Galina Selivanova studied sociology at state University of Saint Petersburg and the University of Bielefeld. In 2020, she defended her PhD thesis at Scuola Normale Superiore, Italy. Her PhD project investigated election monitoring organisation, focusing on strategies used by civil society actors to improve election quality in post-Soviet states. From April 2020 to 2023, Galina Selivanova joined FIW to work at the BMBF funded project „Wohlmeinende Autokratinnen in Demokratien. Gemeinwohlvorstellungen und -programme von Stiftungen und der Faktor Partizipation“ (PD Dr. Pascal Goeke and Dr. Evelyn Moser). Her contribution to the project focuses on charitable foundations with an ecological agenda, as well as global philanthropic projects.

Research interests: civil society, philanthropy, participation, social movements, post-communist states, authoritarian elections