START researcher, Michaela Gawrys, combines her passion for people and places with innovative qualitative methods to address a range of geopolitical issues. Shaped by fieldwork experiences in Kosovo, she is deeply interested in the influence of borders and identity on modern geopolitics, and at START she has expanded her research areas into wargaming and Arctic security. In this spotlight, Michaela shares insights into her journey, her work at START, and the experiences that have shaped her career.
How did you first get involved with START?
While I was in Kosovo doing field research for my dissertation, someone from START encouraged me to apply for an open qualitative researcher position after reading my master’s thesis. I applied because START was interested in expanding their qualitative portfolio, which is something I feel is important in the type of research we do here. Also, I have always been interested in conducting research to inform foreign policy in some way.
How did you become interested in your field of study?
I’ve recently had the opportunity to look back on earlier moments in my life and wonder how it took me so long to figure out that I was meant to be a qualitative geographer. I have always been extremely observant, in awe of my physical surroundings, and deeply interested in people.
I started putting these things together during my senior year of high school as a foreign exchange student in Germany through Rotary International. Aside from getting to learn about life in Germany, this allowed me to interact with people from all over the world in a very close-knit atmosphere. I began to observe and question how where people came from influenced the way they interacted with others.
My first semester in undergrad was my formal introduction to what geography as a discipline fully is and can be. This is where I found the academic space and questions that I was passionate about; the incorporation of individual (citizen) levels of analysis to understand geopolitical structures and their influence on interactions at local, state, and international scales (simply put: political borders and the way they affect people and state actions). I have been studying topics such as borders, international state structure, nationalism, ethnic identity, identity-based conflict, and secession ever since!
Who has been the most influential person during your academic pursuits?
I simply cannot choose one person, so I won’t. Without the push and guidance from my undergraduate geography professor, Dr. Todd Nesbitt at Lock Haven University, I may not have found my passion for the discipline of geography or prolonged my academic career into graduate programs in geography. My graduate advisor, Dr. Dave Kaplan at Kent State University, has been an amazing mentor throughout my academic pursuits. Dave’s background studying identity, territory, and nationalism, and his experience as a graduate mentor is extensive, providing me substantial support to follow my own academic interests. It was his guidance narrowing my goals and encouraging my interest in international fieldwork that brought me to a regional focus in Former Yugoslavia, which is a focus that I believe has truly pushed me into a position as an academic that is highly relevant for understanding the mechanics of modern geopolitics. Finally, I would like to mention Shqiproje Shala, my field research assistant from Kosovo. Shqiproje worked with me during three weeks of field research for my master’s and then again for three months for my PhD, helping me organize and conduct many interviews and distribute a survey. My gratitude for her kindness, enthusiasm, vision, and work ethic cannot be overstated.
What’s been one of the more interesting projects you’ve worked on?
Still being relatively new to START, I am on projects that were ongoing before I started and largely developed by others. This has allowed me to work on topic areas that I never expected to work on and apply qualitative methods to projects that I believe can truly benefit from it.
One project that has piqued my interest is the wargaming ethnography task that I am leading for the Wargaming Social Complexity and Asymmetric Warfare project. The scope of the full project is quite large and the task that I am leading is meant to provide necessary context on the wargaming community regarding internal socio-cultural dynamics and receptiveness to technological and structural changes. I have found the topic of wargaming and the community that surrounds it to be very interesting and am excited about the work that my team and I are doing and planning to produce.
What are you currently working on?
Currently, I am working on two projects for START. I am the ethnography task lead for the ICONS project on Wargaming Social Complexity and Asymmetric Warfare, and the co-lead for the ICONS project on Adapting, Assessing and Mitigating Risks to a Complex Future in the Arctic.
Is there a specific research gap that you’re interested in studying?
I think a gap in research that I want to continue to pursue is the changing and often overlooked dynamics of territoriality and border structure in modern geopolitics. Borders and territoriality in international relations, political science, and geopolitics have been studied extensively in the past during times when international structure and dynamics were similar, but different in a lot of ways from what we experience today. On top of that, the broadening global economy initially opened discussions on the decreasing influence of borders on international relations and state action, which has not proven to be true in many respects. These factors present us with a significant gap in understanding how territory influences actions at individual, local, state, and international levels in the world we live in today.
What is the most exciting experience you’ve had due to your research?
Field research is something that I absolutely love to do. Not only do I get to experience new environments and landscapes, but I also get to conduct research in a way that connects me to the people that are directly involved or influenced by whatever the topic may be. My personal research took me to Kosovo for three months where I had the pleasure of meeting some truly amazing people and hearing about their life experiences. My research here at START so far has taken me on multiple trips to Alaska to learn more about local experiences and I have enjoyed getting to explore the physical and human landscapes there. I also got to go dog sledding, which was awesome.
What is your favorite part about your job?
Beyond getting to travel and do qualitative fieldwork on interesting research topics, I have really enjoyed the project development and planning aspect of my job. I have had the opportunity to lead teams focused on multiple different research topics with different outputs. Figuring out methods that fit the research topics, goals, and teams has been really fun and easy to step into here at START because of how amazing the work environment is.
What are your plans for the future?
I like to keep my goals simple and open to opportunities, so my main focus is just to continue my research on borders and identity by working to highlight citizen experiences and perspectives.
Outside of work, what do you do for fun?
Coming from a household with a professional chef, I love food. I love to cook, I love to eat, I love to learn about people and places from the food they make, and I love to do all this with and for good company. Travel is a big part of that, and I also enjoy the people and places, not just the food, I swear. Art is something I got into about two years ago now that I do regularly as a creative outlet. I like to explore depth, patterns, and abstract landscapes using simple techniques, such as lines, circles, and dots. I was raised practicing primitive skills, so I enjoy maintaining, relearning, and expanding those skills. Saving the best for last, I enjoy spending time with my husband exploring small towns, going to fun restaurants, traveling internationally, and snowboarding to name a few, as well as in the comfort of our home with our cat as we sit by the fire and play video games.