Fellows Research

The purpose of my visit to Lviv, Ukraine was to prepare for research to be undertaken following the January 2010 presidential elections in Ukraine.

Three prior surveys have taken place in Lviv and Donetsk, the two polarized poles of Ukraine, during the 1994 parliamentary elections and the 1999 and 2004 presidential elections, culminating in a book published in Ukraine which covers various aspects of the regional divide between eastern and western Ukraine made so evident during the Orange Revolution.

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Impact of the Regional Divide on the 2010 Presidential Elections in Ukraine (418KB.pdf)

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The fact that the number of Jews in Albania after the Holocaust was bigger than before is not widely known. The rescue of Jews in Albania was due to many factors, including the refusal of local government authorities to obey to Nazi requests.

Most importantly, it was the result of a particular institution in Albanian customary law – the besa or ndore – which triggers a special duty to protect someone in need, and which supersedes any other positive or customary legal rule or authority.

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Legal Aspects of the Jewish Presence in Albania (279KB.pdf)

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This project examined an important, however less researched, aspect of the political representation of ethnic minorities: the relationship between European-level electoral processes and the national election cycle.

The objective was to gain insight into the effects which the elections for Members of the European Parliament have on the political representation of minorities on the example of the electoral performance of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) in the 2009 European elections and the Bulgarian general elections thereafter.

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Minority Empowerment in a European Perspective (286KB.pdf)

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The rise of the Taliban and the subsequent decades of conflict in Afghanistan, and now Pakistan, have had serious, if underappreciated effects, on political stability and cooperation in Central Asia.

US leaders need to understand these consequences and begin addressing them while the presence of US and coalition forces in the region gives Washington leverage with regional governments, Russia, and China, as well as the various extremist networks who are the target of coalition activities in Afghanistan.

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Central Asia After the War on Terror (367kb.pdf)

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This pilot research used ethnographic methods to collect preliminary data about health and illness among internally displaced persons (IDPs) in post-war Georgia.

I also investigated the role of the Georgian government and humanitarian organizations in providing assistance to IDPs. I conducted interviews with members of aid organizations, NGOs, service providers, and the Ministry of Refugees and Accommodations, as well as participant observation at IDP settlements, collective centers and a clinic for IDPs.

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Health Effects of Displacement in Post-War Georgia (223kb.pdf)

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My research focused on the forces at play within Ukraine’s film industry, spotlighting the legacies of Soviet-era policies, the impact of forces of globalization during the postcommunist era, including the politics of dubbing and subtitling foreign-made films, co-production projects with the film industries of other nations, and the representation of Ukrainian cinema on the world scene.

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The Politics of Film Production & FIlm Distribution in Ukraine: Questions of Identity, Language, & Cross-Cultural Influence

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The project addressed a critical issue in the increasingly diverse contemporary world – developing tolerance towards dissenting religious beliefs.

Tolerance is not the absence of prejudice, but rather a separate construct that emphasizes forbearance, or “putting up with” without interference. It is a central value of democracy and just society and key prerequisite for inter-ethnic and interfaith coexistence.

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Developing Tolerance towards Diverse Religious Beliefs and Practices among Bulgarian Youth (297kb.pdf)

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My research concerned the impact of international and national institutions on indigenous religious practice.

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Religiosity and the International Presence in the Kyrgyz Republic: Diversification or Normalization? (512kb.pdf)

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The “white slaving” component of my project on prostitution in late imperial Austria provides historic background on the topic for Western Ukraine, which has been a point of origin—and of transit—in the trafficking of women and girls since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

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From Lemberg to Alexandria and Constantinople: Jews, Gentiles, and "White-Slaving‟ in Imperial Austria (317KB.pdf)

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The “white slaving” component of my project on prostitution in late imperial Austria provides historic background on the topic for Western Ukraine, which has been a point of origin—and of transit—in the trafficking of women and girls since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

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0910-Wingfield.pdf

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