Dr Joanna Szostek

  • Senior Lecturer (Political & International Studies)

Biography

I joined the University of Glasgow as lecturer in September 2018, and I am now a senior lecturer in Political Communication. I am also an associate fellow of the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House, The Royal Institute of International Affairs.

My research focuses mainly on the media's role in relations between states. I am particularly interested in the projection and reception of strategic narratives, the challenge of autocracies exerting influence on democratic states via the media, and the development of media and civil society in weak or unconsolidated democracies.

I conduct most of my research in Ukraine and Russia. In 2015-2018 I led a project investigating the reception of competing political narratives among audiences in Ukraine. The project was funded by a Marie Skłodowska-Curie postdoctoral fellowship from the European Commission. It included an 18-month secondment to Kyiv Mohyla Academy in Ukraine and a five-month secondment to the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office. From 2019 to 2022 I led a research project investigating why levels of engagement with local, national and foreign/transnational media varied within and across ‘peripheral’ regions of Ukraine. The project was funded by the British Academy, and was designed to shed light on how media use among ‘peripheral’ audiences can affect state security, broadly defined.

My research is published in leading peer-reviewed journals, including Perspectives on Politics, The International Journal of Press/Politics, New Media and Society, Post-Soviet Affairs and European Security. I have also given numerous interviews about Russia's war on Ukraine to national and international media, including BBC Newsnight, BBC Scotland, France 24 and The New York Times.

I hold a doctorate in Politics from the University of Oxford. My professional experience includes several years at the BBC and many years of living and working in Russia and Ukraine.

Research interests

  • Political communication
  • Strategic narratives
  • Media as a (re)source of international influence
  • Media and civil society in unconsolidated democracies
  • Politics of Russia, Ukraine and the post-Soviet region
  • Russian foreign policy

Research groups

Publications

List by: Type | Date

Jump to: 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014
Number of items: 22.

2024

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X and Orlova, Dariya (2024) Free speech versus defence of the nation? The media as sources of national insecurity in Ukraine. European Security, 33(1), pp. 82-106. (doi: 10.1080/09662839.2023.2231369)

2023

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X (2023) Book review: Managing Meaning in Ukraine: Information, Communication and Narration since the Euromaidan Revolution. Media, War and Conflict, (doi: 10.1177/17506352231212409)[Book Review] (Early Online Publication)

2022

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X and Orlova, Dariya (2022) Understandings of democracy and “good citizenship” in Ukraine: utopia for the people, participation in politics not required. Post-Soviet Affairs, 38(6), pp. 479-496. (doi: 10.1080/1060586X.2022.2084280)

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X and Wong, Mark ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5683-8684 (2022) Harms and Bias in Ai and Data on Minoritised Ethnic Communities. [Audio]

2020

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X (2020) What happens to public diplomacy during information war? Critical reflections on the conceptual framing of international communication. International Journal of Communication, 14, pp. 2728-2748.

2019

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X (2019) Losing Pravda: ethics and the press in post-truth Russia. Russian Journal of Communication, 11(1), pp. 88-90. (doi: 10.1080/19409419.2018.1564356)[Book Review]

2018

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X (2018) Nothing is true? The credibility of news and conflicting narratives during “Information War” in Ukraine. International Journal of Press/Politics, 23(1), pp. 116-135. (doi: 10.1177/1940161217743258)

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X (2018) The mass media and Russia’s “Sphere of Interests”: mechanisms of regional hegemony in Belarus and Ukraine. Geopolitics, 23(2), pp. 307-329. (doi: 10.1080/14650045.2017.1402298)

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X (2018) News media repertoires and strategic narrative reception: A paradox of dis/belief in authoritarian Russia. New Media and Society, 20(1), pp. 68-87. (doi: 10.1177/1461444816656638)

2017

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X (2017) Revolution in progress? Continuity and change in Ukrainian politics. East European Politics and Societies,

O'Loughlin, Ben, Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X and Vaccari, Cristian (2017) Written evidence submitted by New Political Communication Unit - Royal Holloway, University of London (FNW0066). Documentation. HMSO, London.

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X (2017) News consumption and anti-Western narratives in Russia: a case study of university students. Europe-Asia Studies, 69(2), pp. 284-302. (doi: 10.1080/09668136.2016.1274019)

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X (2017) Defence and promotion of desired state identity in Russia’s strategic narrative. Geopolitics, 22(3), pp. 571-593. (doi: 10.1080/14650045.2016.1214910)

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X (2017) Popular geopolitics in Russia and post-Soviet Eastern Europe. Europe-Asia Studies, 69(2), pp. 195-201. (doi: 10.1080/09668136.2017.1288861)

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X (2017) The power and limits of Russia’s strategic narrative in Ukraine: the role of linkage. Perspectives on Politics, 15(2), pp. 379-395. (doi: 10.1017/S153759271700007X)

2016

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X (2016) Interdisciplinary research workshop ‘Popular geopolitics in Russia and post-Soviet Eastern Europe’, 19–20 February 2015, University College London, London, UK. Russian Journal of Communication, 8(1), pp. 96-98. (doi: 10.1080/19409419.2015.1055181)

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X (2016) The power of detraction: Belarusion reporting of Russian social problems during "information war". Zhurnal issledovaniĭ sot︠s︡ialʹnoĭ politiki = Journal of Social Policy Studies, 14(1), pp. 99-112.

2015

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X (2015) Russian influence on news media in Belarus. Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 48(2-3), pp. 123-135. (doi: 10.1016/j.postcomstud.2015.06.007)

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X and Hutchings, Stephen (2015) Dominant narratives in Russian political and media discourse during the Ukraine crisis. In: Pikulicka-Wilczewska, A. and Sakwa, R. (eds.) Ukraine and Russia: People, Politics, Propaganda and Perspectives. E-International Relations Publishing: Bristol.

2014

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X (2014) Russia and the news media in Ukraine. East European Politics and Societies, 28(3), pp. 463-486. (doi: 10.1177/0888325414537297)

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X (2014) The media battles of Ukraine's EuroMaidan. Digital Icons, 11,

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X (2014) Review of: James Sherr, Hard Diplomacy and Soft Coercion. Russia's Influence Abroad. London: Chatham House, 2013. Europe-Asia Studies, 66(7), pp. 1205-1206. (doi: 10.1080/09668136.2014.934146)[Book Review]

This list was generated on Fri Jul 11 20:36:01 2025 BST.
Jump to: Articles | Book Sections | Book Reviews | Research Reports or Papers | Audio
Number of items: 22.

Articles

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X and Orlova, Dariya (2024) Free speech versus defence of the nation? The media as sources of national insecurity in Ukraine. European Security, 33(1), pp. 82-106. (doi: 10.1080/09662839.2023.2231369)

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X and Orlova, Dariya (2022) Understandings of democracy and “good citizenship” in Ukraine: utopia for the people, participation in politics not required. Post-Soviet Affairs, 38(6), pp. 479-496. (doi: 10.1080/1060586X.2022.2084280)

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X (2020) What happens to public diplomacy during information war? Critical reflections on the conceptual framing of international communication. International Journal of Communication, 14, pp. 2728-2748.

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X (2018) Nothing is true? The credibility of news and conflicting narratives during “Information War” in Ukraine. International Journal of Press/Politics, 23(1), pp. 116-135. (doi: 10.1177/1940161217743258)

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X (2018) The mass media and Russia’s “Sphere of Interests”: mechanisms of regional hegemony in Belarus and Ukraine. Geopolitics, 23(2), pp. 307-329. (doi: 10.1080/14650045.2017.1402298)

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X (2018) News media repertoires and strategic narrative reception: A paradox of dis/belief in authoritarian Russia. New Media and Society, 20(1), pp. 68-87. (doi: 10.1177/1461444816656638)

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X (2017) Revolution in progress? Continuity and change in Ukrainian politics. East European Politics and Societies,

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X (2017) News consumption and anti-Western narratives in Russia: a case study of university students. Europe-Asia Studies, 69(2), pp. 284-302. (doi: 10.1080/09668136.2016.1274019)

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X (2017) Defence and promotion of desired state identity in Russia’s strategic narrative. Geopolitics, 22(3), pp. 571-593. (doi: 10.1080/14650045.2016.1214910)

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X (2017) Popular geopolitics in Russia and post-Soviet Eastern Europe. Europe-Asia Studies, 69(2), pp. 195-201. (doi: 10.1080/09668136.2017.1288861)

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X (2017) The power and limits of Russia’s strategic narrative in Ukraine: the role of linkage. Perspectives on Politics, 15(2), pp. 379-395. (doi: 10.1017/S153759271700007X)

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X (2016) Interdisciplinary research workshop ‘Popular geopolitics in Russia and post-Soviet Eastern Europe’, 19–20 February 2015, University College London, London, UK. Russian Journal of Communication, 8(1), pp. 96-98. (doi: 10.1080/19409419.2015.1055181)

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X (2016) The power of detraction: Belarusion reporting of Russian social problems during "information war". Zhurnal issledovaniĭ sot︠s︡ialʹnoĭ politiki = Journal of Social Policy Studies, 14(1), pp. 99-112.

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X (2015) Russian influence on news media in Belarus. Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 48(2-3), pp. 123-135. (doi: 10.1016/j.postcomstud.2015.06.007)

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X (2014) Russia and the news media in Ukraine. East European Politics and Societies, 28(3), pp. 463-486. (doi: 10.1177/0888325414537297)

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X (2014) The media battles of Ukraine's EuroMaidan. Digital Icons, 11,

Book Sections

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X and Hutchings, Stephen (2015) Dominant narratives in Russian political and media discourse during the Ukraine crisis. In: Pikulicka-Wilczewska, A. and Sakwa, R. (eds.) Ukraine and Russia: People, Politics, Propaganda and Perspectives. E-International Relations Publishing: Bristol.

Book Reviews

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X (2023) Book review: Managing Meaning in Ukraine: Information, Communication and Narration since the Euromaidan Revolution. Media, War and Conflict, (doi: 10.1177/17506352231212409)[Book Review] (Early Online Publication)

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X (2019) Losing Pravda: ethics and the press in post-truth Russia. Russian Journal of Communication, 11(1), pp. 88-90. (doi: 10.1080/19409419.2018.1564356)[Book Review]

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X (2014) Review of: James Sherr, Hard Diplomacy and Soft Coercion. Russia's Influence Abroad. London: Chatham House, 2013. Europe-Asia Studies, 66(7), pp. 1205-1206. (doi: 10.1080/09668136.2014.934146)[Book Review]

Research Reports or Papers

O'Loughlin, Ben, Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X and Vaccari, Cristian (2017) Written evidence submitted by New Political Communication Unit - Royal Holloway, University of London (FNW0066). Documentation. HMSO, London.

Audio

Szostek, Joanna ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7230-894X and Wong, Mark ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5683-8684 (2022) Harms and Bias in Ai and Data on Minoritised Ethnic Communities. [Audio]

This list was generated on Fri Jul 11 20:36:01 2025 BST.

Grants

  • Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship (2015-2018, £186,585)
    "STRATNARRA. Russia's  strategic narrative of the West: A study of influence in Ukraine".
  • British Academy "The Humanities and Social Sciences Tackling the UK’s International Challenges Programme" (2019-2021, £48,688)
    "Peripheral audiences and state security: A study of risks and benefits associated with media use among border populations in Ukraine"

Supervision

I will gladly consider supervising PhD research projects that relate to the following topics:

  • Media and communication in international politics (including strategic narratives, public diplomacy)
  • Media and civil society in authoritarian regimes and unconsolidated democracies
  • Politics of Russia, Ukraine and the post-Soviet region
  • Russian foreign policy

If you wish to apply to study for a PhD at Glasgow, with me as a supervisor, please send me the following information by email:

  • Your PhD research proposal, prepared in line with UofG requirements (it should not exceed 1,500 words, excluding references)
  • Your curriculum vitae (CV)
  • Your transcript of records (showing the grades you achieved for your university courses)
  • A brief statement explaining why you wish to study for a PhD and how you envisage funding your doctoral studies.

Please make sure that you carefully consider all the challenges of pursuing a PhD (and perhaps an academic career) before applying!

 

I am currently supervising the following PhD projects:

  • Qingyue Zhang: The impact of Mekong transboundary water disputes on the bilateral relationship between China and Vietnam: A strategic narrative analysis (co-supervised with Dr Neil Munro).
  • Varnava Tsiappas, Georgios
    Strategic Narrative Dynamics in a Small State: Examining Cyprus's Evolution of State and Media Narratives about Russia

Teaching

Undergraduate

POLITIC4119: Politics and Social Media (convener, 2018-2019)

POLITIC4103: International Political Communication (convener, 2019-present)

POLITIC2002: Introduction to Comparative Politics (contributor, 2019-present)

Postgraduate

POLITIC5017: Internet and Civil Society (convener, 2018-present)


Joanna Szostek

Dr Joanna Szostek on Twitter