contributors

Gilda Hoxha and Joakim Ekman

Gilda Hoxha is a Lecturer at Universiteti Mesdhetar i Shqiperise, Albania.
Joakim Ekman is Professor in Political Science and the Director of CBEES at Södertörn University.

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Articles by Gilda Hoxha and Joakim Ekman

  1. WORLDS APART, STRUGGLES ALIKE Early-career academics in Albania and Sweden

    Early-career academics (ECAs) generally experience insecure employment conditions, intense competition for research funding, and limited access to effective mentorship. Postdoctoral career pathways are marked by uncertainty and precarity, with short-term contracts and high expectations for research output, teaching, and administrative work. Drawing on interviews with ECAs in Sweden and Albania, this essay identifies a striking convergence in their experiences despite substantial differences in national academic systems. The findings suggest that these difficulties are not merely country-specific but reflect broader structural characteristics of contemporary European academia. The persistence of such conditions highlights a systemic disconnect between doctoral training and sustainable academic careers, pointing to the need for reforms that promote long-term career stability and healthier research environments. The essay also reveals differences between Albanian and Swedish ECAs’ career aspirations and experiences of gender equality.

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