Professor Shevel's research and teaching focus on the post-Communist region surrounding Russia and issues such as nation- and state-building, the politics of citizenship and migration, memory politics, and the influence of international institutions on democratization. She is the author of Migration, Refugee Policy, and State Building in Postcommunist Europe" (Cambridge 2011), which examines how the politics of national identity and strategies of the UNHCR shape refugee admission policies in the post-Communist region, leading countries to be more or less receptive to refugees. The book received the 2012 American Association of Ukrainian Studies (AAUS) book prize. At present, Professor Shevel is working on a new book project - comparative study of the sources of citizenship policies in new post-Communist states.