Armend Bekaj

Armend Bekaj is a Researcher at the Department of Peace and Conflict Research. He currently works with Alva Myrdal Centre for Nuclear Disarmament as part of its Working Group 2 on International Measures for Compliance to Nuclear Disarmament Regimes.

Armend's other interest is to examine the long-term impact of former combatants-turned politicians on democracy and institution-building in transitory societies.

He is also the convener of the internship programme for BSSc and MSSc at DPCR.

Armend Bekaj combines two decades of academic, practitioner and policy experience on peace, conflict and security, as well as democratisation vs autocratisation, with a geographical focus on Central and Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans. He has a PhD from the University of Sheffield, and a Master in Conflict Resolution from Peace Studies Department, University of Bradford. His work combines a mixed methods approach, with a long-term background on in-depth, inductive tools of qualitative analysis.

Armend has been with the Department of Peace and Conflict Research since January 2021, where as part of the Alva Myrdal Centre for Nuclear Disarmament (AMC) he collaborates with Prof Peter Wallensteen in examining the role of sanctions in nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. Currently he is coordinating efforts in producing a multi-disciplinary edited volume on nuclear disarmament and verification with a larger network of AMC colleagues and scholars.

Previously Armend has taught as Adjunct Faculty for the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Kosovo.

Before rejoining the academia, Armend worked for a wide range of international organisations, including the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) where he was part of the team to conceptualise and produce the inaugural Global State of Democracy reports and indices. Prior, he was Chief of Analysis and Reporting Cell, Democratisation Department at the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, researcher with Berghof Foundation, Deputy Chief of Party for USAID civil society projects, etc.

His latest publications include the following books:

- Bekaj, Armend (2024) Former combatants, democracy, and institution-building in transitory societies: Kosovo and North Macedonia. London: Routledge.

- Bekaj, Armend and Peter Wallensteen (eds) (2024) Sanctions for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation: moving forward. London: Routledge.