Researcher at Balkan Ethnology Department
in Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum-BAS
Contact Information:
Email: inxhi.brisku@iefem.bas.bg
Researcher Profile
Bionote: Inxhi Brisku is a researcher at the Department of Balkan Ethnology, Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. His work examines the historical development of social care and welfare systems, with a particular focus on the Balkans during the second half of the twentieth century and early twenty first century. He completed a PhD in Ethnography within the ERC-funded project European Leviathan: The Legacy of Post-War Medicine and the Common Good. Brisku holds master’s degrees in Holocaust Studies and European Politics and Society, and a BA in Political Science. His research engages with the intersections of ideology, social policy, and care, including ageing, psychiatry, and socialist governance. He has published in international journals and actively participates in interdisciplinary conferences across Europe.
Selected Publications:
- “The Dialectics of Marxism and Neo-Freudianism: Ideological Dogmatism and the Limits of Criticism in Socialist Albania.” Balkanistic Worlds (2025).
- “Unravelling the Criticism: Socialist Albania’s Examination of Freudian and Neo-Freudian Theories.” Contradictions (2024).
- “From War Wounds to Welfare: Caring for Albania’s Older People in the Transition to Socialism (1945–1948).” Balkanistic Forum (2024).
- “Establishment and Operation of the First Older People’s Care Institution in Albania.” Bulgarian Ethnology (2023).
- “The Electoral Success of the Northern League in Italy (2008–2018).” Studia Politica (2023).
Selected Conferences and Seminars:
- 2025 – 7th International Conference “Between the Worlds: Crossroads, Dialogues and Stories” Paper: Between Welfare and Control: A Microhistory from a Nursing Home in Socialist Albania
- 2025 – SEE Aging Graz Paper: Representation of Older People in Albanian Socialist Cinema
- 2024 – “Getting Old in Eastern Europe,” IOS Regensburg Paper: Care Institutions in Socialist Albania (1948–1961)
- 2024 – “Transformations of Postwar Europe,” BAS Sofia Paper: Institutional Analysis of Eldercare in Socialist Albania
- 2023 – University of Hamburg Conference Paper: Gendering Care in Socialist Albania
- 2022 – Charles University Conference on the League of Nations Paper: Health and Welfare Institutions in Albania
Contributor to multiple European Leviathan Medical Anthropology Seminars (BAS)
Research Grants and Fewllowships:
- Seed Funding for Junior Scholars (seeFField) – University of Regensburg & Volkswagen Stiftung (2026)
- European Leviathan: The Legacy of Post-War Medicine and the Common Good (ERC Synergy Project, Horizon 2020) Role: Researcher (2022–2025)
- Visiting Doctoral Researcher – European University Institute, Florence (2024)
- Research Fellowship – Jagiellonian University (2021–2022)
For further information, please see Inxhi Brisku’s curriculum vitae.