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PROF. OLGA ONUCH (DPhil Oxford 2010) is Professor (Chair) in Comparative and Ukrainian Politics at the University of Manchester (making Onuch the first-ever holder of a Full Professorship in Ukrainian Politics in the English-speaking world and making UoM the first English language University to host such a Professorship).
Onuch joined UoM in 2014, after holding research posts at the University of Toronto (2010-2011), the University of Oxford (2011-2014), and Harvard University (2013-2014). Since 2014, in addition to her post at UoM, Prof. Onuch was: an Associate Member (Politics) of Nuffield College at the University of Oxford (2014-2021), a Fellow at the Davis Center at the University of Harvard (2017), a Visiting Professor at Universidad Di Tella (2019-2020), and a Senior Research Associate at CERES, Munk School at the University of Toronto (2021).
A scholar of comparative politics of eastern Europe and Latin America Onuch’s work looks at the motivations driving citizens to vote, protest, and/or migrate and factors related to their media consumption, as well as identity formation and policy preferences. Onuch’s research demonstrates that civic identity and duty (or its absence) is central in shaping political behavior in democratizing contexts. Onuch’s comparative study of engagement and democratic civic duty has made her a leading expert in Ukrainian and Argentine politics specifically, but also in east European Comparative Politics and inter-regional comparative analysis.
Onuch is the author of two books, as well as, numerous scholarly articles (published in The Journal of Democracy, GeoPolitics, Social Media + Society, Europe-Asia Studies, Problems of Post-Communism, Nations and Nationalism, Nationalities Papers, and Post-Soviet Affairs among other journals), book chapters, and policy briefs. Advancing findings, from her first monograph, Mapping Mass Mobilization (2014, reviewed in Europe-Asia Studies), Onuch has produced high-impact publications developing generalizable theories on the measurement and role of “civic identity,” “democratic dispositions” and “affective polarisation.” This research culminated in her second monograph, The Zelensky Effect (OUP/Hurst 2023/2022, co-authored with Henry Hale, reviewed/cited in New York Review of Books, TLS Foreign Affairs, Guardian, Washington Post, New York Times, The Diplomatic Courier, The Times Radio Podcast, The Telegraph, Ukraine Lately Podcast, The Democracy Paradox, Ukraiinska Pravda, Forbes Ukraine, Elle Ukraine and more), analyzing the rise of democratic duty and state attachment in Ukraine.
Prof. Onuch is the Lead and UK Principle Investigator of MOBILISE “Determinants of ‘Mobilisation’ at Home and Abroad: Analysing the Micro- Foundations of Out-Migration & Mass Protest”. A multi-year project (2018-2023) funded through the Open Research Area (ORA) Scheme with the direct support of the ESRC in the UK, the DFG in Germany, the ANR in France, and the NWO in the Netherlands (€2,002,039 total (£595,369 to UoM)). Onuch is also the PI of the IBIF project funded by the British Academy (2019-2024).
Her research regularly appears in leading media outlets (The Washington Post, The Times, The Guardian, BBC, ITV, Al Jazeera, and AFP, among others). Onuch’s research on Ukraine has resulted in her consulting policymakers in Canada, Ukraine, the UK, and the US. Her research received praise and awards placing her on the map as one of the foremost experts on politics in Ukraine.
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE KEYWORDS
Revolutions*, Elections*, Protest*, Social Movements*, War, Identity, Ethnicity, Public Opinion, Social Surveys, Electoral Fraud, Populism, Politics of Economic Crisis, Democracy, Democratization*, Political Participation, Political Parties, Youth Movements*, Activism*, Civil Society, Civil Society Promotion, Democracy Promotion.
COUNTRIES & REGIONS
Ukraine*, Argentina*, Venezuela, Brazil, Mexico, Poland*, Russia, Eastern Europe, Latin America.
LANGUAGES
- Ukrainian [Spoken:Fluent/Native, Written: Fluent/Native];
- Polish [Spoken:Fluent/Native, Written: Advanced];
- English [Spoken:Fluent/Native, Written: Fluent/Native];
- French [Spoken: Advanced, Written: Advanced, ‘French Immersion’ primary & secondary education];
- Spanish [Spoken: Intermediate, Written: Intermediate];
- Russian [Spoken: Basic /Working Knowledge, Written: Working Knowledge/Intermediate].
MEDIA EXPERIENCE
I am a regular contributor to and my research has appeared in the BBC, CBC, Channel Four, ITV, National Public Radio, Radio Free Europe, Sky News, Al Jazeera, AFP, Hromadske TV, The Guardian, The Washington Post, The Independent, the International Business Times, El Pais, The Monocle, and Reuters.
CONTACT DETAILS
University of Manchester
M13 9PL