I am a PhD candidate and teaching assistant in the Political Science Department at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, where I also serve as coordinator of an advanced Master programme in European Integration and Development at the Institute for European Studies.

My doctoral thesis—with title “United we fall, divided we stand: the isolation of the EU at the UN Human Rights Council”—is about the rationale and consequences of the EU’s aim to ‘speaking with one voice.’ I first demonstrate that increasing EU unity does not translate into greater influence. I then seek to explain why increasing unity does not make the EU more influential.

My interests include international organization (e.g. multilateralism), EU foreign policy (e.g. EU-UN relations), and the politics of human rights at the UN. My teaching involves European and International politics and research design. Additional interests include the politics and history of my native country of Albania.

I received an MA in Political Science from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel in 2005, where I wrote my thesis on 'The Relationship between the United States and the United Nations after the End of the Cold War (magna cum laude). I also obtained an MA in International Politics from the Université Libre de Bruxelles in 2007, with a thesis on ‘The fallacious dichotomy between representativeness and effectiveness: A constructivist approach to the American policy towards the UN Security Council reform’ (summa cum laude).

Book Chapters,  (2010)“The Paradox of Unity: The adverse effects of the European Union’s aim to ‘speak with one voice’ at the United Nations Human Rights Council”. Forthcoming in an edited volume from Palgrave Macmillan, 2010) (with J. Koops), (2007)“The Reform of the UN”. In: Crossick, Stanley & Reuter, Etienne (eds.) China-EU: A Common Future. New Jersey, World Scientific, p. 57-71. (with Geeraerts, G. and C., Zhimin),  Peer Reviewed Articles (2008) “Take it or leave it: the flip side of pragmatism in the US approach toward the UN". Wereldbeeld. Vol. 32, No. 146, p. 4-14. (In Dutch) (2006) “Security as a social construction: insecurity as a condition for security”. ANASH–Approaching Science. Vol. 1, No. 2, p. 21-26. (In Albanian) Conference Papers (2009) “The paradox of oneness: the isolation of the European Union at the UN Human Rights Council”. Paper prepared for the 21st IPSA World Congress of Political Science, 12-16 July 2009, Santiago, Chile (2009) “The Essential Properties of the European Union’s Multilateralism”. Paper accepted for presentation at the EUSA Eleventh Biennial International Conference 23-25 April 2009, Los Angeles, California, United States of America. (2008) “The integrative nature of the EU’s multilateralism: the role of institutions”. Paper prepared for the BISA Annual Conference 2008, 15 -17 December 2008, University of Exeter, United Kingdom. (2008) “Imperative multilateralism: Why the EU’s attachment to multilateralism is inevitable”. Paper prepared for the Fourth Pan-European Conference on EU Politics, ECPR-Standing Group on the European Union, 25-27 September 2008, University of Latvia, Riga, Latvia (2008) “The EU’s choice for multilateralism”. Paper prepared for the Second ECPR Graduate Conference, 25-27 August 2008, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain. (2008) “The Essence of the EU’s multilateralism”. Paper prepared for Oslo Summer School in Comparative Social Science Studies July 21-25, 2008, University of Oslo, Norway. (2008) “Reframing the debate: why representativeness and effectiveness go hand in hand in the case of the UN Security Council reform”. Paper prepared for the 2008 European International Relations Summer School for PhD students. SGIR, ECPR, July 7-19, 2008, Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey. (2008) “EU’s Multilateralism: ‘Way of Life’ or Instrument for Institutional Assertion?” Paper prepared for the 2008 European International Relations Summer School for PhD students. SGIR, ECPR, July 7-19, 2008, Istanbul Bilgi University, Turkey.