Alexandra Oanca

Alexandra Oanca is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology at KU Leuven, Belgium. Her work bridges anthropology of policy, critical urban studies, and European studies, with a focus on governance, policy mobility, and postcolonial critiques of EU cultural diplomacy.

• Current role: Postdoctoral Research Associate and ICP Coordinator for CADES
• Prior affiliations: University of Hull (UK), University of Amsterdam (Netherlands), Universidade do Vale do Taquari (Brazil)

Research Interests: Her research explores:

• Discourses of expertise in policy networks
• Knowledge production in bureaucracies
• Postcolonial and decolonial frameworks in EU policy-making
• Urban branding and heritage-making in former colonial contexts (e.g., Casablanca, Melilla)
• Mobilization of cultural policies across geographies

Publications span critical analyses of EU cultural diplomacy, evaluation practices in cultural capital programs, and the interplay between colonial heritage and contemporary governance. Her work has appeared in journals like International Journal of Heritage Studies and Arts and the Market.

Education:

• PhD in Sociology and Social Anthropology, Central European University (2018)
• MA in Global and Urban Studies, Central European University (2010)
• BA in Sociology, University of Bucharest (2008)