Scopul nostru este sprijinirea şi promovarea cercetării ştiinţifice şi facilitarea comunicării între cercetătorii români din întreaga lume.
University of Ilinois, Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, .
E-mail: trimite un mesaj.
Nascut(a) in: 1981
Interese: Relatii Internationale, Politica Externa EU, Operatiuni de Mentinerea Pacii
Details:
Alexandru Balas
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Visiting Scholar, Leuven Center for Global Governance Studies, Catholic University of Leuven, summer 2009
• Presented preliminary research findings in the seminar “Inter-Institutional Cooperation in the Context of Peace Operations”
• Conducted field research interviews with EU, NATO and ECOWAS officials
• Research sponsored by the Nelle Signor Graduate Scholarship in International Relations, 2009 and University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign - Catholic University of Leuven (KUL) Faculty Exchange Program Award, 2009
Teaching Assistant, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, January-May 2009
• Teaching Assistant for PS100-Introduction to Political Science
• In charge of 3 seminar groups (approx. 80 students)
• Outstanding rating on the List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent, Spring 2009
Research Assistant, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, August 2007- December 2008 & August 2009-December 2009
• Working on the Correlates of War’s Rivalry Dataset for Prof. Paul Diehl and Prof. Gary Goertz
• Researching and coding diplomatic history between member states of the United Nations
Facilitator, West-Arab/Middle Eastern Student Dialogue, Connect Program, Soliya, January-May 2009 & January-December 2007
• Led group discussions between American, European and Middle Eastern students
• Used conflict resolution and mediation mechanisms to address stereotypes and prejudices between the groups
Regional Director, Americans for Informed Democracy (AID), August 2007- August 2008
• Promoting Millennium Development Goals awareness and activities
Data Curator, Scientific Information Group, Wolfram Research, Champaign, USA, June-August 2008
• Updating the CityData and CountryData for Mathematica 6.0.
Member of the Committee To Elect the Romanian Youth Delegates to the United Nation’s General Assembly 62nd Session, 2007-2008 (July 2007)
Administrative Assistant, Graduate Library, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, May-July 2008
Appointed UN Youth Spokesperson for the Millennium Development Goals by the United Nations, 2006-2008
Youth Delegate of Romania to the United Nations’ 61st General Assembly Session, 2006-2007, New York City, U.S., http://www.un.org/youth
Delegate of Romania at the United Nations’ Global Youth Leadership Summit, New York City, U.S., October 2006, www.un.org/youthsummit
Delegate of Romania at the United Nations’ European Union Youth Leadership Summit, Vienna, Austria, June, 2006
Research Assistant, Cline Center for Democracy, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 2006-2007
• Coded world elections for a world-wide electoral project
• Coded Brazilian elections
Assistant Project Manager, Conference on “European Union and Turkey: Cultures in Conflict?”, Conflict Resolution Club, Sabanci University, November 2005 to April 2006.
• Secured grant from European Commission for the conference
• Workshops Facilitator
Turkey Project Manager, EuroIslam Project, October 2004 to July 2006.
• Managed research team for the project, “Being Muslim in Europe, Being Christian in the Muslim World”, International Joint Oral History Project
• Conducted interviews with Christian Greek Orthodox community in Turkey
Teaching Assistant, Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey, September 2004-June 2006
• Courses: Social and Political Science 101 & 102 (2 groups for each course/semester)
• Student Evaluation Results: 4.75 (out of 5) for 2004-2005 academic year
Research Assistant, Report on “General Perspective on Court-Related Alternative Dispute Resolution and Methods for its Integration into the Legal Framework,” February-March 2005
• Delivered to Open Society Institute, Turkey
• Lessons learnt from Romania, United Kingdom, USA and France cases
Editor, South East European NGOs Network, Bucharest, November 2003-June 2004
• Edited training manual, “Peace and Development. The New Challenges for South East European NGOs.”
Project Assistant, Foundation for Democratic Changes, Bucharest; October 2003 - July 2004
• Served as the coordinator of the South East European NGOs Network; Website material designer
Paid Intern, Faith Based Caucus for the International Criminal Court, New York City, USA; May-August, 2003
• Conducted research on “Religious Persecution and the International Criminal Court.”
Administrative Assistant, Bailey/Howe Library, University of Vermont, Burlington, USA, August 2002-May 2003
• Work experience in the Special Collections and Periodicals Departments
Unpaid Intern, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania, Bucharest, June-July 2001
EDUCATION
PhD (ABD), Political Science, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, Urbana Champaign, Illinois, USA
• Dissertation : “Inter-Institutional Cooperation in the Context of Peace Operations” (forthcoming)
• Finished doctoral degree requirements in August 2009
• Accepted with full tuition scholarship + stipend
MA, Political Science, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA, 2006-2008
• MA Thesis: “Inter-Institutional Cooperation. The European Union and OSCE Cooperation in the ‘Frozen Conflicts’ of the Caucasus”
MA, Conflict Analysis and Resolution, Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey 2004-2006
• MA Thesis “The Impact of Political Structures on 3rd Party Intervention in
Cultural-Based Conflicts”
• GPA: 3.89 (out of 4.00)
BA, Political Science, University of Bucharest, specialization: International Relations, 2000-2004
• BA thesis “Analyzing the Effectiveness of the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC), 1999-2003”
• GPA : 9.97 (out of 10.00)
PROFESSIONAL TRAINING
Participant at the International Training Conference, Training on Team Management and Team- Building, AIESEC, Sinaia, November 2001
Participant at the First Training Fair of Romania, Bucharest, November 2001
Training on “Mediation and Conflict Resolution”, Council of Europe, Strasbourg, France, November 2001
Training on “Leadership”, Euro-regional Center for Democracy, Timisoara and Civil Society Development Foundation, Budapest-Timisoara , Romania, May 2001
Training on “Project Management”, AIESEC Bucharest Management Seminar, AIESEC, Curtea de Arges, Romania, April 2001
Trainings on Project Management, NGO Culture, Team-Building, Fund- Raising, Civitas ’99 Training Session, Bucharest, October 2000
PAPERS PRESENTED AT CONFERENCES
Alexandru Balas and Andrew Owsiak, “The Long and the Short of It: The Effects of Conflict Context on the Duration of Peace Operations”, paper presented at the 67th Midwest Political Science Association National Conference, Chicago, April 2-5th , 2009
“Rough Neighborhoods Lack Institutions”, paper presented at the International Studies Association-Midwest 2008 Annual Meeting, St. Louis, November 7-9th, 2008
“The European Union as a Third Party in Peace Operations”, paper accepted for presentation at the 12thAnnual CGES Graduate Student Conference, BMW Center for German and European Studies, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, February 2008
“The Impact of Political Structures on 3rd Party Intervention”, paper presented at the 65th Midwest Political Science Association Annual Conference, Chicago, April 12-15th, 2007
“The Impact of Political Structures on 3rd Party Intervention in the context of the European Union”, paper accepted for presentation at the International Studies Association 48th Annual Convention, Chicago, February 28th-March 3rd, 2007
“The Impact of Political Structures on 3rd Party Intervention”, paper presented at the conference “Conflict Studies: The New Generation of Ideas”, Graduate Programs in Dispute Resolution, University of Massachusetts, Boston, November 2006
"Measuring the Effectiveness of 3rd Party Intervention in the Georgian-South Ossetian conflict", paper presented at the conference "Community Conflicts in the Post-Soviet Era" organized by the Interdisciplinary Center for Research in Social Sciences, Nicosia, Cyprus, June 2005
Panel Speaker at the United Nations Association-USA National Forum, in the “Re-framing the US Debate on the International Criminal Court” Panel, presenting a Research Proposal on “Religious Persecution and the ICC” together with Jeffery Huffines, Co-Chair of the Faith Based Caucus for the ICC, Washington DC, 26-28.06 2003
PUBLICATIONS
BOOK CHAPTERS AND BOOKS
Alexandru Balas, Andrew Owsiak and Paul Diehl, “Demanding Peace: The Impact of Prevailing Conflict on the Shift from Peacekeeping to Peacebuilding” in Ronald Hatto (ed.), Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding: The New Paradigms (Paris, France: Presses de Science Po, Institute de Science Politique, 2009) (forthcoming)
Alexandru Balas, Muslims in Europe. The European Union Solving Social Conflicts (Iasi, Romania: Editura Lumen, 2008)
ARTICLES
“The Functions of Sports in Conflict Management” (manuscript accepted as review and resubmit with the IACM Journal: Negotiation and Conflict Management Research)
“Rough Neighborhoods Lack Institutions” (manuscript under review)
“Integration of Theory, Research and Practice in the field of Conflict Analysis and Resolution”, Civitas99 Alumni Volumes, Vol. VI, January-February, 2007
“A Hardware Called “Islam” and a Software called “Democracy”, Civitas ’99Alumni Volumes, Vol. V, November-December, 2005
“The Major Question of the 21st century Islam: Islamize Modernity or Modernize Islam?”, Civitas ‘99Alumni Volumes, Vol. IV, September 2005
“The Impact of Religion on Conflicts”, Civitas ‘99Alumni Volumes, Vol IV, September 2005
“Analyzing the Impact of the Personal Characteristics of a Mediator on the Mediation Process. Case Study: Dennis Ross Mediation of the Israeli - Palestinian Conflict at Camp David, 2000”, Civitas ‘99Alumni Volumes, Vol. III, July 2005
“Measuring the Success of the OSCE 3rd Party Intervention in the Georgian-South Ossetian Conflict”, Civitas ‘99Alumni Volumes, Vol. II, May 2005
“Organizational Culture of a Military Unit in a Peacekeeping Mission”, Civitas ’99Alumni Volumes, Vol. II, May 2005
“Darfur: Genocide Strikes Back”, Civitas ’99Alumni Volumes, Vol. I, March 2005
“Failing States in Europe: Transnistria’s Dictatorial Regime Threatens Moldova’s Stability”, in Listy Slovak Foreign Policy Affairs, November 2004
“Romania’s Role in NATO” in Akademia, Romania, October 2004
“2007-Too early for Romania to join the European Union” in Listy Slovak Foreign Policy Affairs, June 2004
A Theoretical Perspective on the American Intervention in Guatemala 1954, Civitas ’99 AGORA Papers, March 2004
A Theoretical Perspective on the American Intervention in Iraq 2003, Civitas ’99 AGORA Papers, February 2004
Causes of South Asian Conflicts: A Study Case of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Kashmir, Civitas ’99 AGORA Papers, December 2004
RESEARCH INTERESTS AREA
Peace Operations
World regions of peace and of war
Analysis of the conflict involving fundamentalist Muslims living in Europe; Islam-Christian relations in Europe
European Union’s Conflict Transformation Approaches
Culture & Conflict -inter-religious/cultural conflict; impact of culture on effectiveness of peacekeeping missions
WORKSHOPS CONDUCTED AND CONFERENCES ORGANIZED
Guest Speaker on the Millennium Development Goals, to the University High, Champaign-Urbana, May 2007
Leader and Guest Speaker of the workshop “Youth Policies and the Millennium Development Goals”, Koc High-School Model UNDP, Istanbul, March 2007
Facilitator of the Workshop Session at “Turkey’s EU Membership Observatory” Annual Meeting, Istanbul, Turkey, May 2006
Facilitator of the Problem-Solving Workshop “EU and Turkey: Cultures in Conflict?”, Conflict Resolution Club, Sabanci University, April 2006
Leader and Guest Speaker of the workshop “The Future of United Nations in Iraq”, Koc High-School Model UNDP, Istanbul, March 2006
Leader of the workshop on “Political Processes” at the conference “Ethnic Diversity: Provoking Conflicts? A Forward-Looking Analysis of the Kosovo Conflict”, AEGEE Passau, Germany, June 2005
Facilitator of the “Sabanci University Problem-Solving Workshop on the Religious Aspects of Jerusalem” (simulation), Sabanci University, May 2005
Leader of the workshop on “Muslim Minorities in Europe” at the conference “Islam and Europe; Eye contact”, AEGEE Ankara, October 2004
Organizer of the Conference ”Addressing Common Needs Through Regional Partnerships”, part of the program “South East European NGOs in Support of the Stability Pact”, Foundation for Democratic Change, Mangalia, Romania, June 2004
Trainer on Project Management, CIVITAS ‘99, Bucharest, Romania, December 2003
Project coordinator “Training on International Organizations”-AEGEE Bucuresti-Civitas '99, March 2002
Trainer on Project Management at the “ONGlink Training Session”, Bucharest, March 2002
AWARDS
Outstanding Rating on the List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Spring 2009
Nelle Signor Graduate Scholarship in International Relations, 2009
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign - Catholic University of Leuven (KUL) Faculty Exchange Program Award, 2009
2006 Extra-Curricular Student Activities Award, Sabanci University, 2006
Sabanci University, Full-scholarship, 2004 - 2006
Romanian Government Special Scholarship 2005
National Performance Scholarship from University of Bucharest, 2003 - 2004
Open Society Institute Undergraduate Exchange Program Scholarship; junior student of International Relations at University of Vermont, USA, 2002 - 2003
National Merit Scholarship from University of Bucharest, 2001 - 2002
CONFERENCES ATTENDED
Bureaucracy at Work: The Role of the Administrative Level in ESDP, Maastricht University, Netherlands, June, 2009
Youth Open House, World Bank, Washington D.C., June 2007
CARE National Conference, Washington D.C., June 2007
International Youth Volunteering Summit, Northwestern University, Chicago, February 2007
International Competition for Online Dispute Resolution 2005, (participated in the Negotiation competition), organized by Center for Information Technology and Dispute Resolution, University of Massachusetts, February-March 2005
University of Bologna’s Summer School “Beyond the Enlargement: Wider Europe and the New Neighborhood”, Cervia, Italy, September 2004
Regional NGOs Forum organized by Partners for Local Development and UNDP, Bucharest, November 2003
“Today’s Europe, Tomorrow’s Europe, an Overview of the Young People” Seminar, Bucharest, November 2003
“Central Europe between EU and US- security or social welfare?”, Summer School, European Institute, University of Gdansk, August 2003
“Liberty, War and Peace” , Institute of Humane Studies, George Mason University, Washington DC, July 2003
Head-delegate of the University of Vermont at the National Model United Nations Conference, New York City, UN Headquarters, April 2003
Vienna International Model United Nations, Disarmament and International Security Committee, UN Headquarters, Vienna, Austria, August 2002
YOUTH 2002, European Constitution, Summer School, Copenhagen, Denmark, July 2002
European Union Council of Ministers Simulation, AEGEE Bucuresti-Civitas '99, Bucharest, March 2002
UN Security Council Simulation, AEGEE Bucuresti-Civitas '99, March 2002
“Roots of Europe” Winter University, AEGEE Kayseri, Kayseri, Turkey, February 2002
International Youth Leadership Conference, Prague, December 2001
VOLUNTARY WORK & NGO MEMBERSHIP
“Discover Yourself”, Civic Involvement Project, Urfa, Turkey, February 2005
• conducted empowerment grassroots work with Kurdish children
Founding member of the Conflict Resolution Club (CORE), Sabanci University, December 2004
Founding member of the Model United Nations Club, University of Vermont, December, 2002
Member of the Lawrence Debate Union, University of Vermont, August 2002-May 2003
President of Civitas ’99- Political Science Student NGO, March 2001- August 2002
LANGUAGE SKILLS:
Romanian, English, French, Italian - fluent
Spanish, Catalan – proficient
German, Arabic, Turkish, Portuguese - fair
SOFTWARES: STATA, Mathematica, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Microsoft Office, Open Office.
Publicații selectate:
* Alexandru Balas, Muslims in Europe. The European Union Solving Social Conflicts, Editura Lumen, 2008.