Biography

I am a Postdoctoral Research Associate on the ESRC-funded project ‘Place, crime and insecurity in everyday life’, working with Dr Evi Girling and the research team on everyday (in)security in Macclesfield. 
 
My journey in researching and teaching in field(s) of security has been ongoing since 2008. I hold a PhD in humanitarianism and conflict response (2019) from University of Manchester. Prior to that my home was in Mexico, where I used to work in academic, governmental and non-governmental sectors, including consultancies for United Nations and Freedom House. 

Research and scholarship

My research concerns bottom-up approaches to peace, everyday (in)security, as well as forms of coping with violence by the vulnerable and unprivileged. I am interested in how people experience (in)security in the context of violence and power asymmetries. My interdisciplinary research speaks to the literature(s) across critical security studies, social anthropology and feminist IR, as well as peace and conflict studies.
 
For my PhD project I conducted ethnographic and multi-method extensive fieldwork in urban periphery in Mexico, which focused on how everyday uncertainty was (1) experienced by and (2) communicated among those at risk in the context of criminal violence. 

Publications

Book chapters: 
  • Polanska, M. (2020, forthcoming) From the field back to the academia: how I worked my PhD out. In: Mac Ginty, R., Brett, R., Vogel, B. (eds.) The Companion to Peace and Conflict Fieldwork. New York and London: Palgrave Politics
  • Mac Ginty, R., Polanska, M. (2015) When the Local Meets the International: From Resilience to Global Governance. In: Debiel, T., Roth, M., Ulbert, C. (eds.) Global Trends 2015: Prospects for World Society. Bonn, Germany: Development and Peace Foundation. pp. 193-208
  • Polanska, M. (2010) Los homicidios y la violencia organizada en México. In: Benítez M., R., Rodríguez L., A., Rodríguez S., A. (eds.) Atlas de la seguridad y la defensa de México 2009. pp. 122-125
  • Polanska, M. (2010) Homicidios por entidad federativa y regiones 1990-2007. In: Benítez M., R., Rodríguez L., A., Rodríguez S., A. (eds.) Atlas de la seguridad y la defensa de México 2009. Mexico: CASEDE. pp. 332-355 
Edited volumes: 
  • Aguayo Q., S., Benítez M., R., Polanska M., Rodríguez L., A. (eds.) (2013) Atlas de la seguridad y la defensa de México 2012. Mexico: CASEDE
 Reports:
  • CASEDE - Freedom House (2015) Prevención del riesgo. Protocolo para el ejercicio de libertad de expresión en México. Mexico: CASEDE - Freedom House. pp. 1-16; 19-20 (co-author)
  • United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean (UNODC), Ministry of the Interior of Mexico (SEGOB) (2012) Estrategia Nacional de Fortalecimiento en Seguridad y Justicia para Medios de Comunicación en México. Mexico: SEGOB (co-author)
Other (not peer-reviewed): 
  • Polanska, M. (2010) Homicides and Organised Violence in Mexico, 1990-2008. Voices of Mexico, Journal of the Centre on Research on North America (CISAN). Special section: Crime and Violence in Mexico, Issue 87, pp. 95-100
  • Polanska, M. (2010) La despersonalización de la víctima de la violencia en México. Observatory of Mexico, CAEI, 4 (Spring-South)
  • Polanska, M. (2010) Los homicidios y la violencia organizada en México. ¿Un incremento real? FLACSO Chile Electronic Documents. Programme on Security and Citizenship, 1 (January)
  • Polanska, M. (2010) Entre la América Anglosajona y América Latina. La búsqueda de una política exterior mexicana independiente. Observatory of Mexico, CAEI, 1 (Summer-South)

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