Academic Research and Educational Policies under the Neoliberal Umbrella: The Case of Albania

Abstract

The global ascendance of neoliberal doctrine has reconfigured higher education, increasingly framing it as a market where universities must align their qualifications with market demands. This paradigm privileges applied sciences, technology, and medicine, while systematically devaluing the social sciences and humanities. This paper investigates this phenomenon through a case study of Albania, a post-socialist country navigating a complex transition. We argue that the confluence of market-driven educational policies and insufficient public investment creates a precarious environment for certain academic disciplines and stifles scientific research, particularly in developing nations or those with hybrid political regimes. This study employs a mixed-methods approach, combining a national survey of 800 university students with a thematic analysis of policy documents and national statistics. The findings reveal that student choices are overwhelmingly dictated by perceived employment prospects, leading to a crisis in enrollment for humanities and social science programs. Concurrently, state funding for scientific research is critically low, undermining the academic community's capacity for knowledge production and innovation. The Albanian case demonstrates how neoliberal pressures, exacerbated by limited state capacity and a lack of alternative funding sources, endanger the sustainability of essential academic fields and the broader public-good mission of higher education. The study contributes to the international discourse on academic capitalism by providing empirical evidence from a peripheral, transitional context, highlighting the acute vulnerabilities faced by non-market-oriented disciplines when marketization is compounded by state and market failure.