About me

I am a political scientist and British Academy International Fellow in the Politics Department at the University of Manchester, where I am also affiliated with the Mitchell Centre for Social Network Analysis and the Cathie Marsh Institute for Social Research. I received my PhD in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

I study comparative politics and political economy. My research investigates elites, governance, state capture, and reform. I am especially interested in how extremely wealthy individuals (oligarchs) interact with government officials, institutions, the public, and each other to shape governance outcomes. Empirically, I draw on the contemporary experience of Ukraine and other post-communist states and collect, build, and analyze large-scale administrative, expert, and survey datasets. Methodologically, I combine social network analysis, regression analysis, panel and experimental survey methods, and in-depth elite interviews.

I hold a Master’s degree in Global Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a Master’s degree in Political Science from Leiden University, and a Bachelor’s degree in European Studies from Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. My research has been supported by the British Academy, the Rotary Foundation, the Institute for Humane Studies, and the Smith Richardson Foundation, among others.

For inquiries, comments, or drafts of working papers, I can be reached at silviya.nitsova@manchester.ac.uk.