I focus on questions of democratic linkages and accountability processes in a variety of contexts, from democratizing states and well-established democracies to international organizations and multilevel political systems. Essentially, I am puzzled by the choices state leaders, political regimes, and even multilevel political structures make when presented with opportunities for change while still constrained by the legacies of the past. At the same time, I am interested in assessing the public's perception and evaluation of such policy decisions. I looked at these questions in post-communist countries and multilevel institutions such as the European Union and the Council of Europe.
In addition to my work on Europe, a distinct section of my research has looked at civic engagement, youth activism on social media, and religious preferences in the US. More recently, I teamed up with a community organization on the West side of Chicago, the Peace and Justice Center, BUILD, Inc., to work towards implementing a civic engagement model that emphasizes youth capacity, connection to community, and commitment to social issues.
M Giurcanu & K Wald, 2023. “Religion and Political Preferences in the United States, 1990-2012”, book chapter to be featured in Religious Voting in Western Europe, Jose Ramon Montero, Paolo Segatti, Kerman Calvo (eds.), Oxford University Press
M Giurcanu & P Kostadinova. 2021. “A Responsive Relationship? Setting the Political Agenda in the European Union”, Journal of European Public Policy 1-19
P Kostadinova and M Giurcanu. 2020. “Europarties’ Election Pledges and European Commission legislative priorities: An Assessment of their Overlap,” Party Politics 26(6): 795-806
Petia Kostadinova and Magda Giurcanu. 2018. "Capturing the legislative priorities of transnational Europarties and the European Commision: A Pledge Approach", European Union Politics, 19(2):363-379.
Ji Young Kim, Magda Giurcanu, Juliana Fernandes. 2017. "Documenting the Emergence of Grassroots Politics on Facebook: the Florida Case", The Journal of Social Media and Society, 6(1): 5-41.
Petia Kostadinova and Magda Giurcanu. 2015. "Political Blackmail, Institutional Infighting and Electoral Politics: The Fate of Governing Parties during the Great Recession (2008-12) in Romania and Bulgaria", Politics & Policy, 43:(6): 789-821.
Magda Giurcanu. 2015. "Assessing the Role of European Attitudes in Cross-National Electoral Research: Does the Post-Communist Context Matter?", East European Politics & Societies and Cultures, May 2015 29: 504-518.
Bryon Moraski and Magda Giurcanu. 2013. "European Reactions to the 2008 Georgian-Russian War: Assessing the Impact of Gas Dependence", Studies in Comparative International Development, 48: 432-456.
Magda Giurcanu. 2012. "Europe at Stake during First European Parliament Elections Organized in an Enlarged Europe", Florida Political Chronicle , vol.21, n.1-2 (2010-2012) December.
Juliana Fernandes, Magda Giurcanu, Kevin Bowers, and Jeffrey Neely. 2010. "The Writing on the Wall: A Content Analysis of College Students' Facebook Groups for the 2008 US Presidential Election", Mass Communication and Society, 13(5): 653-675.
M. Giurcanu. 2021. “Dealing with the Russians,” review of Andrew Monaghan in Journal of Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics and Society 7, (1).
Magda Giurcanu. 2017. Book Review of Trouble of the Far Right. Contemporary Right-Wing Strategies and Practices in Europe, Maik Fielitz and Laura Lotte Laloire (eds) in East European Politics, 33(4): 572-573.
Magda Giurcanu. 2012. "Europe at Stake during First European Parliament Elections Organized in an Enlarged Europe" in Susan Banducci, Mark Franklin, Heiko Giebbler, Sara Hobolt, Michael Marsh, Wouter van der Brug, and Cees van der Eijk (Eds), An Audit of Democracy in the European Union, European University Institute, 123-146.
Magda Giurcanu. 2011. Book Review of European Parliament Elections after Eastern Enlargement, Hermann Schmidt (ed.): Routledge 2010 in EUSA Review, 24 (2): Spring.
Giurcanu, Magda; Kostadinova, Petia, 2021, "Replication Data for: A responsive relationship? Setting the political agenda in the European Union", https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/OBMIYG, Harvard Dataverse, V4
Kostadinova, Petia; Giurcanu, Magda, 2018, "Replication Data for Capturing the legislative priorities of transnational Europarties and the European Commission: A pledge approach," https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/WUVHJP, Harvard Dataverse, V1