Fatos Tarifa is Professor of Political Sociology and International Relations at the European University of Tirana (Albania). He has a double doctorate, with a PhD in Sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (USA), and a doctorate in Political Science from the University of Tirana. He has held several academic positions at various institutions of higher education in Europe and North America, including the Institute of Social Studies at The Hague, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Campbell University, Webster University, and Eastern Michigan University. He has been inter alia a visiting or guest scholar at various reputable universities, including Harvard University J. F. Kennedy School of Government, Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Brown University Watson Institute for International Studies, Stanford University Center for Russian and East European Studies, Duke University Center for European and Global Studies, New York University Center for European Studies, American University Center for Human Rights & Humanitarian Law, University of Toronto Centre for Urban and Community Studies, Chinese University of Hong Kong, University of Guelf, University of Amsterdam, University of Essex, University of Uppsala, University of Helsinki etc. His expertise is primarily in the areas of political sociology and geopolitics. He is the author, co-author or editor of 50 books and over 100 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. Prof. Tarifa served as Albania’s ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands (1998-2001), and to the United States of America (2001-2005). He is a Fellow (and pas President) of the Albanian Academy of Arts of Sciences, and recipient of several grants, honors and international awards.