Marine Bardou

Marine Bardou is a PhD researcher at the Institut de science politique Louvain-Europe (ISPOLE), at UCLouvain, Belgium, and is a F.R.S.-FNRS aspirante. Her doctoral research tackles European Parliament involvement in the negotiation of international agreements by the EU. This research explores parliamentary involvement in a domain in which the prerogatives of parliaments are traditionally limited: foreign policy. She utilizes a mixed-method research design and is interested in innovative research methods. 

In 2021, Marine obtained a double master in European studies and international relations, co-organized by the UCLouvain, the Université Saint-Louis Bruxelles and Sciences Po Strasbourg. Previously, she completed a multi-disciplinary curriculum at Sciences Po Strasbourg, France, including political science, sociology, history, economics and law. As an exchange student, she studied one year at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. 

Email: marine.bardou@uclouvain.be

Alina Nychyk

Alina Nychyk is a PhD Candidate in Politics at the University of Manchester. Her research looks at Ukraine’s strategic decision-making in relations with Russia and the EU during the first year of the conflict in Ukraine. Alina has Bachelor Degree in International Economics from Kyiv National Economic University and Master Degree in International Economic Relations from Wroclaw University of Economics (both with the highest distinctions). As an exchange student, she has studied at Gazi University in Ankara and at Goethe University in Frankfurt on Main. Alina’s current research interests are: foreign policy decision-making, Ukraine’s foreign policy, EU-Ukraine relations, conflict in Ukraine.

Alina gained diverse experience in international companies (Hewlett Packard, Dreberis consulting), NGOs (Polish Forum of Young Diplomats, Ukraine Democracy Initiative, Promote Ukraine) and European institutions (European Commission and European Parliament). Apart from her research work, Alina is a social activist, dealing with women’s empowerment, democracy and EU-Ukraine integration. Currently, she is a Board Member of Professional Government of Ukraine. Alina has publications at university papers, analytical journals and newspapers. She speaks Ukrainian, Russian, Polish, English and German.

E-mail: alina.nychyk@manchester.ac.uk

Liridon Lika

Liridon Lika, PhD, is a lecturer and researcher at the Center for International Relations Studies (CEFIR) of the Department of Political Science of the University of Liège (ULiège) in Belgium. He is also a postdoctoral researcher at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASoS) of the University of Maastricht in Netherlands. 
Liridon Lika was born in 1985 in the Republic of Kosovo, where he completed his primary and much of his secondary education. Since 2002, he has been living in Belgium. He has dual nationality: Kosovar and Belgian.
He obtained a bachelor degree in Political Science and a master degree in Political Science, option International Relations at ULiège. He also got an advanced master degree in Interdisciplinary Analysis of European integration at the Institute for European Studies (ISE) of the Free University of Brussels (ULB). In 2020, at ULiège, he defended his doctoral thesis in Political Science: International Relations.
His research focuses on Western Balkan states (in particular Kosovo and Albania), EU external action, EU enlargement towards the Western Balkans and the foreign policy of the emerging powers towards the Western Balkans. 

E-mails: liridon.lika@uliege.be and l.lika@maastrichtuniversity.nl