Dr. Emil Kamalov is a political scientist whose research focuses on authoritarian politics, political behavior, repression, and migration, with a particular emphasis on war-induced Russian emigration and transnational repression. He holds a PhD in Political and Social Sciences from the European University Institute in Florence. Before joining the Harriman Institute, he was a SURF Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University’s Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law.

His current research examines how authoritarian regimes attempt to control political opposition beyond their borders, and how exile communities respond to repression, displacement, and changing host-country environments. In his dissertation and related papers, he develops an account of extraterritorial opposition politics, showing how geopolitical conditions, host-country institutions, and migrant networks shape diaspora activism, resilience, and well-being.

Together with Ivetta Sergeeva, Kamalov co-founded and co-leads the OutRush project, a multi-wave panel survey of Russian emigrants who left Russia after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. His work has been published in Perspectives on Politics, Sociological Methods & Research, Post-Soviet Affairs, and Communist and Post-Communist Studies. His research has also been featured in international media and policy discussions on Russian emigration, authoritarianism, and political exile.