Sabine Rutar

Dr. Sabine Rutar is a Senior Research Associate at the Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies and Editor-in-Chief of Comparative Southeast European Studies. Her academic career spans institutions like the European University Institute in Florence and research stays at the University of Koper and Humboldt University Berlin.

• PhD in Modern History (European University Institute, 2001)
• Magistra Artium in History (University of Münster/Rome, 1996)
• Master’s in Education (Carthage College, 1992)

Rutar’s research focuses on labour history, particularly mining and maritime industries, 20th-century warfare, and historical remembrance. Her work examines resource exploitation during wartime, borderland conflicts, and postwar societal transformations.

Her recent publications, including Food, Scarcity and Power in Southeastern Europe (2024) and No Neighbors’ Lands in Postwar Europe (2023), analyze systemic violence, displacement, and economic strategies under occupation. Co-edited works and peer-reviewed articles emphasize microhistorical approaches and cross-border dynamics.

Scientific Awards:

• Feodor Lynen Fellowship (Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, 2007-2008)
• DAAD Project Funding (2011-2012, 2024)

Current projects include Resilient Infrastructures? Exploring Continuities in Yugoslav 20th Century and a monograph on industrial practices under Hitler and Tito. Her lectures at EHESS Paris and other institutions highlight comparative analyses of labor protests and borderland identity.