Michael SHAFIR is Senior Regional Analyst, covering and/or coordinating coverage on Central (the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia) and Southeastern Europe (Bulgaria, Moldova and Romania) in the daily "RFE/RL Newsline." Shafir is also the editor of "East European Perspectives," an RFE/RL Internet journal published twice a month, to which he frequently also contributes. When solicited, Shafir gives analytical interviews or participates in round-table discussions broadcast by the RFE/RL Romanian Service, Slovak Service, Bulgarian Service, as well as other services. Shafir served in different positions with RFE/RL, first between 1965 and 1967, and then between 1985 and 1995. He rejoined the company in 1997. Dr. Shafir was born in Romania and received his PhD in Political Science from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1981. He taught Political Science at the University of Tel Aviv, was Director of Foreign News at Kol Israel and Supervisory Research Analyst at the Open Media Research Institute in Prague.
Shafir is the author of Romania: Politics, Economics and Society. Political Stagnation and Simulated Change, published by Frances Pinter, London, 1985. He has published over 200 articles on Communist and post-Communist affairs in American, Austrian British, Dutch, French, German, Hungarian, Israeli, Romanian and Slovak journals, and has contributed chapters to volumes published in Great Britain, the USA and the Czech Republic.
Shafir's interests have evolved through the years, a shift being markedly influenced by post-Communist political developments. Before the end of Communist regimes, he was primarily interested in the relation between intellectuals and the powers-that be (his PhD was on the Romanian intellectuals in the Communist era), dissent, minorities and nationalism. While some of these interests remain high on Shafir's research agenda, others were added by the post-1989 developments, primarily comparative transitions, radical politics undermining the transition to democracy and, last but not least, antisemitism. As Shafir recently put it in an interview: "Although born Jewish and a citizen of Israel, I was converted to Judaism late in life. The 'rabbis' who converted me were neither reformed, nor conservative, nor orthodox. Rather, they were yesterday's 'democrats' and fellows, colleagues, and even (alas) friends, with whom I had marched a long way together in combating 'national communism.' When they became contaminated with the antisemitic bug, I finally understood that there is a problem around. But the problem is not mine--it is theirs."
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