Barbora Valik

Country: 
Czech Republic
Year of Enrollment: 
2019
Departmental Affiliation: 
International Relations
Political Science

Barbora is a doctoral candidate in Political Science (International Relations track), pursuing a minor in Social Science Methodology. She is a fellow in the Civil War Paths project of the Centre for the Comparative Study of Civil War (University of York) and a visiting researcher at Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals (Spain). Between January-August 2023, she was also a visiting researcher at Universidad de los Andes (Colombia). In addition to her research, Barbora works as a teaching fellow at the Global History Lab (University of Cambridge) and as an instructor of undergraduate courses at CEU, mostly focusing on topics related to peacebuilding. She has also worked as a teaching assistant for numerous methodological courses. Between 2021–2023, she was the chair of the Conflict and Security Research Group at CEU.

Barbora undertakes research on social movement mobilisation, conflict prevention and resolution, and post-conflict reconstruction. She is particularly interested in issues related to power-sharing, autonomy, self-determination, secessionism, indigenous struggles, war recurrence, peacekeeping, and civil resistance. As regards methodology, Barbora's main focus lies with set-theoretic and qualitative methods, but she has also consistently worked to acquire a broad set of quantitative research skills.

Barbora graduated from Masaryk University and – as a part of her MA degree – also studied at the University of Essex. Prior to enrolling in the PhD, Barbora gained professional experience at miscellaneous non-governmental organisations, an academic centre (Czech Centre for Human Rights and Democracy), and the Parliament of the Czech Republic. She was the recipient of the Academic Achievement Award for First-Year Doctoral Students in 2021 and the CEU Award for Advanced Doctoral Students in 2024. In 2023, she also received the Open Society University Network Graduate Research Mobility Grant supporting her field research with indigenous communities in Colombia, Chile, and Mexico.

Qualification

MA in International Relations, Masaryk University
BA in International Relations and European Studies, Masaryk University

Dissertation Topic

Supervisor