Dr Kalina Zhekova

Associate Professor (Teaching) in Political Science (she/her)
Room: B.15, 29/30 Tavistock Square
Email: kalina.zhekova@ucl.ac.uk
Twitter

Biography

I am an Associate Professor (Teaching) in Political Science, Departmental Head of PG Academic Support and Co-Director of the Centre for the Pedagogy of Politics (CPP). I earned my PhD in Russian Foreign Policy and International Relations at the University of Leeds, and I completed an MA (Distinction) in International Politics at the University of Hull.

I work in the field of international studies, war and conflict, with particular focus on Russian foreign policy, discourses and practices of military intervention within and outside of the post-Soviet space. In my role as Head of PG Academic Support, I manage the provision of Departmental support to postgraduate students, and I provide guidance to Personal Academic Tutors. My work, driven by the importance of trust, care and respect in student-staff relationships, has been recognised as making an outstanding contribution to student learning and educational experience. I hold a UCL Provost Education Award for Academic Support and two UCL Social & Historical Sciences Faculty Education Awards.
 

Research

My current research focuses on Russian foreign policy, approaches to military intervention and state sovereignty in the post-Soviet space and the Middle East. I am interested in interpretivist and poststructuralist approaches to Russian politics and relations with Western states. I examine the development of external and internal threat constructions, notions of inter-ethnic identities and their mobilisation in the process of policymaking, justifications of war and violence. I apply this approach to the study of Russian armed interventions in Syria, Georgia and the war in Ukraine.

Publications

Journal articles

• Zhekova, Kalina. (2023) 'The West in Russian Discourses of Sovereignty During the 2014 Ukraine Crisis: Between ‘Compatriot Protection’ and ‘Non-interference’?' Europe-Asia Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/09668136.2023.2221836 
• Ralph, J., Holland, J. and Zhekova, K. (2017) ‘Before the Vote: UK Foreign Policy Discourse on Syria 2011-13’, Review of International Studies, 43(5), pp. 875–897.

Blog articles

• von Borzyskowski, I. and Zhekova, K. (2023) ‘Policymaking Skills in Interaction: A Case Study of UN-Student Collaboration’, UCL Education Conference.

Teaching

I lead a research-based undergraduate module in Russian foreign policy: ‘Russia and the West: Conflicts and Interventions’ (POLS0105). I also teach two postgraduate methods modules: ‘Qualitative Methods: Texts and Images’ (PUBL0085) and ‘Qualitative Methods: Case Studies and Comparative Analysis’ (PUBL0086). As CPP Co-Director, I organise a range of activities to support education-focused academics in conducting and disseminating pedagogical research.