MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale
MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale
Baltic Studies
A regional initiative of European Studies Council

Rebeka Zvirbule

MA Student
European Studies Council, Baltic Studies
Research Interests:

Geographical Focus: Eastern Europe, Baltic States, Russia, Western Balkans; Research Interests: Post-Soviet and Baltic States politics of memory, Russian foreign policy, identity of marginalized groups in the Baltic States, international relations and security in Eastern Europe.

Rebeka Zvirbule is currently pursuing an M.A. in European and Russian Studies at Yale University. Originally from Latvia, she holds a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from Rīga Stradiņš University and completed an exchange semester at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. She is fluent in Latvian, English, and Russian, and continues her studies in German and French.

Her research focuses on Russian foreign policy, foreign policy narrative construction, and security dynamics in the post-Soviet space and the Baltic region. She is particularly interested in the relationship among historical memory, identity, and foreign policy, as well as how Russia mobilizes narratives of "traditional values" in its domestic and international messaging. Rebeka also examines the experiences and representations of marginalized groups, particularly the LGBTQIA+ community, in the Baltic states during and after the Soviet period. Her bachelor's thesis, The Russian Federation's Political Discourse: A Case Study of the Dismantling of the Victory Monument, explored how Latvia's decision to remove the Victory Monument in Riga shaped Russian political discourse and contributed to the emergence and re-emergence of specific narratives about history, identity, and regional politics.

Previously, Rebeka worked as a junior researcher at the Latvian Institute of International Affairs and served as an advisor on international security for the United Nations Youth Delegate Program, where she contributed to ensuring that youth perspectives were represented in policy discussions.

Beyond academia, she is actively involved in Latvia's literary community. She co-founded the online literary journal Stroika and participates in slam poetry competitions and literary festivals.

At Yale, Rebeka aims to deepen her knowledge of political science and international relations theories and methodologies, particularly those applicable to the study of the post-Soviet and Baltic regions. She is interested in interdisciplinary approaches that combine historical, political, and cultural analysis to better understand the region's evolving role in global politics.

Department: European & Russian Studies