Albania and Europe in a Political Regard

Albania and Europe in a Political Regard is a multidisciplinary work which aims to develop different points of view in the field of social sciences. In this sense, it is not by chance that the chapters cover a variety of different disciplines like history, sociology, political science and philosophy. These chapters stand alone and, at the same time, create a whole network of relationships between Albania and Europe. An important element of this work is its multidimensional considerations of Europe; it is conceptualised on a number of different levels throughout the chapters, sometimes as a continent, sometimes as an organization, and other times as a leader. In some chapters, Europe is understood in terms of European integration or European civilization. In others, Europe is simply the idea of the continent and its reflections in the Albanian society. The main axis that drives the chapters is the idea of Albania in relation to Europe – how this relationship is understood, how it has worked in the past, and how it works today. The idea of Europe in this book is conceptualised and explored in a number of different ways, from the idea of “European modernity” to a “soft power”, from a “construction of identity” to a “model of behaviour”, according to each author’s varied point of view and discipline of studies. All the nine chapters in this volume utilise different ways of thinking and approaches, but are all connected by a common axis, that is, Albania and Europe in a Political Regard. Klodiana Beshku, PhD, has been a Lecturer at the Political Sciences Department, Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Tirana since 2008. Her fields of interest in academic research correspond to the courses she teaches, such as Geopolitics (in which she received her PhD), Theories of International Relations, Regional Security and New Social Movements. Orinda Malltezi has been a Lecturer at the Political Sciences Department, Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Tirana since 2004. Her main fields of interest are International Relations and Regional Studies and her research is mainly focused on Albanian relations with the states who shaped and contributed to its developments, in accordance with the thesis of her PhD studies.