EDUCATION

Ph.D. (Summa Cum Laude): Safety and Security Sciences, Obuda Univeristy, Budapest, Hungary (2021)

MA.   : Political Science, Political Science, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary (2017)

BA. (Magna Cum Laude): Political Science, Political Science, European University of Tirana, Tirana, Albania (2014)

AREAS OF INTEREST

Research: Voting Behavior, Electoral Systems, Populism, Sociological Research, European Studies.

Teaching: Research and Design, Party Politics and European Integration, Introduction to Comparative Politics.

EXPERIENCE

Academic Experience

Senior Lecturer in Political Science and International Relations, University of New York Tirana (2023-current)

Senior Lecturer in Political Science and International Relations, European University of Tirana (2017-2023)

Professional Experience

Leading researcher and designer of the experiment model in Testing the Level of Integrity of the Public Administration, Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM) (2023)

Member of the Task Force for the Project “Next Generation Albania”- British Council, Albania (2023)

Leading researcher in projects funded by European Commission (Erasmus + CBHE) (2017-current)

Project Manager in projects funded by European Commission (Erasmus + CBHE) (2017-current)

National Electoral Advisor, Local Elections 2023 and Parliamentary Elections 2021 Albania, OSCE/ODIHR (Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights) (2021, 2023)

Intervention Line Manager for Work Based Learning, Skills for Job Project, Swisscontact, (2021)

Junior Researcher and Project Assistant, The CEU Center for European Neighborhood Studies (CENS), Budapest, Hungary (2015-2017)

Administrative Experience

Chair of the Research, Project, And Innovation Center, (2023-current)

Director of Centre for Methodology and Research, European University of Tirana, (2023)

Programme Director of Liberal Institute of Tirana Pashko, (2022-2023)

Director of Career Office and Alumni Relation Office, European University of Tirana (2019-2021)

Project Manager, Office for Project Development and Internationalization, EUT (2017-2023)

RESEARCH OUTPUTS

Refereed Journal Articles

Danaj, A., & Iljazaj, E. (2023). Unveiling the perils – addressing clientelism and corruption in post-communist Albania through enlightened civic engagement and electoral accountability. Jus & Justicia, 17(2), 7–22.

Danaj, A., Lazányi, K., & Bilan, Y. (2018). Perceptions and Implications of Immigration in France – Economic, Social, Political and Cultural Perspectives. Economics and Sociology, 11(3), 226-247.

Danaj, A., Lazányi, K., & Bilan, S. (2018). Euroscepticism and populism in Hungary: The analysis of the prime minister’s discourse. Journal of International Studies, 11(1), 240-247.

Danaj, A., Lazányi, K., & Lami, R. (2017). Analysis of political discourses in Albania. Czech Journal of Social Sciences, Business and Economics. 6 (4), 6-18.

Danaj, A., & Lami, R. (2017). The economic determinants of voter turnout: A quantitative Approach. POLIS, 16, 16, 117-131

Refereed Conference Presentations

Danaj, A. (2023). Safeguarding Critical Infrastructure: An Examination of Security Challenges and the Role of Organizational Culture in Albania. FIKUSZ Conference 2023, Obuda University, Budapest, Hungary.

Danaj, A. (2022). The rise of new autocrats. Young Scholars Forum on Central and South-Eastern Europe 2022, Vienna, Austria.

Danaj, A., Lazányi, K., & Kasa, H. (2021). The trust of the Albanian youth towards the European Union institutions. Sociology and Healthcare, NORDSCI International Conference, (Book 1, Conference Proceedings, pp. 413-420).

Danaj, A. (2019). Measuring the social capital in Albania. FIKUSZ 2019, Hungary.

Danaj, A., & Lami, R. (2018). The perception of trust in post-authoritarian societies. MEB 2018, Hungary.

Danaj, A., & Cabiri, K. (2017). The Rise of Populism in Central and Eastern Europe: A Quantitative Approach. FIKUSZ 2017, Hungary.

Danaj, A., & Cabiri, K. (2017). Electoral System, Party System and Turnout (Albanian Case, Parliamentary Elections During 1991-2013. In Next Europe: interdisciplinary perspectives on the western Balkans (ISBN 978-9928-190-39-3).

Cabiri, K., & Danaj, A. (Year). Emerging Populism: A New Dividing Line? University of Malmo, Sweden.

Books and Book Chapters

Lami, R., & Danaj, A. (2017). The Local Democracy crisis in Albania. UET Press.

Lazányi, K., & Danaj, A. (2022). Can Trust Be a Factor of Organisational Safety and Security? (pp. 379-390). NATO Science for Peace and Security Series C: Environmental Security. Lazányi, K., & Danaj, A. (2022). Critical Threat of Critical Infrastructures: The Human Factor (pp. 1-11). NATO Science for Peace and Security Series C: Environmental Security.

Mijo, K. Ç., & Danaj, A. (2017). Explaining the Trajectories of Post-Communist Democratization. The Case of Albania. Central and Eastern European Socio-Political and Legal Transition Revisited, 137. Peter Lang.

Editorship

Editorial Board member of the Humanities & Social Sciences Communications (2022-current)

Editorial Board member of the Journal of Management and Science (2021-current)

Editorial Board member of the OUeBuletin (2018- 2023)

Editorial Board member of the Acta (2018- 2022)

AWARDS AND HONORS

2014: Developing Human Rights at the Heart of Higher Education, University of Roehampton, London, UK, Founded by TEMPUS Programme.

2018: PhD Scholarship, New National Excellence Program of the Ministry of Human Capacities of Hungary for the Doctoral Studies, Obuda University, Hungary.

2021: Receiver of the Summa Cum Laude PhD Degree upon completion of the doctoral studies, awarded by the High Council of Science, Budapest, Hungary.