Vanja Kočevar is a researcher at the Milko Kos Historical Institute. He holds a PhD in history from the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, and has pursued further training at the universities of Tübingen, Graz, and Vienna. His research focuses on the political history of the Slovenian ethnic territory in the early modern period, especially the Duchy of Carniola, symbolic communication and political rituals in provincial diets and hereditary homages, the political dimensions of the Counter-Reformation and Catholic renewal, the development of collective identities, and the history of epidemics.
Vanja Kočevar’s research focuses on the political history of the Duchy of Carniola and the formation of collective identities in the Slovenian lands before the rise of national movements. He concentrates on the period of Archduke and Emperor Ferdinand II’s rule in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, marked by sharp, confessionally charged conflict between the Catholic ruler and a predominantly Protestant nobility. In this context, he examines the Counter-Reformation and Catholic renewal, topics that formed the basis of his doctoral dissertation and several studies, including critical editions of primary sources.
He also approaches Carniolan political history through the study of symbolic communication and political rituals, particularly provincial diets and ceremonies of hereditary homage, and has reconstructed the homages of 1597, 1631, and 1728. His work on collective identities focuses on the Slovenian ethnic community before national movements, introducing new theoretical and methodological approaches that address both self-identifications and so‑called objective criteria. On this topic he has published several studies, edited a substantial scholarly monograph, and leads a basic research project. He has also published two studies on the history of epidemics in the early modern period.
- Kolektivne identitete skozi prizmo zgodovine dolgega trajanja. Slovenski pogledi, Vanja Kočevar, 2022.
- Generalni mandat cesarja Ferdinanda II. o verskih razmerah na Kranjskem iz leta 1631: (ne)prilagoditev kranjskih elit na protireformacijo in katoliško prenovo, Vanja Kočevar, 2022.
- Ljubljana kot prizorišče dedne poklonitve cesarju Karlu VI. leta 1728: raba javnih prostorov za vladarsko inscenacijo na primeru kranjske prestolnice, Vanja Kočevar, 2022.
- Patent cesarja Ferdinanda II. o spreobrnjenju ali izselitvi protestantskega plemstva notranjeavstrijskih dežel iz leta 1628: kritična objava in prevod, Vanja Kočevar, 2020.
- Vloga reformacije v slovenski etnogenezi: etnična kolektivna identiteta na premici zgodovine dolgega trajanja, Vanja Kočevar, 2021.
- Collective Identities and Estate Society between Central and Southeastern Europe from the Invention of the Printing Press to the Emergence of National Movements (January 1, 2025 - December 31, 2027)
- The Material Culture of Nobility in the Territory of Slovenia in the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Period (October 1, 2023 - September 30, 2026)
- Epidemics and healthcare in interaction. Epidemics as a public health problem in Slovenian territory from plague epidemics to the 20th century (fundamental research project • October 1, 2021 - September 30, 2025)
- Recognition of University of Ljubljana, Faculty of arts for best PhD in the humanities in the academic year 2016–2017.