Announcing New Eurasia Program Fellows – Foreign Policy Research Institute

Philadelphia, PA 
September 14, 2023 

The Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI) is pleased to announce the appointment of four new Eurasia Program Fellows. These scholars will work across the program’s research initiatives, focusing primarily on the Black Sea Initiative and European Security Initiative.

“We are delighted to welcome the four new Fellows into the ranks of FPRI’s Eurasia scholars,” commented Eurasia Program Director Maia Otarashvili. “I am looking forward to working with this excellent group of Black Sea experts as we continue to expand and deepen our regional research and analysis.”

Robert E. Hamilton, Head of Eurasia Research, added, “FPRI’s four new Eurasia Program Fellows will augment the program’s presence in and scholarship on the Black Sea region immensely. They bring a combination of strong academic credentials and policy experience that will enrich FPRI’s ability to educate scholars, policymakers, and the public on the political, economic, and security issues of this dynamic and critical region of the world.”

Antonia Colibasanu is a Senior Fellow in the Eurasia Program at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and a Senior Geopolitical Analyst and Chief Operating Officer at Geopolitical Futures. In her latest book, 2022 – The Geoeconomic Roundabout, she discusses the concerns that the new global economic war brings forth, as they were in the making well before the war in Ukraine started. She is also a lecturer on international relations at the Romanian National University of Political Studies and Public Administration and an Associate Senior Expert with the New Strategy Center in Bucharest. Prior to joining Geopolitical Futures in 2016 as a Senior Analyst, Dr. Colibasanu spent more than ten years with Stratfor in various positions, including as a partner for Europe and vice president for international marketing. She is a trainer on geopolitics for the European Affairs program at the Romanian European Institute. Among other academic credentials, she holds a doctorate in international business and economics from Bucharest’s Academy of Economic Studies, where her thesis focused on country risk analysis and investment decision-making processes within transnational companies.

Svetlana Ikonnikova is a Senior Fellow in the Eurasia Program at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and an Associate Professor for Resource Economics at the Technical University of Munich, where she also serves as a Research Director at TUM Center for Energy Markets. She is also a Senior Energy Economist at the University of Texas at Austin. With over 20 years of professional experience, Dr. Ikonnikova holds expertise in energy economics, with a special focus on the energy transition and security of supply, international energy trade, and clean technologies. Dr. Ikonnikova holds a Ph.D. in Economics and Management from the Humboldt University of Berlin and an MS in Applied Physics and Mathematics from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. Dr. Ikonnikova has published her research in the top peer-reviewed economic and interdisciplinary journals and has delivered numerous presentations at industry, government, and academic conferences. With the diversity in her background and experience, Dr. Ikonnikova specializes in modeling complex economic systems, integrating different perspectives to understand the market’s evolution and dynamics.

Ecaterina Locoman, Ph.D., is a Senior Fellow in the Eurasia Program at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and a Senior Lecturer of International Studies at the Lauder Institute, University of Pennsylvania. She also holds an appointment in the Department of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania.

Olena Snigyr is a Senior Fellow in the Eurasia Program at the Foreign Policy Research Institute and a Jean Monnet Fellow at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies at the European University Institute. Her research topic is “Russian strategic narratives of a full-scale war with Ukraine.” Until May 2022, she was responsible for communication and international cooperation of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance. From 2001 to 2017, Olena worked at the National Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of Ukraine (NISS). Headed the Foreign Policy Department in NISS from 2008-2011 and the Sector of Europe in the Foreign Policy Department from 2011-2013. From 2015-2017, she was a chief consultant at the Research Center for Russian Federation Problems in NISS. Later, from 2018-2019, she worked as a leading specialist in the Center for International Studies at Hennadiy Udovenko Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine. Her most recent publications include an analysis of Russia’s foreign policy, specifically its interventionism and undisclosed methods of influence, the role of historical memory in Russian foreign policy, security issues in Europe, the latest developments in Ukrainian foreign policy, and perspectives on the development of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.