CBEES URFP seminar with Marian Lopata and Natalia Otrishchenko

Welcome to the second CBEES URFP seminar, an event where guest researchers from Ukrainian universities present their work.

NB: Venue change. New venue: MA517

The seminar will feature two presentations:

Marian Lopata, political scientist, Ukrainian Catholic University, Lviv:

The Attitudes of the Political Parties of the Central-Eastern European Countries Towards Supporting Ukraine During the Russian Full-Scale Invasion

This research project examines the attitudes of political parties in nine Central and Eastern European EU member states — Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania — toward supporting Ukraine during Russia’s full-scale invasion. The topic is highly relevant in the current geopolitical context, as party-level positions directly shape national foreign policies, EU decision-making, and the sustainability of military, economic, and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for anticipating shifts in regional solidarity and for assessing the resilience of European support for Ukraine. The project seeks to identify the ideological and structural determinants of variation in party support across dimensions of war-related assistance.
The study focuses on four specific policy areas: military aid (weapons supply), economic and budgetary support, acceptance of Ukrainian refugees, and broader humanitarian and sanctions-related policies.

Natalia Otrishchenko, researcher and sociologist at the Center for Urban History of East Central Europe in Lviv:

Qualitative longitudinal research in the context of war: Methodological insights from Ukraine

Studies of wars and crises are typically conducted in an emergency, rapid-response mode. Alternatively, scholars arrive after there is at least some form of closure, so they can talk about these events from a more or less “safe distance” and place them in better fixed explanatory frames. As conflicts evolve, their duration becomes another important variable to consider, prompting research to shift from emergency to longitudinal mode. Based on two waves of research with forcibly internally and externally displaced Ukrainians, conducted in 2022-23 and 2024-25 within “24/02/22, 5 am: Testimonies from the war” project, Natalia will highlight the benefits and challenges of qualitative longitudinal research during war and crisis. She will reflect on navigating the personal safety and data security challenges, the emotional curve of both the participants and the project team, and changing societal expectations.


Marian Lopata is an Associate Professor at the Department of Political Science at the Ukrainian Catholic University. His research interests include political parties and party systems in Central and Eastern Europe, Euroscepticism, political preferences of national minorities, minority issues, and voting behaviour in Eastern Europe.

Natalia Otrishchenko leads the Ukrainian team in the international documentation initiative “24.02.22, 5 am: Testimonies from the War”. Her research focuses on qualitative research methods, oral history, urban sociology, and sociology of expertise.

Ukrainian Research Fellowship Program supports academic stays at Södertörn for scholars from Ukrainian institutions of higher education and research. The program is financed by the Foundation for Baltic and East European Studies, Östersjöstiftelsen.

Welcome!