The only Albanian think tank to make it into the prestigious University of Pennsylvania rankings, the Albanian Institute for International Studies ranked 24th out of the top 60 think tanks in Central and Eastern Europe in the 2012 Global GoTo Think Tank Index.
TIRANA, Jan. 23 – The Albanian Institute for International Studies has been ranked among the top think tanks for 2012 in Central and Eastern Europe by Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program, a foreign policy research body based at the University of Pennsylvania.
The newly-released 2012 Global GoTo Think Tank Index shows AIIS stands 24th out 60 ranked organizations in Central and Eastern Europe.
Out of 10 Albania-based think tanks evaluated, AIIS was the only one to make the cut and get a ranking in the top 60, the findings show.
AIIS is consistently rated by the index as the best think tank in Albania and one of the best in the region. In the previous report, in 2011, AIIS was also the only Albanian organization to make the cut.
“This year’s ranking shows AIIS has maintained its high work standards and continued to serve as the leading organization of its kind in Albania,” said Dr. Albert Rakipi, AIIS executive director. “We are again thankful that the tireless work of the highly-specialized staff and our hundreds of collaborators worldwide has been recognized by such a prestigious program.”
Established in 1998 by a group of academics and analysts with extensive experience in foreign policy and policy-making issues, AIIS has made significant contributions through its analysis, projects, and publications in the fields of Euro-Atlantic integration; democracy, security, and transition as well as regional security and cooperation.
AIIS has also served as a consultative body, with policy-makers seeking its advice on the challenges Albania faces on the road to democratization, says Jorgji Qirjako, AIIS deputy director.
International experts who have cooperated with the the institute and know its work well have noted that AIIS offers a sharp analytical focus on the world beyond Tirana, productively helping Albania become an active contributor to international relations, as well has honored the institute’s tradition of excellence in Albania.
Bernd J. Fischer of Indiana University says the Albanian Institute for International Studies, through its many conferences and publications, has become the leading organization of its kind in Albania and an important contributor to the discussion of a broad range of issues in the Balkans in general.
“With its objective analysis and multitude of voices, it has made, and will continue to make, an important contribution to regional and general understanding of the critical issues facing the Balkans. This understanding is an important step on the road to long-term regional stability. The institute’s efforts are to be encouraged and applauded,” he said.
While Janusz Bugajski of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies noted that since its inception, the Albanian Institute of International Studies has played an important role in Albanian society.
“As the leading Albanian policy-focused institute, it has promoted debate on critical foreign policy and security issues, it has had an impact in policy making by bringing together decision makers and policy analysts in Albania with their foreign counterparts, and it has promoted a regional network of analysts to enhance regional cooperation and regional security,” he said.
Established in 1989, the ranking program works to evaluate the role policy institutes play in governments and civil societies around the world. The 2012 Global GoTo Think Tank Index is the result of an international survey of over 1,950 scholars, public and private donors, policy makers, and journalists who helped rank more than 6,500 think tanks using a set of 18 criteria developed by the TTCSP. The purpose of the rankings is to help improve the profile and performance of think tanks while highlighting the important work they do for governments and civil societies around the world.
“As we move forward, TTCSP will continue to engage think tanks, policy makers and other stakeholders in a peer-to-peer dialogue and knowledge exchange on major policy issues while discussing issues of capacity-building and the organizational and environmental challenges facing think tanks,” the program organizers say. “Our broader objective is to build partnerships across regions and sectors in order to encourage international cooperation. It is our hope that together we can develop a number of global public goods that will lead to collective action on some of the key transnational issues we face today.”
