I am currently reading for a DPhil in Politics at the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Oxford. My doctoral research is in comparative politics, with a focus on party-presidential candidate relations. It examines the conditions under which political parties in European premier-presidential systems opt to support non-partisan candidates over partisan insiders in presidential elections. Employing a mixed-methods design, I analyse how institutional configurations and intra-party dynamics influence candidate recruitment strategies, highlighting the tension between electoral pragmatism and partisan allegiance in this semi-presidential regime type.
Prior to obtaining an MPhil in Russian and East European Studies at Oxford (2020), I spent three years working in one of the leading European public policy institutes. As a researcher, I was responsible for conducting studies on education, youth, and labour market policies in the European Union.
Teaching
I teach undergraduate students for the following papers:
207 Politics in Russia and the Former Soviet Union
228 The Politics of the European Union
Research
My research focuses on the following areas:
comparative semi-presidentialism
party behaviour and adaptation under institutional constraints
intra-party dynamics and elite recruitment
presidential elections and candidate selection
party system institutionalisation.
Languages
English (fluent), Lithuanian (native), French (upper intermediate), and Russian (basic).
