Papers by Alina Bargaoanu
Development in Turbulent Times, 2019
EU member states can no longer remain competitive in isolation given the current interdependencie... more EU member states can no longer remain competitive in isolation given the current interdependencies at the international level. We analyse in this chapter the trade tendencies in the European Union, and we show the relatively large distance between Germany as the European top exporter and importer, and the following economies. We also analyse economic relations between member states that are designed to respond to non-EU challenges. We find that national member states engage in more collaborative and transnational development strategies for the coming years as a survival strategy in the current international context. Finally, we show how dependent the EU states have become on the single market by looking in depth at a case study of the United Kingdom’s trade relations.
Regional and Cohesion Policy – The Crossroads of EU Sectoral Policies
The article reviews the main theories of development in order to provide a solid background to di... more The article reviews the main theories of development in order to provide a solid background to discuss one of the most important EU policies – the Regional and Cohesion Policy. Firstly, its weight is given by the fact it represents EU’s major development policy, by means of which the EU decision-makers have tried to maintain a balanced growth. Secondly, its special relevance is due to the fact that it represents "a spatial combination of a variety of sectoral policies" (Hooghe, 1996, 10), a genuine crossroads where these sectoral policies meet. EU regions – the focus of Regional and Cohesion Policy – are testing grounds where sector-driven initiatives are tested, confirmed, invalidated, or improved. The new design of the policy is discussed in the context created by the global economic crisis that puts cohesion to a severe test. Just like other phenomena that we can witness today, the crisis only has enforced and strengthened pre-existing trends, among which the shift from convergence and cohesion towards competitiveness as such appears to be the most prominent one.
Cyber influence defense: Applying the DISARM framework to a cognitive hacking case from the Romanian digital space
Applied Cybersecurity & Internet Governance, Jul 10, 2024
London School of Economics and Political Science, Nov 12, 2018
Where does Brexit leave Central and Eastern Europe? On the one hand, it pulls the centre of EU gr... more Where does Brexit leave Central and Eastern Europe? On the one hand, it pulls the centre of EU gravity eastwards, further away from the Atlantic. On the other, it leaves the region vulnerable on its eastern frontier. Alina Bârgăoanu (Harvard) explains why these states feel abandoned and fear domination by Germany.
Transylvanian review of administrative sciences, Oct 30, 2023
The present study is one of the few studies that examine the social media communication of the Ro... more The present study is one of the few studies that examine the social media communication of the Romanian governmental institutions from a systematic perspective accounting for three categories of messages that enhance the goals of open governance, transparency, participation, and collaboration. Our research contributes to developing the research methodology in the field, given the methodological tool we used based on previous literature on social media communication of public institutions with relevant elements added from political communication. The research focuses on the official Facebook pages of the following Romanian governmental institutions: the Romanian Government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Health. Moreover, based on content analysis of N = 2,484 Facebook posts, we examined how different social media content generates differences in citizen engagement. Findings showed that the Romanian governmental institutions we analyzed frequently used Facebook posts. However, we observed significant differences between the institutions regarding message types. Our results align with previous research conducted in other Western countries showing that public institutions mostly used social media for impression management and transparent communication and less for participation and collaboration.
There is no doubt that the European Union is at a crossroads. The recently (arguably) ended econo... more There is no doubt that the European Union is at a crossroads. The recently (arguably) ended economic and financial crisis has left serious marks on the deep structure of the Union, which seems feebler than ever in its history. What is currently contested by politicians and people alike is the very raison d’etre of the European project: do we need a Union anymore? Should the European Union be abandoned or should it be revived and consolidated? These are serious and timely questions that require urgent attention. The 2014 EP elections offered a platform spread across Europe where issues such as the future of the EU could have been addressed. In this paper, we analyze the three debates between the candidates to the Presidency of the European Commission. We particularly focus on the scenarios for Europe proposed by three of the five main participants and examine their proposals against the arguments on the future of the European project made by established scholars and experts (i.e. fed...
Management and Marketing, 2008
Projects and project management play an increasing role in the global economy. In a context marke... more Projects and project management play an increasing role in the global economy. In a context marked by the evolution of project management from a technical function to an organizational methodology that can be embraced successfully by communities, associations, government agencies, big companies, and even by the society as a whole, the concept of "project-oriented society" gains ground. Not only is the concept on the rise, but also research on measuring the maturity level of the project-oriented society. The main assumption underlying this paper is that there is a correlation between the maturity of project orientation and the managerial competitiveness of each society. The paper explores this correlation by presenting in detail the research study "Project Orientation Romania", which focused on the main measurable dimensions of a project-oriented society.
Management and Marketing, 2007
The purpose of this article is to introduce a brand new concept, that of the project-oriented uni... more The purpose of this article is to introduce a brand new concept, that of the project-oriented university, as a university that explicitly uses projects and programmes to perform processes of medium to high complexity, thus allowing it to better handle the increasing turbulence and dynamics of its environments. An analytical grid for assessing the maturity of a university in terms of its project orientation is offered, taking into account both hard and soft factors. The National School for Political Sciences and Public Administration from Bucharest is analysed in this perspective, the assessment being the basis for explaining the paradox of having projects, but no project management. The findings are considered representative for the Romanian higher education system as a whole, with due nuances and exceptions.
This paper aims to shed light on the role of elites in the Europeanization of the national public... more This paper aims to shed light on the role of elites in the Europeanization of the national public sphere. 15 semi-structured in-depth inter-views with representatives of political, adminis-trative, and media elites in Romania were carried
New Managerial Approaches to Higher Education in the Global Era. The Case of the Project-Oriented University
Project-Oriented University – Sustainable Education at Stake
The Role of Universities in the Post-Crisis European Union. Strategies for Redesigning the European Universities
The purpose of this article is to introduce a brand new concept, that of the project-oriented uni... more The purpose of this article is to introduce a brand new concept, that of the project-oriented university, as a university that explicitly uses projects and programmes to perform processes of medium to high complexity, thus allowing it to better handle the increasing turbulence and dynamics of its environments. An analytical grid for assessing the maturity of a university in terms of its project orientation is offered, taking into account both hard and soft factors. The National School for Political Sciences and Public Administration from Bucharest is analysed in this perspective, the assessment being the basis for explaining the paradox of having projects, but no project management. The findings are considered representative for the Romanian higher education system as a whole, with due nuances and exceptions.
Management Marketing, 2006
The paper analyses the status of professionalization of project management in Romania and worldwi... more The paper analyses the status of professionalization of project management in Romania and worldwide. The relevance of the topic is grasped in the context in which project management has been confronted with various shifts: from a technical/ engineering function to a macroeconomic organizational concern, from a tools-and-techniques view to an innovationdriven approach, from widespread adoption by the industrialized world to an accelerated growth in developing nations, too. The explosion of practice has raised the issue of theoretical foundations and professionalization. The current status of professionalization of project management is discussed against a series of standards found in the sociology of professions literature, with a special focus on the issue of education in project management-education models, trends, global reach. The paper also assesses the Romanian educational offer in the field of project management in relation to the larger issue of professionalization, with a view to signalling possible areas of growth and improvement: ensuring accuracy of term usage, refining the educational curricula, initiating large-scale research programs on Romanian realities, publishing research results, building awareness around the benefits of the profession, increasing strength and visibility of professional associations, lobbying to require certification for key project management positions.
Management Marketing, 2008
Projects and project management play an increasing role in the global economy. In a context marke... more Projects and project management play an increasing role in the global economy. In a context marked by the evolution of project management from a technical function to an organizational methodology that can be embraced successfully by communities, associations, government agencies, big companies, and even by the society as a whole, the concept of "project-oriented society" gains ground. Not only is the concept on the rise, but also research on measuring the maturity level of the project-oriented society. The main assumption underlying this paper is that there is a correlation between the maturity of project orientation and the managerial competitiveness of each society. The paper explores this correlation by presenting in detail the research study "Project Orientation Romania", which focused on the main measurable dimensions of a project-oriented society.
Institutional Innovations in Higher Education: Project- Oriented University
Global economy is increasingly a knowledge economy, making people's skills and qualifications... more Global economy is increasingly a knowledge economy, making people's skills and qualifications more important than traditional power indicators such as territory, geography, natural resources. Today's global environment is characterized by complexity, turbulence and perpetual change, thus making information, innovation, technological prowess and people's skills the most valuable resources of any society. Globalization imposes new rhythms of performance to every economic or social field. Higher education is no exception to this, since it lies at the interface with the external environment, where skills and qualifications will be used and exploited for economic benefits. In this context, universities are under a two-fold pressure. First, they provide services, knowledge, skills for fast-moving sectors. The knowledge and skills may quickly become obsolete and irrelevant for the economy. Second, universities need to innovate and to adapt to situations of constant change. Both...
Sociologie Românescă, 2003
Război (informațional) și pace?
DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals), Jun 1, 2022
Universities as Knowledge Corporations. Professional Strategic Planning and Market Positioning as Key Triggers of University's Competitiveness
Development in Turbulent Times, 2019
This chapter focuses on the return of the East-West divide in the European Union, which is fuelle... more This chapter focuses on the return of the East-West divide in the European Union, which is fuelled by persistent differences in the level of development of the Old (Western) Member States (OMS), and the New (CEE) Member States (NMS), and fuels the major geopolitical shifts shaking the current world order. The world we live in is "a world in flux", as Verbeke (2017) aptly describes it, and the European Union does not appear to be in a position to evade this esprit du temps. Events of the past decade, such as the discussion about Grexit in the context of the Greek bailouts, the calls for burden sharing inside NATO, the Brexit referendum and its aftermath, the interruption of TTIP negotiations, the new foreign policy of the Trump administration and its drive towards bilateralism at the expense of multilateralism have signalled deep changes in the transatlantic world and the liberal order it embodies, with a major impact on the EU as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the post-WWII order. What makes the European Union vulnerable to these contemporary developments (especially "America first" and the drive towards multilateralism) is, among other things, its increasing lack of cohesion and convergence. The euro crisis that started in 2007 brought about a pan-European desolidarisation and fragmentation both across and within member states. At first, the fault lines symbolically separated the This chapter has been prepared with financial support granted in the project "State of the Nation. Designing an innovative instrument for evidence-based policy-making" (SIPOCA 11, MySMIS 118305), which is co-financed by the European Social Fund through the Operational Programme Administrative Capacity 2014-2020.
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Papers by Alina Bargaoanu