Sofija Barakate
Om Sofija Barakate
I am a PhD candidate in Peace and Development Research at the School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg.
My research focuses on civil society actors advocating for peace and social change in societies experiencing identity-based conflicts. In my PhD project, I am studying political imaginaries and navigation practices of NGO staff in Lebanon that aim to advance social and political change in the context of sectarianism and external donors.
Research areas:
- Identity politics, ethnoreligious conflicts;
- Peacebuilding theory and practice;
- Donor-recipient relations;
- Civil society and NGO research;
- Feminist theory and qualitative methodology.
Professional Experience:
- Political officer for the Swedish Embassy in Riga (2020 - 2022);
- Migration policy development and technical-level diplomacy in the EU Council as a representative of the Interior Ministry of Latvia (2017 - 2020);
- Project management at local peacebuilding and development NGOs in Lebanon (2013 - 2017).
Previous Education:
- MA course in Peace Research, PRIO, University of Oslo (2021)
- MA in Middle Eastern Studies, Lund University (2014 - 2016)
- Universite libre de Bruxelles, EU Law and Policy on Immigration and Asylum, (2018, summer school)
- BA in Political Science, University of Latvia (2010 - 2013).