I am a political sociologist and an assistant professor at the Institute of Social Sciences, SWPS University in Warsaw. I am a PI of “The Impact of War on Social Movements in Europe” (2023/51/D/HS6/01835) and “The Relationship between Social Movements and Political Parties for the Democratic Representation of Social Groups in Europe” (2021/40/C/HS6/00229) projects funded by Poland’s National Science Centre.

I study the structural embeddedness of contentious politics, investigating how domestic political dynamics, institutional contexts, and transnational linkages shape the mobilization strategies of local protest actors, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe. I utilize mixed methodologies to capture the shifting relationships between grassroots social movements and political parties during periods of peacetime stability as well as institutional adaptations during wartime crises.

I hold a Ph.D. in Sociology (Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences) and an M.A. in Public Policy (Central European University). I was a visiting researcher at WZB Berlin Social Science Center (Germany) and the University of Toronto (Canada).

In the past, I have cooperated with the Foundation “Open Society”, the Institute for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation and the Institute of World Policy (Ukraine), The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies and The Broker (The Netherlands), The Centre for Euro-Atlantic Integration and Democracy (Hungary).

Recent publications:

    • Zelinska, Olga. 2026. Political Parties, Transnational Ties, and Protest Mobilization: Euromaidan in Ukraine, 2013-2014. Problems of Post-Communism, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1080/10758216.2025.2605573
    • Revtiuk, Yevhen and Olga Zelinska. 2026. Toward Sustainability: Examining Economic Inequality and Political Trust in EU Countries. Sustainability, 18(1), 210; https://doi.org/10.3390/su18010210
    • Zelinska, Olga. 2025. Policy Contention and the Movement-Party Relationship: Pro-choice Mobilization in Poland, 2020–21. Women’s Studies International Forum, 110, 103083. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2025.103083
    • Zelinska, O. 2024. Protest Mobilization by Ukrainians Abroad, 2013–2023. In The Palgrave Handbook of Non-State Actors in East-West Relations (pp. 457–472). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-40546-4_87

More information:

ORCID ID: 0000-0003-0148-1507
Google Scholar profile
My CV

 

Contact details:

SWPS University

Chodakowska 19/31

03-815 Warsaw, Poland

www.swps.pl

ozelinska[at]swps.edu.pl