MELISSA SAMARIN
PHD, POLITICAL SCIENCE

WELCOME

I am a political scientist with ​training in comparative politics and international relations, quantitative and qualitative methodologies, and have experience in academia, research, and research management. I am currently a Researcher at the World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER). I work on projects regarding statebuilding and legitimacy, democratization and autocratization, foreign aid and governance, and international development. 

My research interests include contemporary Russian politics, as well as processes of democratization and authoritarianism more broadly. I have extensive fieldwork experience across Russia and have previously lived in both Moscow and St. Petersburg. 

I recieved my PhD in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley. I hold an MSc from the University of Oxford's Russian and East European Studies programme and a BA from Whittier College. I have consulted on projects for the United States Embassy in Moscow and UNHCR.

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