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Democracy Fellow Examines Albania’s Politics of Personality
Democracy Fellow Altin Ilirjani revealed key findings from his research on electoral issues in Albania at a roundtable held at World Learning's Washington office April 21. Administered by World Learning, the Democracy Fellows Program promotes the advancement of democratic practices in developing countries by placing experienced professionals within the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID.
Ilirjani works in USAID's Office of Democracy and Governance, where he assists in implementing the National Academy of Sciences recommendations for improving democracy assistance through impact evaluations, field experimentation and research, and provides technical expertise on improving standards, methods and use of democracy and governance surveys.
Ilirjani, who has a doctorate in comparative politics and public policy, specializes in researching the evolution of governance and political systems in former communist nations as they attempt to consolidate democratic gains. Ilirjani has also served as the principal investigator of the 2005 and 2009 Albanian National Election Study, part of the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems of the University of Michigan. A former communist country, Albania still faces significant obstacles to the country's democratization and integration with the European Union.
Ilirjani's research reveals that leader evaluation remains a key determinant of vote choice in Albania. Among the factors used to evaluate political leaders, responsiveness and charisma are stronger predictors than evaluation of a leader's competence. Ilirjani's research also shows that having a charismatic leader is more important for a party's electoral success than voter perceptions of its ideological proximity or evaluation of its performance on economic issues. For example, when asked about their feelings towards Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha, 55 percent of participants responded that he has made them “feel hopeful.” The Democratic Party went on to win 68 parliamentary seats in the 2009 elections, up from 56 in 2005.
Recent polling data also reveals increasing polarization among Albania's voters when compared to earlier years, similar to trends observed recently in the US and other Western democracies. When participants in a recent public opinion poll in Albania were asked to rank various Albanian party leaders and the main political parties themselves on a scale of 0 to 10 – where 0 indicates strong dislike towards a candidate or party and 10 indicates a favorable attitude – the participants tended to respond with either 0 or 10. Few participants listed a neutral score or independent position.
As a Democracy Fellow, Ilirjani alternates between USAID's Washington headquarters and assignments at one of its field missions abroad. World Learning initiates and manages most managerial and administrative matters on behalf of the seven current Democracy Fellows, whose fellowships last up to five years. Prior to joining USAID, Ilirjani worked for the World Bank Group in Washington and the Open Society Institute in Budapest, and taught courses in comparative politics and East Central Europe politics at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He has also conducted extensive field research in Cyprus, Turkey, Kosovo, Macedonia, Hungary, Russia, and Ukraine.