Sonja Radosavljevic

I am a senior lecturer in mathematics, studying how the structure of social-ecological systems shapes their short- and long-term behavior. Using tools from dynamical systems theory, I focus on understanding dynamic landscapes, phenomena and patterns, like multistability, regime shifts and poverty traps, and identifying the conditions that enable resilience or transformation.

I work at the intersection of mathematics, sustainability science, and social-ecological systems research, with a focus on using dynamical systems modeling to explore resilience, transformation, and multistability. My research combines nonlinear differential equations, stability and bifurcation theory with concepts from resilience thinking to understand how feedbacks and system structure shape its short- and long-term behavior, such as collapse, recovery, or stability.

Much of my work investigates poverty traps in small-scale agriculture and aquaculture, where low productivity persists despite external support. By abstracting key ecological, economic, and social processes, including farmer decision-making, I aim to identify key mechanisms and leverage points for change. My models are not predictive in a narrow sense, but exploratory. They serve as analytical tools for reasoning about system dynamics, intervention timing, and the structural preconditions for sustainable transitions.

I collaborate with empirical researchers to ground stylized models in real-world contexts, particularly in regions facing resource constraints and environmental variability. The goal is to bridge analytical rigor with relevance, and to contribute theoretical insights that support better system understanding under uncertainty.

Books

Johansson, L-G, Banitz, T., Grimm, V., Hertz, T., Lindkvist, E., Martínez Peña, R., Radosavljevic, S., Ylikoski, P., & Schlüter. M. (2024). A Primer to Causal Reasoning About a Complex World. Springer Nature.

Djordjevic, D. S., Kolundzija, M. Z., Radosavljevic, S., & Mosic, D. (2022). A survey on 2× 2 operator matrices and their applications. Zb. Rad.(Beogr.), 20(28), 7-81.

Articles

Radosavljevic, S., Sanga, U., & Schlüter, M. (2024). Navigating simplicity and complexity of social-ecological systems through a dialogue between dynamical systems and agent-based models. Ecological Modelling, 495, 110788.

Hertz, T., Martínez-Peña, R., Radosavljevic, S., Lindkvist, E., Johansson, G., Ylikoski, P., & Schluter, M. (2024). Eliciting the plurality of causal reasoning in social-ecological systems research. Ecology and Society, 29(1).

Radosavljevic, S., Banitz, T., Grimm, V., Johansson, L. G., Lindkvist, E., Schlüter, M., & Ylikoski, P. (2023). Dynamical systems modeling for structural understanding of social-ecological systems: a primer. Ecological Complexity, 56, 101052.

Peña, R. M., Schlüter, M., Hertz, T., Banitz, T., Wennberg, K., Radosavljevic, S., & Ylikoski, P. (2023). Analysis of causal argumentation in social-ecological systems research.

Banitz, T., Schlüter, M., Lindkvist, E., Radosavljevic, S., Johansson, L. G., Ylikoski, P., ... & Grimm, V. (2022). Model-derived causal explanations are inherently constrained by hidden assumptions and context: The example of Baltic cod dynamics. Environmental Modelling & Software, 156, 105489.

Banitz, T., Hertz, T., Johansson, L. G., Lindkvist, E., Martinez Pena, R., Radosavljevic, S., ... & Grimm, V. (2022). Visualization of causation in social-ecological systems. Ecology & Society, 27(1).

Radosavljevic, S., Haider, L. J., Lade, S. J., & Schlüter, M. (2021). Implications of poverty traps across levels. World Development, 144, 105437.

Elsler, L.G., Frawley, T.H., Britten, G.L., Crowder, L.B., Gilly, W.F., Radosavljevic, S., Schlüter, M., DuBois, T, A. S. Crepin. Social relationship dynamics mediate climatic impacts on income inequality: evidence from the Humboldt squid fishery. Regional Environ Change 21, 35 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-021-01747-5

Martin, R., Radosavljevic, S., Schlüter, M. (2020). Short-term decisions in lake restoration have long-term consequences for water quality. Regional Environmental Change, 20(3), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-020-01643-4

Radosavljevic, S., Haider, L. J., Lade, S. J., & Schlüter, M. (2020). Effective alleviation of rural poverty depends on the interplay between assets, nutrients, water and soil quality, Ecological Economics, Vol. 169. doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2019.106494

Andersson, J., Kozlov, V., Radosavljevic, S., Tkachev, V., Wennergren, U. Density-dependent feedback in age-structured populations. Journal of Mathematical Sciences Vol. 242, No. 1, (2019), https://doi.org/10.1007/s10958-019-04464-x

Kozlov, V., Radosavljevic, S., Wennergren, U. Large-time behavior of the logistic age-structured population model in a variable environment. Asymptotic Analysis 102.1-2 (2017): 21-54.

V. Kozlov, S. Radosavljevic, B. O. Turesson, U. Wennergren. Estimating effective boundaries of population growth in a variable environment, Boundary Value Problems 2016: 172, DOI: 10.1186/s13661-016-0681-9

S. Radosavljevic and D. S. Djordjevic. On pairs of generalized and hypergeneralized projections in a Hilbert space. Functional Analysis, Approximation and Computation 5:2 (2013), 67-7