Dr Katarzyna Walecka

Dr. Katarzyna Walecka is a political scientist specialising in the politics of Central Eastern Europe and an Assistant Professor at Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw. While at Oxford School for Global Studies, she will be working on a monograph about the radicalisation of Polish youth, drawing from research on participants in the annual right-wing March of Independence. Her research interests span political science and political sociology, focusing on the international activities of European political parties, illiberal trends in Central Eastern Europe, and youth participation in right-wing movements. Her edited upcoming book, The Oxford Handbook of Polish Politics, will be published by Oxford University Press in 2025.

Dr. Walecka earned her PhD from the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence, following a master's degree in political science from Warsaw University and a Master's in Social Research Methods from EUI. She has been a Jean Monnet Fellow at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies at EUI, a Visiting Fellow at the University of Nottingham, and a Keeley Visiting Fellow at Wadham College, University of Oxford. She has also co-directed seven editions of the ECPR/ODIHR Schools on Political Parties and Democracy, aimed at students from Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Before transitioning into academia, Dr. Walecka was one of the youngest elected city councillors in Warsaw. She has also worked with the Office for Promotion of Parliamentary Democracy at the European Parliament in Brussels and the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations in New York. Most recently, she founded the STAN Foundation, which promotes academic knowledge and educates young leaders.