Marylia Hushcha works at the International Institute for Peace in Vienna and is a member of an Austrian grassroots think tank Ponto. Her research interests include EU relations with the Eastern Neighborhood countries and Russia, and the gender and security nexus. Marylia previously worked at Pontis Foundation in Slovakia, where she managed a capacity-building project for NGOs in Russia. She has completed training and fellowship programmes at the United Nations Office in Belarus, the European Academy of Diplomacy in Warsaw, and the University of San Diego. She holds a Master’s degree in European Studies from Comenius University in Bratislava.