Olena Nikolayenko

Olena Nikolayenko is Professor of Political Science at Fordham University and an Associate at Harvard University's Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies. She holds a PhD from the University of Toronto and has held visiting appointments at Princeton, Stanford, George Washington University, Ludwig Maximilian University, European Humanities University, Polish Academy of Sciences, and Uppsala University.

Research Interests:

• Comparative Democratization
• Social Movements
• Political Behavior
• Women's Activism
• Eastern Europe and Post-Soviet States

Recent Publications: Her work examines emotional drivers of protest (Belarus), gender dynamics in civil resistance (Ukraine), tactical evolution of youth movements (Otpor model), and electoral mobilization under authoritarian regimes. Her 2017 book Youth Movements and Elections in Eastern Europe established foundational frameworks for analyzing state-movement interactions.

Scientific Recognition:

• Recipient of 2017 Faculty Mentor Award
• Research funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Open Society Institute, and Title VIII grants

Teaching: Courses include Civil Resistance in Comparative Perspective, Politics of the European Union, and Women and Politics. She directs Fordham's Honors Program and teaches graduate-level comparative political analysis.