Alexandria Wilson-McDonald

Dr. Wilson-McDonald holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Florida with graduate certificates in European studies and gender studies. Her specializations include comparative politics, public policy & administration, European studies, and gender studies.

Dr. Wilson-McDonald’s research focuses on the politics of gender in Central Eastern Europe. She examines the gendered elements of democratic backsliding and social movement activism in the region. Specifically, her research examines feminist movements in the region and their discursive strategies. Her current project analyzes the contemporary framing of gender-based violence by gender equality activists across Central Eastern Europe and the relationship between feminist social movement actors, conservative actors, and the state. Her peer-reviewed research has been published in the journals Communist and Post-Communist Studies and Feminist Review. Her recent essays have also been published online in Ms. Magazine. She has conducted extensive field research in Czechia, Slovakia, and Poland, where she was affiliated with the Faculty of Sociology at Masaryk University, Czechia and the American Studies Center at the University of Warsaw, Poland. Dr. Wilson-McDonald has been awarded numerous research grants, including a Fulbright Research Grant, Carrie Chapman Catt Prize for Research on Women and Politics, a Rothman Doctoral Fellowship in the Humanities, and a postdoctoral research grant by the Kosciuszko Foundation. She teaches courses in comparative politics, European politics, identity and politics, and research methods.