In Conversation with Alvina Hoffmann

In this episode, we welcome Alvina Hoffmann (SOAS), winner of EISA’s 2025 Best Article Award from the European Journal of International Relations (EJIR). In her award-winning article “What Makes a Spokesperson? Delegation and Symbolic Power in Crimea” (2024, vol. 30, Issue 1, pp. 27-51), Alvina unpacks questions about who gets to speak for others, exploring themes of symbolic power, authenticity, and the universalism of human rights. In conversation with host Polly Pallister-Wilkins, Alvina draws on her research to explore the struggles and stakes involved in speaking on behalf of others through the lens of human rights politics in Crimea. She also talks us through the dynamics of delegation and representation that shape global diplomacy and shares insights from her ongoing work on elites and human rights in the UN. Apart from EJIR, Alvina’s work has appeared in International Political Sociology, Cambridge Review of International Affairs, and Global Studies Quarterly. She is currently writing her first monograph, Speaking for the Universal: Human Rights Elites in World Politics, which offers a historical and sociological analysis of independent human rights experts at the UN. Join us for this timely conversation on who truly speaks for "the universal" and at what cost.