Topics & Supervisors – Școala Doctorală SNSPA

Coordinators and topics

Prof. IORDAN BĂRBULESCU, PhD – Email address: iordanbarbulescu@snspa.ro

European public policies;
European institutions;
Decision-making process in the European Union;
Foreign relations of the European Union;
Diplomacy and negotiations;
European public policies evaluation;
EU-Latin America & the Caribbean relationship.

Prof. DANIEL DĂIANU, PhD – Email address: daniel.daianu@bnrro.ro

International financial system: crisis, institutions, reform of the regulatory and supervisory framework;
EU governance: Euro zone crisis; the Banking Union; the new governance system in the EU; implications for new EU members;
Structural trends in the world economy: economic power redistribution; the EU's place in the global economy;
Demographic pressures;
Robustness and resilience of socio-economic systems: conventional and unconventional shocks (including cyber-attacks);
Climate change and the economic and social environment;
Economy and the pandemic;
Emerging economies and advanced economies;
Joining the Euro area.

Prof. MIHAIL IONESCU, PhD – Email address: ionescu_mihail@yahoo.com

The First Gulf War – 1990: causes and consequences; topics on the issue of Cold War’s ending and the great US-USSR alliance – the debate on NATO expansion, the Western orientation of the USSR/ Russia and its abandonment;
Crisis of the breakup of Yugoslavia – 1992-1999: causes, consequences; the current situation, today’s solutions in the Western Balkans; issues from the 1999 NATO intervention to the emergence of the state of Kosovo or the Dayton Agreement;
September 2001 – the outbreak of the war against terrorism: the beginning of the liberal interventionism era (topics on Peace Keeping missions in various countries, from Afghanistan to Congo and Mali or Ukraine – special case – under various auspices – NATO, UN, OSCE);
US invasion of Iraq – 2003 – and the Great Middle East: hegemonic trends and involved actors (diverse perspectives on this topic);
“Arab Spring": causes, consequences, involved actors, results, waiting horizons of the great powers: topics from the outbreak of the movement in 2010-2011 to the events in Libya, Egypt, Syria and Russia's re-entry in the Mideast in 2015 amid Ukraine's annexation;
Syria – a crisis with multiple files (great power conflicts, Shiite-Sunni clashes, Iran and the Mediterranean, Russia and its search for a global role through the extended presence in the Mediterranean, the US and the Great Middle East, the Arab caliphate versus the war against terrorism, etc.) and historical roots (colonialism, religious clashes, etc.);
EU sovereign debt crisis and the global financial crisis of 2008-2010 – geopolitical dimensions, realignments and the occurrence of power policy; various topics;
The exponential growth of China and the “Thucydides trap": is the hegemonic war possible?
Brexit and the EU's internal crisis – from neoliberalism to illiberalism/ sovereignism, populism and extremism – various topics;
The global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, geopolitical influences, realignments and systemic resettlement – issues from the EU strategic autonomy to the reiteration of Russia's proposal for Greater Europe;
The unipolar moment of the USA and the opposition of multipolarism: the systemic structure and great power strategies (1993-2015) – various topics – new geopolitical ‘cuts’ (the Great Middle East, Western Balkans, the Shiite Crescent, etc.); alignments and realignments and new international institutions and the role of the old ones, etc.

Prof. IOAN MIRCEA PAŞCU, PhD – Email address: impascu@snspa.ro

The impact of structural crises on the international system. Case study: the COVID-19 pandemic and the acceleration of the main trends of global transformation;
Redistribution of power in the international system. From unipolarism to multiple centers of power or a new bipolar system;
The European Union as an international player – from normative power to strategic autonomy;
The decision-making process in foreign and security policies, respectively the common security and defense policy of the EU. Case studies;
Perspectives on the future of the common security and defense policy;
Reconsideration of the European Union's strategic partnerships: challenges and priorities;
Continuity and change in transatlantic relations;
Global competition between the United States and China. Is the “Thucydides' trap" inevitable?
China's relations with the European Union and the European Union member states;
The Eastern Partnership and the EU-Russian Federation relationship;
“Strategic reinsurance" and NATO's role in European and global security;
The political and strategic situation in the Black Sea after the illegal annexation of Crimea. NATO’s and EU’s roles and responsibilities;
The impact of artificial intelligence and digitalization on foreign policy and defense policy;
Vulnerabilities, risks and threats to national security;
Conflicts of the 21st century. Typology and case studies.

Prof. GEORGE MAIOR, PhD

Knowledge systems and processes in the informational era;
Paradigms and perceptions in the study and practice of international relations;
Diplomatic tools and approaches for the 21st century;
Geostrategic faults and bridges: security from regionalism to globalism;
Sources and types of conflict and cooperation in the age of uncertainty;
Digitalizing security: between connectivity, adversity and artificial intelligence;
Energy and the environment in the new global security architecture.

Prof. MIRUNA BUTNARU-TRONCOTĂ, PhD – Email address: miruna.troncota@dri.snspa.ro

Postmodernism and globalization;
Discursive practices of legitimizing political decisions on the international stage;
Analysis of humanitarian interventionism;
Post-conflict reconstruction;
Postcolonialism in international relations;
Theories of European integration;
European policies – especially EU enlargement and foreign policies;
Critical geopolitical theories;
Europeanization from interdisciplinary perspectives;
Discursive communities in the EU and the EU's strategic neighborhood (Eastern Partnership, Western Balkans).

Prof. MIHAI CERCEL, PhD – Email address: mihai.cercel@dri.snspa.ro

ModernThe challenges of the twenty-firstcentury;
DiplomaticServiceintheContemporaryWorld;
Theoreticalperspectivesin modern diplomacy;
BilateralDiplomaticrelationsbetweenstates;
MultilateralConferencediplomacy;
Modes of practice of diplomacy;
Management of the diplomatic. Gamification and skills development in diplomacy;
Diplomatic negotiations. Diplomatic mediation;
The diplomatic mission in the twenty-firstcentury;
The role of non-state actors in twenty-first century diplomacy.

Prof. ANDREI ȚĂRANU, PhD – ataranu@politice.ro

Contemporary Political Theories;
Contemporary Populism and its impact on democracy;
Culture and Politics: The influence of literature, art and music on the formation of political ideologies and behaviors;
Politics and Global Space;
Political Mythology. Language and political semantics;
History of political doctrines and ideologies;
Reconstruction of political institutions;

Prof. ADRIAN POP, PhD – adrian.pop@snspa.ro

Long economic and politico-military cycles in international relations;
International order and power transition in the 20th-21st centuries;
Continuity and change in the geopolitics of the 21^st century;
Established powers, emerging powers, pivotal peripheries, security perceptions and divided neighborhoods;
Balance of power, regional security complexes and supercomplexes and governance in Eurasia and the Indo-Pacific region;
The interplay between international relations and futures studies.

Prof. LILIANA POPESCU, PhD – Email address: liliana.popescu@politice.ro

The relationship between the European Union and the post-Soviet space;
The relationship between the European Union and the Russian Federation;
Foreign policies and relations in Eastern Europe;
Interdisciplinary topics in international relations – political theory;
Interdisciplinary topics in international relations – gender studies;
Contemporary processes of democratization and erosion of democracy;
Feminist perspectives in international relations.

Prof. MIHAI PĂUNESCU, PhD – Email address: mihai.paunescu@politice.ro

Public policies;
Institutionalism in organizational analysis;
Educational policies;
Higher education policies;
Science policy and scientometry;
Electoral systems and political systems;
Public management.

Assoc. Prof. TODOR ARPAD, PhD – Email address: todor.arpad@politice.ro

Environmental policies at national and European Union level;
Sustainable development policies at national and EU level;
Varieties of capitalism;
Taxation policies, environmental taxation;
Constitutional reform and political systems;
Social policies, austerity policies at EU level;
Regional development and decentralization policies;
National systems for the coordination of European affairs;
European Union foreign policy, in particular in the field of combating climate change, gender equality, human rights and peacekeeping;
Implementation and impact analysis of European funds projects.

Assoc. Prof. LAURENTIU ȘTEFAN, PhD – Email address: laur_stefan@yahoo.com

Romanian Politics after 1989;
Selection of Political Elites and Political Careers;
Pathways to Cabinet: Selection of Ministers in Multi-layered Settings;
Governing Coalitions: Genesis, Organisation, Functioning and Termination;
Political Parties;
Political Participation.

Prof. ALINA BÂRGĂOANU, PhD – Email address: alina.bargaoanu@comunicare.ro

Disinformation, propaganda, information warfare;
Technology, security, democracy; the impact of technological changes on the new information eco-system;
Strategic communication;
Regulatory responses to the new information eco-system;
Mass media and the EU public sphere; public opinion and attitudes towards the European Union.

Prof. NICOLETA CORBU, PhD – Email address: nicoleta.corbu@comunicare.ro

Media diet in the new information system;
Political communication in the new media landscape;
From news consumption to digital behavior;
Artificial intelligence in the digital misinformation era;
New directions of analysis in the theories of communication in the age of social media;
Misinformation in the digital age;
Effects of media use in the age of social media.

Prof. PAUL DOBRESCU, PhD – Email address: paul.dobrescu@comunicare.ro (FINAL YEAR OF ACTIVITY)

East-West, the new fracture that adds to the one between Northern and Southern Europe;
The rise of the emerging world and the challenges it raises for stability and cooperation;
New spaces of communication and cultural practices at European level;
Euroscepticism as dominant of the European public space;
The crises that are announced in the post-crisis period;
Economic powers, media powers. The role of technology giants in the communication revolution;
The fall of globalization and the rise of smart connectivity;
Emerging technologies and their role in the new global power structure;
Particularities of communication in the “post-truth" era.

Prof. TUDOR VLAD, PhD – Email address: tvlad@uga.edu

Criteria for assessing the freedom of press;
The impact of new technologies on the mass media and on the status of communicators;
Assessment of journalism academic programs in Romania;
The role of the press in the democratization process;
Central and Eastern European mass media markets;
The relationship between journalism education;
The media industry in the digital age.

Prof. DIANA-MARIA CISMARU, PhD – Email address: diana.cismaru@comunicare.ro

The impact of social media development on organizational communication;
Transformations of organizations and management in the network society;
The role of social media in generating innovation in organizations and society;
Organizational reputation management in the digital society;
The transformation of public relations in the hyper-connected society;
Communication and promoting strategies in the digital society;
Public relations practices in the global environment;
Mass self-communication and identity alteration in social media;
Psycho-social phenomena and characteristics of online communication;
Negative effects of the development of the digital environment at the social level;
Communication and education in the postmodern era;
Applications of digital communication in modern education.

Assoc. Prof. LOREDANA VLADU, PhD – Email address: loredana.vladu@comunicare.ro

Communication and governance;
Communicating and substantiating public policies;
Public communication and sustainable development;
Opinions and attitudes on the European Union;
Analysis of the Europeanization processes;
Pathologies of online communication: the “fake news" phenomenon;
The confidence crisis in the government systems.

Prof. LOREDANA IVAN, PhD – Email address: loredana.ivan@comunicare.ro

Visual ageism: visual representation of the elderly in the media contents;
Age-friendly city: perceptions and expectations of citizens of different generations;
The elderly and the use of new communication and information technologies;
Solidarity between generations in the digital age;
Digital-care: helpful practices in a formal and informal context;
Social practices and attitudes towards the elderly and aging process;
Conflicts within the family and the use of new communication and information technologies.

Assoc. Prof. VALERIU FRUNZARU, PhD – Email address: valeriu.frunzaru@comunicare.ro
Online identity management;

Online social networks and social values;
Advertising in the digital society;
Communication between university, students and employers;
Communication between pupils, teachers and parents;
Anti-intellectualism in political discourse;
Social dialogue in the context of social, political and technological change.

Assoc. Prof. MĂLINA CIOCEA, PhD – Email address: malina.ciocea@comunicare.ro

The construction of public issues in the current communication landscape;
Mediated communication and mediatization;
Public arenas, actors and deliberative practices;
Emerging cultural practices;
Media discourse on migration;
Cultural memory;
Politics of memory.

Assoc. Prof. CORINA DABA-BUZOIANU, PhD – Email address: corina.buzoianu@comunicare.ro

The role of technology in crisis anticipation and prevention;
The role of technology in the escalation and spread of crises;
Crisis communication in the online environment;
The role of social media in crisis communication;
Communication during disasters;
New models of crisis response.

Prof. ANI MATEI, PhD – Email address: amatei@snspa.ro

Contemporary paradigms of public management;
“Smart administration" and related processes;
Integrated systemic approaches to public management and economics;
Social innovation and its impact on public sector development;
Specialization and coordination in public sector organizations in the context of collaborative governance. The role of market or network mechanisms;
Adaptive management in the context of increasing administrative complexity. Models and strategies in public administration systems;
Modeling and optimization of administrative structures and decisions

Prof. IRINA ZLĂTESCU, PhD – Email address: irina.zlatescu@administratiepublica.eu

Public administration and its role in fulfilling each of the objectives of the 2030 UN Agenda;
The art of crisis governance. Human rights. Public administration and crisis management;
Globalization. Public administration and human rights;
Global governance and the impact of artificial intelligence on human rights;
Culture and the public administration;
Migration. Emigration. Immigration. Immigrant integration;
The state. The society. Religious freedoms;
The role of local communities in promoting and protecting human rights;
The role of the administration in preventing multiple discrimination at national, European and international level;
Environmental management in the service of society.

Prof. EMIL BĂLAN, PhD – Email address: emil_balan2005@yahoo.fr

Rule of law and public administration. The constitutionalisation of public administration.
Quality of regulation. Standards and tools;
Global administrative law and standards of good administration;
Bureaucracy, administrative procedure and administrative simplification; Systematisation and codification of the rules governing public administration;
Democratic governance and administrative action of local communities;
Administrative capacity of public organisations: consolidation and development. Field policies;
Ethics and integrity in the exercise of public functions and dignities;
Administrative relations and accountability for the exercise of public power;
Alternative dispute resolution in administration;
Budgetary process and administrative and fiscal litigation.

Assoc. Prof. DRAGOȘ DINCĂ, PhD – Email address: dragos.dinca@administratiepublica.eu

Sustainable development of public administration;
Reform/development of public services;
Perspectives on the organization of public services;
Sustainable urban development;
Human resources in the public administration – performance evaluation, motivation, improvement of professional training;
Decisional risk in public administration.

Prof. ANDREI GHEORGHIȚĂ, PhD – Email address: andrei.gheorghita@ulbsibiu.ro

Electoral studies: electoral participation; political cleavages and electoral alignments; explanations of the voting decision; personalization of electoral policy; populism; electoral clientelism; election campaign;
Political sociology: social and political cleavages; socialization and political culture; political participation; political parties and interest groups; political elites; social movements; democratization and democratic consolidation;
Social solidarity, social values and capitalism: types of solidarity and mechanisms of solidarity; solidarity and economic crises; social inequalities; labor relations; welfare state; solidarity in the context of the European Union;
Social solidarity and social values: mechanisms of solidarity; solidarity in the context of the European Union; solidarity in crisis situations;
Social movements: globalization and social movements; new social movements; new technologies and social movements; political participation in protest;
Politics, government and the state from the perspective of political sociology: democratization and democratic consolidation; political culture; political organizations.

Prof. REMUS GABRIEL ANGHEL, PhD – Email address: remusgabriel@yahoo.com

Migration and integration – theories, applications, case studies;
Transnationalism and globalization – social processes and societal ties. Case studies in Eastern Europe;
Societal transformations in Eastern Europe;
Ethnic minorities in transition: diversity, rights, ethnic inequalities;
International development: actors, policies, contexts;
Contemporary global challenges: migration, nature, inequalities;
Return migration, transnationalism and development;
Romanian village in transition: property, social trust, social transformation;
Anthropology of Eastern Europe.

Prof. AUGUSTIN STOICA, PhD – Email address: astoica@politice.ro

Stratification, mobility and social inequalities – quantitative and qualitative, macro and micro, comparative approaches to phenomena such as class structure, educational and occupational mobility, poverty, social exclusion, inequalities based on gender, ethnicity, unequal opportunities, etc.;
The study of public opinion – quantitative approaches, comparative or focused only on the Romanian case of phenomena such as trust in institutions, voting intentions, value orientations, inter-personal trust, religiosity, reactions/attitudes towards current economic and political changes, etc.;
Sociology of economic life/economic anthropology – sociological/anthropological approaches to economic phenomena;
Sociological approaches to conspiracy theories/conspiracy thinking; its effects on issues such as health (see the case of anti-vaccineists), negative stereotypes about various minority groups, populism, voting, trust in institutions, etc.;
Sociology of post-socialist transformations: quantitative and qualitative, comparative, macro or micro approaches to the transition, with direct reference to topics such as income inequality, elites, winners and losers of the transition, changes in institutional-legal frameworks and their effects;
Historical sociology – with emphasis on recent history (communism) and part of the modern one (18th-19th century), looking in particular at themes such as backwardness, “modernization", the evolution of demographic, social and economic structures, elites, people ordinary people, everyday life, etc.

Prof. CONSTANTIN BRĂTIANU, PhD – Email address: constantin.bratianu@gmail.com (FINAL YEAR OF ACTIVITY)

Knowledge management in emerging economies;
Management of the organizational knowledge dynamics;
Universities as learning organizations;
Organizational learning and learning organizations;
Integrating knowledge strategies into corporate strategies;
Risks associated with knowledge management;
Change management and crisis management.

Prof. FLORINA PÎNZARU, PhD – Email address: florina.pinzaru@facultateademanagement.ro

The impact of digitalization on managerial practice;
Innovation management: research and development, strategies and new business models;
Resource management and development strategies;
Managerial and marketing strategies for creating added value;
Leadership and management of digital native teams;
Business development strategies in the context of international challenges.

Prof. ELENA-MĂDĂLINA VĂTĂMĂNESCU, PhD – Email address: madalina.vatamanescu@facultateademanagement.ro

The role of intellectual capital in organizational development;
Intangible resources and organizational competitiveness;
The role of intellectual capital in the internationalization of businesses;
Integrative managerial models and sustainability of organizations;
Organizational behavior and diagnosis in competitive organizations;
The impact of professional social networks on managerial competitiveness;
B2B management strategies and practices;
Multidimensional models for analyzing organizational and managerial practices.

Prof. ADRIANA GRIGORESCU, PhD – Email address: adriana.grigorescu@snspa.ro

Public/ private comparative management studies and sustainable development;
Managerial and marketing strategies in public and/or private business;
Performant management and business ethics;
Strategic management and innovation in SMEs/public organizations;
Integrated management between education – business environment – public sector;
Human capital – the relationship between education and the labor market;
Global Economy and Governance – inter- and trans-disciplinary studies and analysis;
International comparative management;
Globalization – Policies and strategies for institutional connection;
Management of European funds in institutional development.

Prof. ALEXANDRA ZBUCHEA, PhD – Email address: alexandra.zbuchea@facultateademanagement.ro

Business models in the nonprofit sector;
Knowledge management in non-profit organizations;
The role of culture in sustainable development;
Sustainable management of cultural organizations;
Cultural entrepreneurship;
Cultural consumption patterns;
Management models in responsible organizations;
Corporate social responsibility strategies.

Prof. ADRIAN CURAJ, PhD– Email address: adrian.curaj@gmail.com

Transforming research culture through open science and new research assessment approaches, metrics and methods)
Entrepreneurial Discovery Process for Smart Specialisation: addressing sustainable development (and new regional contexts) (S4), diversifying the activities for specialisation, engaging citizens

Prof. LUCIAN CLAUDIU ANGHEL, PhD – Email address: lucian.anghel@facultateademanagement.ro

The Correlation Between the Remuneration of Non-Executive Board Members and the Performance of a Listed Company;
The Performance of the Local Capital Market Compared to Mature International Markets;
Investment Portfolio Management on the Local Stock Exchange;
New Trends in Corporate Governance of Listed Companies;
The Added Value Generated by Effective Investor Relations Management;
Implementation of Sustainable Development Principles by Listed Companies;
The Impact and Influence of Private Pension Funds on the Stock Exchange;
Stock Option Plan – A Form of Incentivizing Management in Listed Companies;
Mergers and Acquisitions – A Form of Accelerated Growth for Private Companies;
Listing a Private Company on the Stock Exchange – Advancing to the Next Level of Development;
The Influence of Macroeconomic Factors on Stock Market Index Trends and Implications for Financial Investment Management.