He received his PhD in Political Science from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and his MA in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from Sabanci University. .He was a United Nations Spokesperson for the Millennium Development Goals (2006-2008) and a Delegate to the United Nations’ 61st General Assembly (2006-2007). Dr. Balas’ teaching and research interests focus on issues of historical international negotiations, conflict resolution, peace studies, European politics, and international organizations. He received a European Union Erasmus+ Jean Monnet Module Grant for 2015-2018 to develop an inter-disciplinary, team taught course on Introduction to the European Union at SUNY Cortland.