Alexandru Balaș, Ph.D.
Research Fellow
Dr. Alexandru Balaș is a Professor and Coordinator of the International Studies Program, and the Director of the Clark Center for Global Engagement at the State University of New York (SUNY) College at Cortland, USA. He received a PhD in Political Science from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (2011), a MA in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from Sabanci University (2006), and a BA in Political Science from the University of Bucharest. His books include Sharing the Burden of Peace (Peter Lang, 2022), The Puzzle of Peace (Oxford University Press, 2016) and Peace Operations (Polity Press, 2014). In 2015, he received a European Union (EU) Erasmus+ Jean Monnet Module Grant. In 2017 and 2019 he won EU tenders to develop EU role-play negotiation/mediation simulations and one of these was awarded the best negotiation scenario at E-PARCC (The Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration) 2018, Syracuse University. His current research interests are related to EU-India Relations, EU’s Negotiations with Micro-States (Andorra, Liechtenstein, San Marino, Vatican), EU Relations with the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) and Outermost Regions (ORs), 16th and 17th Centuries Book Networks in Wallachia and Moldova, and 18th and 19th centuries Travellers from the Romanian Principalities.
PEER-REVIEWED BOOK CHAPTERS
“European Union’s Use of the Outermost Regions (ORs) and the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) to Promote its Geopolitical Interests in the Atlantic, Caribbean, Indian, and the Pacific Regions” (book chapter published in edited volume EU Geopolitical Actorness in a Shifting World Order, Palgrave, 2025)
“Wallachia: A Christian-European Hub for Books, News, and Diplomatic Correspondence Within the Ottoman Lands (1688-1714)” (book chapter accepted for publication in edited volume Patrimonio Escrito en Circulación: Redes Culturales y Comerciales en la Edad Moderna, Mexico City: Universitad Autonoma de Mexico, forthcoming 2025)
“European Union and Conflict Resolution in Central Asia in the 21st Century” (book chapter accepted for publication in edited volume titled ‘”EU Governance in Central Asia: A Sectoral Approach’, Routledge, forthcoming, 2024)
“The Adventures of a Transylvanian Doctor in Constantinople, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, and Iraq (1815-1838)” (book chapter accepted for publication in edited volume, Archaeopress, Oxford, UK, forthcoming, 2024)
“The Negotiating Power of European Micro-States (Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, and the Vatican) in Their Relations With the European Union (EU)” (book chapter accepted for publication in edited volume Non-EU Europe: Patterns of interaction between the EU and its European Neighbours, – forthcoming with Springer)
“What is Model EU” (book chapter accepted for publication in “Practising Transnational Politics. Preparing and participating in UN and EU Simulations” – forthcoming with Edward Elgar Publishers)
PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL ARTICLES
“Book Review” of Changing Indian Images of the European Union Perception and Misperception, Palgrave MacMillan Singapore, 2019, 162 pp., & India and the European Union in a Turbulent World, Palgrave McMillan Singapore, 2020, 220 pp., Rajendra K. Jain (Editor), Romanian Journal of Indian Studies, September 2023
“Book Note” for The Peace Continuum: What It Is and How to Study It (authored by Christian Davenport, Erik Melander, and Patrick Regan, Oxford University Press, 2018), Journal of Peace Research, November 2018
“Demanding Peace: The Impact of Prevailing Conflict on the Shift from Peacekeeping to Peacebuilding”, Peace and Change 37(2), April 2012: 195-226 (with Andrew Owsiak and Paul Diehl)
“It Takes Two (or More): Multiple Simultaneous Peace Operations”, Journal of International Peacekeeping 15(3-4), September 2011: 384-421
PEER-REVIEWED ROLE-PLAY SIMULATIONS
European Council Simulation “Global Europe? Deciding Canada’s Membership Application to the European Union, Role-Play Negotiation (co-authored with Noam Ebner and Andreas Kotelis), submitted for the 16th Annual Teaching Case and Simulation Competition, E-PARCC 2021, Syracuse University, Maxwell School’s Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration (PARCC)
Council of the European Union Simulation “Negotiation Mandate for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Tradeland” Role-Play Negotiation (co-authored with Noam Ebner, and Andreas Kotelis), (Washington, D.C.: European Union Delegation in the United States, 2017). Available on the European Union website at: https://eeas.europa.eu/sites/eeas/files/sim2-council_of_the_eu_trade-111317.pdf
Council of the European Union – European Parliament – European Commission Simulation “Anti-Terrorism EU Legislation” Role-Play Negotiation & Mediation (co-authored with Noam Ebner, and Andreas Kotelis), (Washington, D.C.: European Union Delegation in the United States, 2017). Available on the European Union website at: https://eeas.europa.eu/sites/eeas/files/sim3-large_model_eu_simulation_terrorism-110917-eu_file.pdf
Note: These three projects above were made possible through funding from the European Union through Service Tender (reference No. PPD-EEAS-023-2016).