Dr. Anna Popkova is an Associate Professor at Western Michigan University School of Communication and an allied faculty member at the Global and International Studies program. Her research on public diplomacy and international strategic communication examines the public diplomacy efforts of such non-state actors as transnational advocacy networks, citizen diplomacy communities, and dissenting diasporas. By focusing on such concepts as agency, representation, power, and legitimacy, Popkova’s work aims to gain a deeper understanding of the role of public diplomacy in the shifting dynamics of global politics. Popkova’s work has been published in the International Journal of Communication, International Communication Gazette, The Hague Journal of Diplomacy, International Journal of Strategic Communication, Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, and elsewhere.

Dr. Popkova’s 2023-25 CPD Research Fellowship project "Political Dissent as Non-State Public Diplomacy" will examine the role and impact of the public diplomacy efforts of dissenting actors cross-nationally, as well as in the context of Russia’s war in Ukraine.