Sophia Anders researches the role of culture and cultural spaces for nation- and identity formation in Eastern Europe. Specifically, her research interest concerns the roles that cultural spaces play for communities in Ukraine, as well as for the Ukrainian diaspora. She is particularly interested in understanding how internal processes – regarding identity, the past, and contemporary issues – sparked by cultural spaces, are translated into political consciousness and external civic action; as well as how this relates to overarching nation-building processes.

She graduated top of her class with an MSc in Russian and East European Studies from the University of Oxford and a BA in Political Science from Freie Universität Berlin. Prior to joining the International Development Department at LSE, she worked as a Policy Analyst at the OECD’s Eurasia Division, focusing on economic development and resilience in Ukraine and the wider EU Eastern Partnership region. During her studies she worked for a research institute in Ukraine and was a volunteer of the German UNESCO Commission in Georgia.