Elena Barabantseva

Dr. Elena Barabantseva serves as Senior Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Manchester's Department of Politics, where she has been faculty since September 2006 following completion of her PhD at the institution. Born in Minsk, Belarus, she initially arrived in Manchester in 2000 as a Chevening scholar.

Her academic credentials include:

• PhD in International Relations, University of Manchester (2006)
• International Relations studies, Belarusian State University

Barabantseva's research critically examines China's modernization project through the lens of ethnic minorities and diaspora communities, with particular focus on nationalism and state-building dynamics. Her monograph Overseas Chinese, Ethnic Minorities and Nationalism: De-Centering China (Routledge, 2012) represents a seminal contribution to decentering traditional China-centric narratives in political studies.

She actively participates in academic governance as a former elected board member of the British Association of Chinese Studies (2011-2014) and current editorial board member for Asian Ethnicity Journal (Routledge). Her institutional affiliations include the Critical Global Politics research cluster and collaborative work with Manchester's Chinese Studies colleagues.

Her scholarly recognition includes the prestigious Chevening Scholarship supporting her graduate studies, awarded through partnership between the Open Society Institute and UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.