The research aims to investigate – through the comparative method – the structural conditions that favored the emergence of the sovereignist reaction in these states. The focus of the research will fall on the identification and comparison of vulnerabilities in the area (Romania, Poland, Hungary), on the dominant type of economic development, the state building model, the specific levels of horizontal and vertical trust, the issue of social inequality – and less on agency (political parties, political leaders, political system).

   The project approach the theoretical aspects regarding the analysis of institutional resilience of the State in the contexts of societal pressure or crisis, in connection with two elements: the explicit strategic culture internalized by its decision-making and executive apparatus, and the implicit strategic culture, internalized by the society, directly reflected in social expectations and public pressure. The research explores the ways in which the strategic culture can be aproached in connection with institutional resilience and can be transposed in a specific analytical tool.

   The research project aims to explore the extent to which the major representatives of the Bucharest Sociological School were concerned with the development of a theory of the state, in order to modernize its various hard and soft capacities. The objective of the research is of a fundamental type, to revalue the conceptual and methodological heritage of the Bucharest Sociological School, one camouflaged either by political approaches or by approaches lacking conceptual-methodological depth.

   The topic includes in-depth research into three phenomena of utmost alarm: population losses; demographic winter; geography of international migration corridors (a comparative analysis at the scale of EU8 countries). Romania's population losses, according to the latest census, reach 1.1 million inhabitants compared to the penultimate (2011); a decline that reaches the threshold of 5.7% within 10 years. This loss is accompanied by accelerated aging and an even more accelerated rural childlessness: the average number of newborns per rural commune has decreased by about 50% in the last 30 years (of the transition to capitalism).

   The project aims to produce a volume of qualitative methodology dedicated to the use of the journal method in the social sciences, under contract to Routledge. The project aims to provide solid answers to the methodological, ethical and interpretative challenges faced by researchers who use a wide range of journals to collect social data.

   The theme has two subcomponents: 1. "Sociology of Digitalization - EU Kids Online 2020: a new perspective", which continues the in-depth exploration of the international database EU Kids Online 2020 and 2. "News Discourse in New Media Culture. A Comparative Analysis", which aims to expand the research area in relation to television media from other countries.

   The theme was foreshadowed by a research project initiated in 2023 ("ION, the First AI Advisor to the Government": what strategies for negotiating meaning in the Romanian political-media space? - Camelia Beciu, Angelica Marinescu) and the first research results were presented at the international conference XXVIe COLLOQUE FRANCO-ROUMANIN EN SCIENCES DE L’INFORMATION ET DE LA COMMUNICATION, Vasile Alecsandri University of Bacău From 26 to 28 October 2023.

   The theme focuses on the commemoration of World War II in Romania, after the fall of communism, in a European and international perspective. The project aims to develop a commemorative calendar of the war in contemporary Romania, taking into account both the national, European (after Romania's accession to the EU), and international (after Romania's accession to NATO) dimensions, starting from dominant contemporary discourses in the public space and investigating dominant discourses about the Second World War within the framework of commemorations in contemporary Romania.

   The topic aims to deepen the issue of communities from a sociological perspective, especially the political type of community. The research will focus on the impact of the political community on the social and the dangers to which societies are exposed by the subalternation of the social in relation to the political dimension.

   The research includes continuing research on references to Orthodoxy in the work and activity of H.H. Stahl and other notable contributions of the Bucharest Sociological School to the research of the religious life of the Romanian people.

   The project aims to delve deeper into the issue of sexuality in contemporary couples (pornography consumption and its effects on marital life in contemporary society).

   The topic follows the analysis of press articles from the late 19th and early 20th centuries that have as their subject/s aspects related to the social, economic, cultural, etc. condition of the village and its inhabitants with the aim of carrying out a comparative analysis between the academic discourse captured in the specialized articles and the journalistic narratives closer to the collective imaginary of the time. The project aims to contribute to the completion of a methodology dedicated to the systematization of available statistical data relevant to the "peasant problem".

   The year 2024 will lead to significant socio-political transformations. In this context, we will analyze the proposed indicators using secondary analysis of statistical data by year and country, at regional and national levels. The study aims at a longitudinal analysis, using the comparative method and analysis of social documents.

   Program 4 includes the research project “Lethal Violence in the 21st Century. Trends, Particularities and Risk Factors (2024-2026)” (partners: Homicide Service, National Penitentiary Administration and Faculty of Sociology and Social Work), within which the types of lethal violence that marked the first decades of the 21st century will be analyzed, as well as investigations into interpersonal lethal violence. The international research projects initiated in previous years will be continued: 1. Public narratives and attitudes toward refugees and migrants. A comparative analysis Romania-Bulgaria and 2. COST European Cooperation in Science and Technology CA21133 - Globalization, Illicit Trade, Sustainability and Security (GLITSS).