Nina KOLYBASHKINA is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Social Policy and Social Work at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Originally from the Ukraine, Ms. Kolybashkina has experience in the fields of civil society and democratic governance, conflict prevention, NGO capacity building, and youth development. She served as a local municipal and community development officer with the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo where she worked with local authorities to plan and implement social policy programs. Ms. Kolybashkina’s research focuses on the relationship between states and civil society with regards to social services provision. She holds an M.Sc. in comparative social policy from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Ms. Kolybashkina served on the Faculty of the Salzburg Seminar’s sixth and eighth International Study Programs in 2005.