My research lies at the nexus of geopolitics, cartography, borders, and nationalism within the former Soviet Union, particularly Ukraine. My interests also include research ethics, and visual, spatial, and digital methods for political science research. I currently teach courses on Russian and Eastern European Politics, Comparative Government, European Politics and Society, Qualitative Methods, and Research Design. I also co-convene the Russian and Eurasian Studies Centre's Monday Seminar Series at St. Antony's College, Oxford.
I am working on several projects related to nation-building at the grassroots in Ukraine. I have recently run public opinion and conjoint experiment surveys with the Democratic Initiatives Foundation. I am also working on book monograph, Ukraine: An Imagined Borderland, which explores the overlap of imagined and territorial cartographies for contemporary politics.
My research has been funded by the John Fell University of Oxford Press Research Fund, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the Canadian Foundation for Ukrainian Studies, and the Shevchenko Foundation of Canada. I was a Deputy Editor for Millennium: Journal of International Studies, vol. 48 and currently sit on the editorial board for Qualitative Research. For more information, see Google Scholar, ORCID, and my complete list of academic and non-academic publications.
Konken, Lauren, and Marnie Howlett. 2022. "When 'Home' Becomes the 'Field': Ethical Considerations in Digital Remote Fieldwork." Perspectives on Politics. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1537592722002572.
Howlett, Marnie. 2022. "Nation-building from (below) the grassroots: Everyday nationalism in Ukraine's bomb shelters." Nations and Nationalism. DOI: 10.1111/nana.12877.
Howlett, Marnie. 2022. “Looking at the ‘Field’ Through a Zoom Lens: Methodological Reflections on Conducting Online Research During a Global Pandemic.” Qualitative Research 22(3): 387-402. DOI: 10.1177/1468794120985691.
Howlett, Marnie. 2022. “Playing Near the Edge: An Analysis of Ukrainian Border Youths’ Engagement with the Euromaidan.” Problems of Post-Communism 69(2): 206-217. DOI: 10.1080/10758216.2020.1845212.
I have recently provided several expert comments for the University of Oxford. I was also interviewed by the Department of Politics and International Relations (DPIR) at the University of Oxford.