Nikolai Genov

Nikolai Genov (Bulgarian: Николай Генов / Nikolaj Genow ) ( born 1946 ) is a sociologist of Bulgarian origin.

Life

He received his doctorate in 1975 at the University of Leipzig Dr. phil. and 1986 at the Academy of Sciences in Sofia ( Bulgaria) Dr. sc 1990 he was appointed professor at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. From 2002 to 2011 he held a professorship in sociology at the Institute of Sociology and the Institute for Eastern European Studies at the Free University of Berlin. Since 2011 he heads the Institute for Global and Regional Development at the School of Advanced Social Studies in Slovenia. In the course of his career he pursued research and teaching at the Universities of Berkeley, Bielefeld, Frankfurt am Main, Kassel, Lund, Moscow, Rome, Seoul and Warsaw.

From 1980 to 1990 held Genov the International Varna Sociological School. From 1990 to 1992 he was the co-director of the Centre for Research and Documentation in the Social Sciences ( at the Vienna Centre). From 1994 to 1996 he held the position of Vice President of UNESCO's Management of Social Transformations (MOST) program. Between 2003 and 2008 he was a board member of the program. From 1996 to 1998 he was a member from 1998 to 2002, the Vice- President of the International Social Science Council ( ISSC ) in Paris. From 2000 to 2010 he served as Director of the UNESCO / ISSC International Summer School Comparative Research in the Social Sciences. From 2003 to 2005 he was director of the Eastern Europe Institute at the Free University of Berlin

Research and teaching

Until 1989, Genovs research and teaching focused primarily on the issues of sociological theory and the history of ideas. During this period he published the monographs Talcott Parsons and the Theoretical Sociology (1982) and Rationality and Sociology ( in Bulgarian) (1986). After 1989, his professionales interest focused more and more on the transformation processes in different world regions, particularly in Eastern Europe. The monographs The United States at the End of the XXth Century (1991) and The Rise of the Dragon: The Modernization of South Korea (1994) and an anthology Risks of the transition ( in Bulgarian) (1994 ) dealt extensively with these issues. The theoretical core of these studies was the idea of four global trends: rationality improvement of organizations, individualization, spread of instrumental activism and universalization of value- normative systems. These concepts were operationalisert later and conducted a series of Genovs led international comparative research projects: Personal and Institutional Strategies for Coping with Transformation Risks " ( UNESCO / MOST, 1997-2001); Ethnic Relations in South Eastern Europe ( Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, 2003-2005); Interethnic Integration ( EU, 2005-2007); Migration in the Post-Soviet Space (Volkswagen Foundation, 2008-2010).

Publications

Nikolai Genov has authored more than 300 scientific articles and books that have been published in 287 countries. Selected Publications in English: