The Expert is an expert in autocratization, democracy, and rule-of-law institutions. He is a tenured Associate Professor of Diplomacy & World Affairs at Occidental College. His research and commentary have been published in highly regarded academic journals such as Communist and Post-Communist Studies, Democratization, European Journal of Politics and Gender, Europe-Asia Studies, and Russian Politics, among others. I have also contributed to popular publications such as The Washington Post.
His first book, Global Finance and Local Control: Corruption and Wealth in Contemporary Russia, was published by Cornell University Press in 2021 and received the co-winner of the 2023 Best Book Award given by the International Political Economy section of the International Studies Association. He holds a doctorate in Government from Cornell University and has taught at Wellesley College, the Cornell-in-Washington Program, the Harriman Institute at Columbia University, and the Monterey Institute for International Studies. As a native of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, he studied Physics and Mathematics at Lyceum #61.
Ethnic discrimination or persecution; Gang-related violence/non-state actors; Journalist persecution; Political persecution; Government/state actor persecution
2023. “Why did Financial Openness Reforms Succeed in Russia, but not in
China?” Russian Politics 8: 48-75.
2022. "Gender and the Ukrainian refugee crisis: the case of Poland." European Journal of Politics and Gender 5-3: 402
- 405 [w/ Olga Brzezinska].
2022. "Analysis | Hundreds of Western companies quickly exited Russia. Why didn’t Putin see that coming?" The Washington Post
2021. "Authoritarian Populism, Courts, and Democratic Erosion: What Americans Can Learn from the Rest of the World." Just Security [w/ Michael Dichio]
2020. "Global Kleptocracy as an American Problem" Just Security [w/ Casey Michel]
2020. “Authoritarian Welfare State, Regime Stability, and the 2018 Pension Reform in Russia.” Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 53-1: 100-116.
2019. “Before the Interests Are Invested: Disputes Over Asset Control and Equity Market Restrictions in Russia.” Review of International Political Economy 26-4: 695-721.
2018. "Weak States and Uneven Pluralism: Lessons from Mali and Kyrgyzstan" Democratization 25-5: 804-823. [w/ Jaimie Bleck]