and arts-based methods within the civil society sector in Bosnia-Herzegovina.