Drinking Vodka With Russian Separatists (Part 1/3)
(VICE) In the northeast region of Kazakhstan, near the Russian border, sits a stretch of land where the Soviet Union spent years testing the atomic bomb. During the Cold War,…
Putin’s Farmer – Agriculture and Business in Russia
(DEUTSCHE WELLE) One of Putin’s biggest fans and a prominent businessman in the agriculture industy, Stefan Dürr has built a farming empire in Russia. Dürr emigrated from Germany to Siberia…
Johnson’s book Priests of Prosperity wins numerous awards; Szakonyi wins outstanding dissertation prize
(ASEEES) To recognize outstanding scholarship and contribution to the field, the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES) annually awards several prizes and awards. Juliet Johnson's book, Priests of Prosperity:…
New study: religiosity often serves as a deterrent rather than a mobilizing force for nonviolent political engagement
(phys.org) Because religion often influences people's opinions on hot-button issues, such as same-sex marriage and abortion, most would expect religious people to be more motivated to engage politically overall. However, a…
The Evolution of Russia’s Views on the Belt and Road Initiative
(Asia Policy) The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), announced by Xi Jinping in 2013 and comprising both the Silk Road Economic Belt and the Maritime Silk Road, has provoked admiration for…
China’s Silk Road and Kazakhstan’s Bright Path: Linking Dreams of Prosperity
(Asia Policy) n 2013, President Xi Jinping announced China’s Silk Road Economic Belt—the land-based component of the Belt and Road Initiative—during his visit to Astana. The choice of the venue…
Nationalism and Foreign Policy
(World Politics) (Co-authored with Kendrick Kuo) Nationalism continues to be an important ideology that informs the way state elites formulate and implement foreign policy. The relationship between nationalism and foreign policy is…
The Volatile State of Greek Politics
(Foreign Affairs) Every year in early September, Greece kicks off its political season with an address from the prime minister at the start of the Thessaloniki International Fair. This year…
Ukraine’s Civil War
(MERSHON CENTER, OSU) Jesse Driscoll, an associate professor of political science and chair of the Global Leadership Institute at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at the University of…
Currency Crises in Post-Soviet Russia
(Russian Review) (Co-authored by David Woodruff) Abstract: Currency crises have been a recurrent feature of Russia's post-Soviet experience. This article examines three episodes of sudden and sharp ruble depreciation in 1998,…
PONARS Eurasia releases 5 policy e-books to mark 20th Anniversary
PONARS Eurasia is pleased to make available five thematic policy memo volumes to mark the program's 20th Anniversary! (Also see the Annual Conference page.) Europe’s Eurasian Challenge Navigating Turbulent Regional Waters:…
Do citizens of the former Soviet Union trust state institutions and why: The case of Azerbaijan
(Communist and Post-Communist Studies) This study examines the trust in political institutions in Azerbaijan using the data from the survey Caucasus Barometer (CB) conducted by the Caucasus Research Resource Center (CRRC)…