Besir Ceka

I teach courses in international relations and comparative politics with a particular focus on European politics. Prior to coming to Davidson, I was a Max Weber Fellow at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy.

Broadly speaking, my research and teaching interests lie in the fields of public opinion, political behavior, European integration, international organizations, and post-communist politics. 

More recently I have become fascinated by the psychology of conspiracy theories and have studied the effect of conspiratorial thinking on political tolerance. My current research investigates strategies for effectively countering misinformation on social media platforms. I am co-author of Measuring International Authority: A Postfunctionalist Theory of Governance, a book on international organizations published by Oxford University Press. My other work has been published in Comparative Political Studies, Comparative Politics, European Union Politics, Journal of European Public Policy, European Journal of Political Research, Review of International Organizations, Foreign Affairs, Journal of Democracy, and Communications Psychology.

I earned my BA from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, where I double-majored in Political Science and Economics and minored in German. In my free time, I enjoy woodworking, and riding motorcycles. I also love playing racquetball, foosball, and soccer.

Teaching

• Rise and Fall of Democracy (POL 448)
• Politics of Russia and Eastern Europe (POL 348)
• Nationalism (POL 444)
• International Relations (POL 161)
• West European Politics (POL 242)
• European Integration (POL 440)
• Psychology of Political Leadership (POL 384)
• Political Science Methods and Statistics (POL 182)
• International Organization (POL 363)
• World Politics in American Politics (Davidson in Washington seminar)