Dr Joanna Szostek is a senior lecturer in Political Communication at the University of Glasgow. She is also an associate fellow of the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House, The Royal Institute of International Affairs. Her research focuses mainly on the media's role in relations between states. She is 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. Dr Szostek has conducted most of her research in Ukraine and Russia, and spent years living and working in both countries prior to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.Dr Szostek's 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. She has 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.Dr Szostek holds a doctorate in Politics from the University of Oxford. Her professional experience includes several years at the BBC, for BBC Monitoring.