PONARS Eurasia Spring Policy Conference
Friday, March 27, 2020, Washington, D.C.
Draft Agenda | Conference Postponed / RSVP Cancelled
8:30-9:00 am Breakfast
9:00-10:45 am Opening Remarks & Panel 1: Innovations in Authoritarianism
Location: GW Elliott School, Lindner Commons, Room 602
Chair: Regina Smyth, Indiana University | Discussant: Matthew Rojansky, Kennan Institute
Kirill Rogov, Liberal Mission Foundation; Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy; Levada Center, Russia
“More Than a Transition: Non-Democratic Transfer of Power and Regime Dynamics in Post-Soviet Countries”
Gulnaz Sharafutdinova, King’s College London
“Digital Technologies and Authoritarian Regimes: A Case of Pothole Management in Moscow”
Andrey Semenov, Perm State University, Russia; Yale University
“Dynamics of Coercion: Reaction to Aleksei Navalny’s Presidential Campaign”
Ekaterina Schulmann, The Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences (MSSES)
“Imitating, Restricting, and Co-Opting: NGOs and Instruments of Governmental Control in Russia”
David Szakonyi, George Washington University
“Evaluating Russia’s Anti-Corruption Campaign: Financial Disclosures and Electoral Competition”
10:45-11:15 am Coffee Break
11:15-12:45 pm Panel 2: Ukrainian Politics in the Zelensky Era
Location: Lindner Commons, Room 602
Chair: Robert Orttung, George Washington University | Discussant: Laura Jewett, National Democratic Institute
Oxana Shevel, Tufts University
“Parish Politics Beyond Geopolitics”
Sergiy Kudelia, Baylor University
“Veto on Peace/Veto on War: Zelensky’s Donbas Imbroglio”
Ivan Gomza, Kyiv School of Economics, Ukraine
“Justice Without a Blindfold: Complex Politicization of a Court in Ukraine” (Policy Memo No. 629)
Oleksandr Fisun, V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Ukraine
“One Year of Zelensky: What Has Changed?”
12:45-1:30 pm Lunch
1:30-3:00 pm Panel 3A: New Waves of Change in Central Asia and the Caucasus
(Breakout Session) Location: Lindner Commons, Room 602
Chair: TBC | Discussant: Maria Blackwood, Congressional Research Service
Azamat Junisbai, Pitzer College
“Authoritarian Learning: Making Sense of Kazakhstan’s Political Transition”
Emilbek Dzhuraev, OSCE Academy in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
“Justices for Democracy? The Kyrgyz Constitutional Chamber’s Fledgling Guardianship of Democracy”
Jennifer Murtazashvili, University of Pittsburgh
“Governance Reforms in Uzbekistan as a Window to the Future”
Alexander Iskandaryan, Caucasus Institute, Yerevan, Armenia
“Post-Revolution Armenia: New Generation, Old Problems”
1:30-3:00 pm Panel 3B: Stability and Instability in Russia’s Regions
(Breakout Session) Location: Room 505
Chair: Evgeny Finkel, Johns Hopkins University | Discussant: Miriam Lanskoy, National Endowment for Democracy
Irina Busygina, Higher School of Economics, Saint Petersburg; Davis Center, Harvard University
“The Sources of Federal Stability in Russia”
Nikolay Petrov, Higher School of Economics, Moscow; Chatham House, London
“Decision-Making in Putin’s Russia: The Case of Gubernatorial Appointments”
Stephen Crowley, Oberlin College
“Global Cities Versus Rustbelt Realities: The Dilemmas of Urban Development in Russia”
Ekaterina Koldunova, Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), Russia
“A Curious Case of State-Driven Regionalism in the Russian Far East”
3:00-3:30 pm Coffee Break
3:30-5:00 pm Panel 4A: Economic Reform and Governance
(Breakout Session) Location: Lindner Commons, Room 602
Chair: Henry E. Hale, George Washington University | Discussant: Anders Aslund, Atlantic Council
Maria Snegovaya, Johns Hopkins University; Center for European Policy Analysis
“Stagnating Economy and Foreign Policy Preferences in Russia”
Peter Rutland, Weslayan University
“Prospects for Economic Reform in Russia”
Dinissa Duvanova, Lehigh University
“How Autocracies Build Regulatory States”
Vladimir Gel’man, European University at St. Petersburg, Russia; University of Helsinki, Finland
“Explaining Bad Governance in Russia: Institutions and Incentives”
3:30-5:00 pm Panel 4B: The Politics of Values, Beliefs, and Media in Russia
(Breakout Session) Location: Room 505
Chair: Marlene Laruelle, George Washington University | Discussant: Maria Lipman, Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies (GW)
Ivan Kurilla, European University at Saint Petersburg, Russia
“Nationalizing Russian (War) Memory Since 2014”
Samuel Greene, King’s College London
“News to you? The Irrationality of Media Consumption in Russia”
Elise Giuliano, Columbia University
“Assessing Russian Political Attitudes toward Ukraine”
Viatcheslav Morozov, University of Tartu, Estonia
“Why Would the Kremlin Root for Bernie Sanders? Mistrust of Mass Politics and the Outward Projection of Domestic Insecurities”
Conference Postponed / RSVP Cancelled