Iana Ovsiannikova is a PhD Fellow at Ghent University and United Nations University - Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS), where her research focuses on regionalism and regional sanctions governance, with particular attention to Central Asia and Africa. She holds an MA in EU International Relations and Diplomacy Studies from the College of Europe and a BA in International Relations from Moscow State Linguistic University. Her research interests include economic sanctions, regionalism, human rights accountability, multilateral institutions and the role of regional organisations in governance. She has conducted fieldwork in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Côte d’Ivoire and Geneva and has presented her research at academic institutions and conferences across Europe and Central Asia.