Gabriel Bădescu is a Professor and Director of the Center for the Study of Democracy at Babeş-Bolyai University of Cluj, Romania. He has a BA in Mathematics, and a BA in Sociology and received his doctorate in Sociology at Babeş-Bolyai University. He coordinated more than 10 major projects, out of which six are international or part of cross-national projects and is the author or editor of six books and published more than 40 articles on democratic and economic transitions in Eastern Europe, civil society, social capital, educational policies, research methodology, income inequality, and labor migration.