Dr. Maryna Shevtsova
URIS Fellow Autumn 2026
Dr. Maryna Shevtsova is a political scientist and gender studies scholar whose research examines the intersections of democracy, gender, migration, and social movements in Ukraine, Central and Eastern Europe and Southern Caucasus. Drawing on feminist political theory, gender studies, and political sociology, her work explores how civil society actors navigate war, displacement, authoritarian backlash, and processes of democratic transformation.
Her research focuses particularly on feminist and LGBTQ+ movements, questions of citizenship and belonging, and the role of civil society in shaping more inclusive and democratic societies. Combining academic research with extensive fieldwork and policy engagement, she contributes to debates on post-war recovery, gender equality, and human rights in Ukraine and beyond.
Education and academic background
Dr. Shevtsova holds a PhD in Political Science from Humboldt University of Berlin. She is currently a Visiting Assisting Professor at KU Leuven (Belgium). Over the past decade, she has held research and teaching positions at the University of Ljubljana, Lund University, and the University of Florida as a Fulbright Scholar, alongside visiting fellowships at the University of Helsinki and Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona.
Prior to these appointments, she taught for eight years at Oles Honchar Dnipro National University in Ukraine. Alongside her academic work, Dr. Shevtsova has collaborated with international organisations including UN OHCHR, the World Bank, Freedom House, GIZ, and ILGA World, conducting research on gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights, migration, and post-war recovery in Ukraine and across Central and Eastern Europe.
Contact: maryna.shevtsova@unibas.ch
Personal WebsiteResearch project
Diaspora, Displacement, and the Gendered Aftermath of Russia's War in Ukraine: A Feminist Foreign Policy Perspective
During her fellowship at the University of Basel, Dr. Shevtsova will investigate how displaced Ukrainians – particularly women, LGBTQ+ people, and Roma communities – envision an inclusive post-war recovery and how their perspectives can contribute to rebuilding Ukraine.
Drawing on feminist foreign policy analysis, migration studies, and diaspora research, the project examines how vulnerable and displaced communities participate in debates on reconstruction, democratic governance, and social inclusion. Through interviews and collaborative research with partners across Europe, the project aims to contribute both to academic debates and to policy discussions on Ukraine's recovery and European integration.
Further research interests: feminist foreign policy, gender and sexuality, civil society, democracy, migration, LGBTQ+ rights, social movements, post-war recovery, Eastern Europe.
Teaching at the University of Basel
Dr. Shevtsova will offer a BA/MA-level course titled From Dissidents to Pride Marches: Protest, Social Movements and Democracy in Ukraine.
The course explores the history of protest and civil society in Ukraine from the late Soviet period to the present. Combining perspectives from political science, history, sociology, and gender studies, students examine protest movements ranging from Soviet dissidents and the Orange Revolution to Euromaidan, feminist activism, LGBTQ+ movements, and contemporary responses to Russia's full-scale invasion. Through academic literature, cultural sources, and digital media, the course encourages critical reflection on democracy, resistance, identity, and social change in Ukraine.
Events in Basel with Maryna
From "Gayropa" to Gendered War: Gender Order and Geopolitics in Contemporary Ukraine
Lecture by Maryna Shevtsova (Leuven/Basel) in the context of the research seminar/colloquium “Gender, Queer & Trans-Research”. Contact us for further information and registration.
29 October, 14.00–16.00h, Alte Universität Basel, Rheinsprung 9, Seminarraum –201
International Workshop
13 November 2026, 9.30–16.00 Venue: Europainstitut, University of Basel, Riehenstrasse 154, Orangerie
As part of her URIS Fellowship, Maryna Shevtsova is co-organising the workshop “Producing Feminist and Queer Knowledge from (Semi-)Peripheries” together with Anna Dobrowolska. The workshop brings together scholars working across Central and Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus and Central Asia to discuss how feminist and queer knowledge is produced within unequal academic structures. It focuses particularly on questions of positionality, representation, extractivism and collaboration in transnational research.
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