My name is Eugenia Pesci, I am a fourth-year doctoral researcher in the Doctoral Programme in Political, Societal and Regional Change at the University of Helsinki. My dissertation focuses on the implementation of labor market policies in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
I started my dissertation in 2021 as part of the Marie Curie International Training Network
Currently, I am working part-time in the Kone-funded LIFEMAKE project, based at the Swedish School of Social Science, focusing on social reproduction and work in times of crisis. Additionally, I have been working as a research fellow in the DimEast research project at the University of Bologna, where I contribute to new research on migration from and to Central Asia.
I felt welcomed from the first day, although I started my PhD during the COVID pandemic, when everything was online. Initially, it was unusual not to meet my supervisor or colleagues in person, but once the office reopened, I could interact with researchers from various fields: history, political science, sociology, and environmental science.
The Aleksanteri Institute encourages dialogue, collaboration, and peer learning. I attended the Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (REEES) PhD seminars where doctoral students have the chance to comment on each other’s work. This peer learning is extremely valuable, and I think the atmosphere at the Institute is very open to this kind of exchange.
The start of my doctoral studies was very different from what I expected due to COVID. My research also changed significantly. Initially, I planned a comparative analysis of labor market policies in Russia and Kazakhstan, but after the start of Russia’ full-scale invasion of Ukraine I had to redesign the project.
It was a very challenging moment because it required a lot of additional work, even though my research interest remained the same: social and labor market policies.
I have a background in area studies, with an MA in East European Studies from the University of Bologna. During my studies, I became interested in social and economic issues in the region. I wrote my thesis about Russian mono-towns, particularly looking at the role of town-forming enterprises and corporate social responsibility, and how they developed historically. I’ve always had an interest in labor, work, and social issues.
During my master’s, I took a course on Central Asia and travelled there, which sparked my interest in the region. After graduation, I worked at the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan on a project preventing human trafficking and tackling migration-related issues. Combining these experiences naturally led me to my dissertation topic.
I study both legislation and everyday practices in the sphere of social protection and unemployment, specifically focusing on the role of public employment services. These are the public services that provide people with resources and support to find employment. I look at how civil servants make decisions in their everyday work, how they interpret the laws and implement employment promotion programs, especially active labor market policies.
It’s also about what they think about unemployment and the problems people face: what kind of judgments they make about who deserves state support. Policies are implemented not by abstract, ideal-type bureaucrats, but by real people with their own histories, moral dispositions, and beliefs.
It’s very interesting to see how something designed for the whole country, like an active labour market policy that should work across Kazakhstan, may be not suitable for rural areas or specific regions where there are few formal jobs. These bureaucrats, whom the literature calls “street-level bureaucrats,” have to implement the policy and meet certain targets, but the reality is very different. They come up with strategies to comply with the rules while also trying to make things work on the ground.
My research is mostly qualitative. I began with expert interviews to understand what employment programs exist and what policies are in place, while also analysing official documents and legislation. I then spoke with policymakers in ministries, but the core of my work is interviews with bureaucrats in the public employment services, especially with “street-level bureaucrats,” though I prefer to think of them as frontline workers. These are the people citizens meet at employment centers.
I also manage to observe some everyday interactions in employment centers, watching how citizens interact with frontline workers. I would love to do more of this in the future, since these moments show how state policies actually affect people’s lives.
During the interviews, my interlocutors were also curious about my background, often asking how employment centers work in Finland or Italy. Sometimes our interviews turn into long conversations that went beyond my questions, offering unique insights into how policy plays out in everyday life.
Looking at social and labor market policies from the perspective of those who work with them daily makes it very human. When you read about new state measures on poverty relief, entrepreneurship programs for low-income families, employment promotion programs targeting persons with disabilities, or paid public works programs, it can all sound very abstract. But when you hear the stories of those who work with these programs on a daily basis, it becomes real: policy becomes human. It puts faces to the abstract “welfare state”.
This perspective helps me understand why social support is important, and why social justice matters. It also makes me think about how people are categorised: who is included and who is excluded from a certain social program or employment support measure? As a researcher, this also raises moral questions: what are these policies actually doing? What kind of ideal citizenship is the state shaping?
I come from a small town in Italy and have always been interested in other countries and cultures. During my bachelor’s and master’s, I studied in Russia for a couple of semesters, which strengthened my language skills and interest in the wider Eurasian region.
The MARKETS doctoral programme was a unique opportunity because it provided funding for fieldwork, training, and for attending conferences and workshops, which is not always guaranteed for doctoral researchers. During my three-year MARKETS fellowship, I had the opportunity to be an Associate Research Fellow at the OSCE Academy in Bishkek, and spent one month in Kazakhstan at the Public Opinion Research Institute in Astana. Attending conferences also helped me connect with other researchers, especially those from the region I study, Central Asia. Doing fieldwork in Central Asia was invaluable: it allowed me to get closer to the reality I am researching.
I also went abroad during my doctoral studies for research visits to Glasgow and Bremen, where I worked on my dissertation, saw other departments, and met new researchers. This helped me build my research network.
Doing a PhD has its ups and downs, so it’s important to be psychologically prepared. Creativity in research topics and persistence are key. Bring new ideas, even on under-researched topics. If your research interests align with the Institute’s scope, reach out to researchers and explore funding opportunities.
Funding is a main challenge though; not all doctoral researchers are fully funded, and applying for support can be stressful and take months, if not years. The Aleksanteri Institute is supportive, and professors are open to helping. Seek guidance from supervisors who support and encourage your work.