Romanova Valentyna
Romanova Valentyna
Previous research
My main area of expertise is multi-level politics in Ukraine: politics at statewide and sub-state scales. Previously, I examined the impact of regional elections on Ukraine’s democratization trajectory. When analyzing the case of Ukraine, I applied the second-order elections theory and referred to comparative lessons drawn from regional elections around the globe. I searched for the determinants of voters’ split-ticketing at parliamentary and sub-state elections in the same regions in Ukraine and explained what difference the decentralization policy made. Also, I compared numerous attempts to launch the decentralization policy in Ukraine and discovered that policymakers with different party manifestos supported similar policy options, when provided with data-driven evidence and well-coordinated international aid.
Current research projects
Recently, I have explored Ukraine’s resilience to Russia’s military invasion in the context of the pre-war decentralization reform and identified the reform’s implications on the state’s monopoly of force, public service provision, and legitimacy. Also, I examined the impact of the decentralization reform on the capacity of local authorities to take care of internally displaced persons. Currently I aim at investigating the territorial dimension of Ukraine’s reconstruction needs and conducting case study research on Ukraine’s partnerships with foreign counterparts aimed at the post-war recovery.