My Journey in Political Science, Digital Participation, and Visual Communication
Mihajlo, born in Smederevo, Republic of Serbia, completed his bachelor’s degree in International Relations at the Faculty of Political Science, University of Belgrade. He pursued two master’s degrees: the first in US Studies at the same institution, and the second in European and Global Studies at the University of Padua, Italy. Specializing in digital participation, he defended his thesis titled “The Use of Digital Tools for Political Participation in Digital Democracy: A Qualitative Analysis of 10 Case Studies.”
Mihajlo gained hands-on experience as an intern at the Institute for Politics and Society in Prague, Czech Republic, and served as president of Team Youth Initiative, the oldest student organization at the Faculty of Political Science, University of Belgrade. His career in digital participation and visual communication continued as a freelance research associate, particularly for the Solonian Democracy Institute (Ireland), where he co-authored the 2024 edition of the Digital Democracy Report. Alongside this, Mihajlo has over a decade of visual communication experience, specializing in editorial design and data visualization. His work has garnered international recognition, including a feature in a Hong Kong-based magazine, underscoring his passion for crafting impactful visual narratives.
In January 2025, Mihajlo founded Octavian Consulting, a firm dedicated to improving the quality of participatory activities in digital democracy and beyond.
Octavian Consulting operates globally with a mission to ensure quality participation. We believe that every participatory problem is different and we pride ourselves on creating custom-tailored solutions. Octavian Consulting was founded in 2025 by Mihajlo Jakovljev, MA, LM, political scientist for international relations specializing in digital participation platforms.
Octavian Consulting offers a unique industry blend of strategic, research and creative consulting closely related to digital democracy in order to create independent custom solutions and tailored packages. Our consulting services are divided into two intertwined categories: digital participation and visual communication. Digital participation services include: (1) Giving advice – Recommendation; (2) Directing or providing operational assistance – Evaluation; (3) Transforming business processes – Strategy; in order to improve: (1) The efficiency of business operations of economic entities and public services; and (2) Organizational planning of business and other organizations. Visual communication services include directing and providing operational assistance in the creation of editorial content and data visualization.
EXPERIENCE
EDUCATION
Licenses & certifications
master thesis
The use of digital tools for political participation in digital democracy: Qualitative analysis of 10 case studies
This research aims to qualitatively analyze the use of digital tools for political participation in digital democracy using 10 case studies. Technological development is influencing every part of our reality. Political systems are not an exception. Democracies expanded by the use of information and communication technology are dubbed digital democracies. Digital democracies are forming new political participation forms by using digital tools to encourage political participation from their citizens. The core of the paper is an analysis of 10 case studies of digital participation platforms divided on three levels of applicability: parliamentary, local government and political party. There is a gap in understanding whether new digital innovations have a potential to shape the future of democratic processes or do they represent a failed experiment. The paper deals with understanding the use of digital tools for political participation in digital democracy from 2001 to 2020. Spatially, the paper will focus on Europe and individual countries of the world depending on the level of the analysis.
New Publication !
Digital Democracy Report 2024
R.H. Fuller and M. Jakovljev, 2024 SDI Digital Democracy Report (Solonian Democracy Institute, 2024)
I am happy to share that the 2024 edition of the Digital Democracy Report is now available! It’s been an absolute honour to collaborate on this publication with Dr. Roslyn Fuller, the founder and managing director of the Solonian Democracy Institute. In its fourth instalment, this report continues to be a beacon of insight into the evolving landscape of digital democracy technologies. The goal is to provide a repository for policymakers, NGOs and academics, as well as for the democracy software industry itself. This year’s edition evaluates 21 cutting-edge eDemocracy platforms from 17 countries. Each platform undergoes meticulous scrutiny across five key functionality areas.
With a new editorial design, meticulous art direction, and the incorporation of 15 intricate data visualizations, this edition promises to be both informative and visually captivating.
26. 10. 2020
Turkey’s Gas Ambitions
The aim of this policy paper is to delve into the complex natural gas network in Turkey founded under the pretext of a diversification strategy and examine its consequences in international relations. Following the current energy conflict in the East Mediterranean which threatens to destabilize the region, this policy paper focuses on the ever-fragile relations...
18. 11. 2020
Georgia Parliamentary Elections 2020
The aim of this paper is to analyze the recent parliamentary elections in Georgia through a prism of legislative endeavors, political schemes and international consequences and influences all forming a broad assumption of where to go next and answer a rather complex question – how does a country consolidate its democracy...
23. 11. 2020
The aftermath of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict 2020
On November 10th the official ceasefire agreement was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. The resulting consequence is the withdrawal of Armenian troops while Nagorno-Karabakh will remain within Azerbaijan...
7. 12. 2020
The Assassination of Iran’s top nuclear scientist
On the 27th of November 2020, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, Iran’s top nuclear scientist, was assassinated near Tehran. Iran’s government officials are blaming Israel for the attack; however, there is no definitive proof as Israel claims not to be involved...
14. 12. 2020
Threat to American democracy: Trump’s refusal to accept the election results
Under the circumstances imposed by the global pandemic, the United States presidential elections were held on November 3rd in an unprecedented fashion, enhancing the unyielding polarity and potentially endangering the foundations of American democracy...
22. 12. 2020
Europe’s last dictator: Is Lukashenko’s rule at an end?
Often depicted as ‘Europe’s last dictator’, the president of the Republic of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, has been a controversial personality for a long time. However, his presidency may finally come to an end after 26 years. We can distinguish three key pressure points...
master thesis
The influence of the idea of isolationism on the foreign policy of the United States of America in the interwar period, from 1918 to 1941.
This research aims to uncover the influence of the idea of isolationism on the foreign policy of the United States of America in the interwar period from 1918 to 1941. The interwar period in this paper includes the time frame from 1918 to 1941 – from the end of the First World War to the entry of the United States of America into the Second World War – and includes an analysis of the foreign policy activities of the presidential administrations of Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt until 1941, viewed through the prism of the idea of isolationism. The analysis of the mentioned period in the foreign policy of the United States of America contributes to the understanding of the American foreign policy and hints at its, often neglected, dual nature emphasized in the constant alternation of the influence of the ideas of isolationism and internationalism on the foreign policy of the United States of America.
2018
Poseta kralja Petra II Sjedinjenim Američkim Državama 1942. godine
Više od godinu dana nakon kapitulacije Jugoslavije, uspostavljanja jugoslovenskog otpora i jugoslovenske vlade u izgnanstvu sa sedištem u Londonu, američko – srpski (jugoslovenski) diplomatski odnosi dostižu svoj vrhunac...
2018
Preko okeana do otadžbine
Ukupan broj Srba u Sjedinjenim Američkim Državama bio je 80,000. Do sigurnih brojeva se ne može doći s obzirom na stalno kretanje srpskog stanovništva iz mesta u mesto. Za vreme balkanskih ratova otišlo je u srpsku vojsku 7,000 Srba...
Americano (prev. Naša priča), Research paper, Mihajlo Jakovljev, 2018
Americano (prev. Naša priča), Research Paper, Mihajlo Jakovljev, 2018
Mihajlo Jakovljev is an MA, LM, Political Scientist specializing in Digital Political Participation. He is the founder and director of Octavian Consulting for Digital Participation and Visual Communication.
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