All posts by Elizabeth A Stitt

Reflections of War on Democracy in Ukraine and Kosovo

By Rendon Reinarz, Graduate of the UT LBJ School of Public Affairs

This summer, I am lucky to experience multiple cultures during my summer internship for the National Democratic Institute (NDI). While I am working with the NDI Ukraine team, I was unable to travel to Ukraine for my internship due to the ongoing war and have been placed in Kosovo for the summer. In many ways, I get the best of both worlds: I have had the privilege to live and experience Balkan culture and hospitality while contributing to work that I find particularly relevant to help Ukrainian democratic institutions as they continue to fight for their future in the context of war and Russian aggression.

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Building Parliamentary Oversight in Armenia

By Caleb Mulugeta, Undergraduate student in the UT Government Department and Economics Department

If I had to use one word to describe my time in Armenia, it would be resilience. I do not mean resilience on my part, but rather the resilience of the Armenian people. Armenians have repeatedly been dealt a difficult hand by history, enduring systematic attacks on their culture and attempts to eradicate their presence from portions of their ancestral homeland. For centuries, Armenians have faced invasion, foreign domination, and political upheaval while nevertheless preserving a distinct language, faith, and cultural heritage. My work with the NDI Armenia placed that resilience on full display by allowing me to engage with different parts of Armenian society through election observation, public opinion research, discussions with parliamentary staff and civil society representatives, and my own research into parliamentary oversight of the executive.

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Youth Participation in North Macedonian Democracy

By Jackson Nichols, Undergraduate student in the UT Government Department and Sociology Department

Zdravo! Ever since I found out about the UT Embedded Scholars program from one of my favorite professors, shoutout to Dr. Kiril Avramov, I knew I wanted to be a part of it. As someone who had never been out of the country, I could not say no to the opportunity to experience a new culture, a new hemisphere, and, of course, a new political system. Little did I know that North Macedonia, this small country—roughly the size of Vermont with the population of the greater Austin area—would surpass any expectations I could have had, both in work and lived experience.

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Supporting Women’s Participation in Kosovo      

By Angela Fraioli, PhD Student in the UT Government Department

This summer, I had the privilege of completing a two-month long internship for the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in Pristina, Kosovo. This experience greatly developed my academic and professional careers and was incredibly useful so early on in my doctoral degree. As I reach the conclusion of this experience, I feel gratitude for the many communities that have welcomed me, pride for the work I’ve completed during my time here, and excitement for the many ways in which I will apply what I have learned from this experience to my studies, professional career, and personal life.

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Exploring Democracy and Civic Engagement in North Macedonia

By Rebekah Besserman, Undergraduate in the UT Plan II Honors Program and Government Department

Zdravo! If you had told me one year ago that I would be interning in Skopje, North Macedonia, this summer, I never would have believed you. I always admired North Macedonia’s flag when taking map quizzes, but beyond that, I didn’t know much about the country yet. After studying the politics and constitution of North Macedonia and the greater Western Balkans region for an entire semester, I was ready to immerse myself in the culture and the work at National Democratic Institute this summer.

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Democracy and Energy in the Former Soviet Union

By Eva White, Undergraduate student in the UT Slavic and Eurasian Studies Department and Government Department

Having long been immersed in academic study of the post-Soviet space, interested in energy policy and nuclear transition, and seeking to grow my Russian language skills in an immersive environment, I was completely thrilled to be selected for the National Democratic Institute’s fellowship program in Yerevan, Armenia. I boarded the plane, a 23-hour travel day ahead of me, excited to address challenges to democratization and explore international relations and domestic politics in Armenia as an NDI research fellow. Beyond that, I hoped to have the opportunity to nurture my personal academic interest in energy security. Concomitantly, I was looking forward to diving into the history, culture, and atmosphere of a region entirely new to me and learning as much as possible outside of the office as well. 

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