Professor Malešević's research interests include the comparative-historical and theoretical study of ethnicity, nation-states, nationalism, empires, ideology, war, violence and sociological theory.

Previously he held research and teaching appointments at the Institute for International Relations (Zagreb), the Centre for the Study of Nationalism, CEU (Prague)- where he worked with late Ernest Gellner -, and at the University of Galway.

He also held visiting professorships and fellowships at Université Libre de Bruxelles (Eric Remacle Chair in Conflict and Peace Studies), the Institute for Human Sciences, Vienna, the London School of Economics, Uppsala University, the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences, Amsterdam and the Australian Defence College, Canberra[1].

In 2023 Prof. Malešević received Robin M. Williams, Jr. Award for Distinguished Contributions to Scholarship, Teaching, and Service, from the American Sociological Association [4] [5].

His work has been translated into numerous languages including Albanian, Arabic, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Chinese, Croatian, French, Japanese, Persian, Portuguese, Serbian, Spanish, Turkish, and Russian.