Her research lies at the intersection of comparative politics, behavioral economics and experimental psychology with a focus on civic engagement and democratic participation at the local level. Conceptually, she is interested in the psychological mechanisms of political learning. Empirically, she combines field experiments, lab experiments, and ethnographic fieldwork to identify how political efficacy interacts with extreme political skepticism during democratic consolidation. Her teaching interests at Duke Kunshan include behavioral science and political psychology.
Her research has appeared in World Politics, Sexuality and Culture, Europe-Asia Studies, Russian Politics, Post-Soviet Affairs, and Problems of Post-Communism. Her current work is supported by, among others, the International Society of Political Psychology; the Association for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies; the Association for the Study of Nationalities; the Earth Institute; the Harriman Institute; and the Columbia Global Policy Initiative.
Soboleva has an M.A. in political economy from the Higher School of Economics, an M.P.A. from London Metropolitan University, and a Ph.D. in comparative politics and psychology from Columbia University.