Natalia Mishyna

Biography

Natalia Mishyna is a professor of constitutional and municipal law with over 20 years of experience in multilevel governance and human rights. She is currently a visiting professor in the unit Society, Stakeholders and Governments in Europe (SAGE) at the University of Strasbourg - where she will be hosted by Dr. Wiebke Keim during her USIAS Fellowship - and a professor at the National University “Odessa Law Academy” In Ukraine.

Her research lies at the intersection of constitutional law and emerging technologies. Her main areas of focus are artificial intelligence (AI) governance and regulatory compliance, with particular emphasis on the legal accountability of algorithmic systems and the protection of social and fundamental rights in digital environments.

Dr. Mishyna earned her PhD in constitutional law in 2010, followed by a research stay at King’s College London (United Kingdom). She has built a distinctive career bridging academia and policy practice, having served as a senior legal expert for the Council of Europe’s Congress of Local and Regional Authorities and as a member of the Ukrainian Parliament’s working group on decentralization reform. In 2023, she was awarded a prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship for her project on the municipalization of social rights amid crisis and digital transformation.

Through her interdisciplinary approach, Dr. Mishyna combines deep expertise in constitutional and human rights law with practical regulatory analysis to address the challenges posed by AI to democratic governance and social justice. She has led several international research projects under Jean Monnet and Erasmus+ programmes and is actively contributing to the development of legal frameworks that ensure technological innovation remains aligned with fundamental rights and public values.

Fellowship 2026

Dates - 01/09/2026-31/08/2028

Project summary

LOCAL AUTHORITIES, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND THE LAG OF LAW IN EUROPE’S CRISES

Across Europe, local authorities are increasingly assuming responsibilities once reserved for states. From providing emergency housing and healthcare to managing refugee integration and rebuilding services under extreme pressure, municipalities often act as de facto guarantors of social rights when national institutions respond too slowly. This project investigates whether local authorities can be repositioned as more effective human rights actors in the sphere of social rights - especially during crises and wars - or whether the persistent lag of law will continue to constrain their capacity.

The research compares how local authorities in Ukraine, France, Germany and the Czech Republic have responded to major social rights challenges (housing, healthcare, refugee integration) under diverse crisis conditions, including war, mass displacement and economic strain. Combining empirical fieldwork with legal analysis, the project examines the variations in municipal performance and identifies the institutional, legal, and contextual factors that shape local resilience.

A central focus lies in analysing how national and European legal frameworks enable or constrain municipalities in protecting social rights. Particular attention is paid to the growing role of artificial intelligence in local public services and the challenge of ensuring that technological solutions do not deepen the existing lag of law in human rights protection. The project develops and tests an analytical framework based on the dimensions of Access, Participation and Trust to evaluate local authorities as human rights actors.

Ultimately, the project aims to bridge the gap between local practice and legal theory by offering both conceptual innovation and practical policy recommendations for strengthening the role of municipalities within European multilevel governance during times of crisis.