Anna Popkova
Western Michigan University
1903 W Michigan Ave
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5318 USA
- Ph.D., University of Minnesota School of Journalism and Mass Communication
- M.A., University of Minnesota School of Journalism and Mass Communication
- 5 year Public Relations Specialist Degree, Siberian State Aerospace University (Russia)
- Public relations campaigns
- Public relations research
- International public relations/strategic communication
- Strategic communication and social change
- International political and strategic communication
- Media and foreign affairs (with focus on Russia-U.S. relations)
- Non-state actors in public diplomacy
Anna Popkova is an Associate Professor of public relations and strategic communication at Western Michigan University School of Communication. Her research examines the public diplomacy efforts of such non-state actors as transnational advocacy networks, citizen diplomacy communities, and dissenting diasporas. By focusing on the concepts of diplomatic agency, representation, power, and legitimacy, Popkova’s work aims to gain a deeper understanding of the role of non-state public diplomacy actors 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, New Media & Society and elsewhere. She is the editor of a forthcoming volume Disruption and Dissent in Public Diplomacy (Palgrave Macmillan). She is also the 2023-2025 University of Southern California Center on Public Diplomacy (CPD) Non-Resident Research Fellow. At WMU, Popkova serves as Secretary of the International Education Council, Co-Chair of the College of Arts and Sciences Women’s Caucus, and a member of the College of Arts and Sciences Internationalization Committee. Outside of WMU, Popkova serves as the Vice President of the Board of Directors of Global Ties Kalamazoo – a citizen diplomacy organization based in Kalamazoo, Michigan – and a member of the Advisory Board of Learning Life – a Washington D.C.- based nonprofit developing inclusive learning communities to widen participation in democracy and diplomacy.