Tag Archives: Eastern Europe

The small Southeastern European nation of Moldova sits at a crossroads. Once a part of the former Soviet Union, the nation has long ties to Central Europe (and in particular Romania). And recent political developments expose this tension. In October, the nation -reelected President Maia Sandu, despite allegations of Russian interference to aid her opponent Alexandr Stoianoglo. And the nation passed a referendum advocating membership in the European Union, but with a very slim majority. And it has seen ongoing conflicts that has separated a significant part of its Eastern territory, which has declared itself the breakaway republic of Transneister. So on today’s show, we will explore the nation of Moldova, its politics, its challenges and its human rights profile. [ dur:34mins. ]

Ecaterina Locoman is Senior Lecturer of Political Science at Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the author of Moldova’s Critical Decision Between Europe and Russia Narratives of conflict: Russian media’s evolving treatment of Ukraine (2013–2022)
Christian Cantir is Associate Professor of Political Science at Oakland University. She is the author of ‘On the front line of the battle for reunification’: Nationalism and Romania’s identity paradiplomacy in Moldova and “Goodbye Moscow, Hello Brussels”: The City Diplomacy of Chișinău Mayor Dorin Chirtoacă.
Isabelle DeSisto is fourth-year PhD candidate in Politics at Princeton University. She is co-author of “Moldova chooses Europe again as Sandu wins re-election,” and “The high stakes in Moldova’s 2024 election,”

Following the re-election of Maia Sandu and the passage of a referendum on membership in the European Union, the nation’s human rights profile is particularly important. Membership in the EU requires substantial monitoring of human rights and a commitment to democracy. And while the election of October 2024 looks promising, the nation faces significant challenges. So we will discuss those challenges and the human rights commitments of the nation. [ dur: 24mins. ]

Nicolae Panfil is Program Director and Head of Election Observation Missions at Promo-LEX Association – an NGO dedicated to the advancement of human rights and democratic processes in the Republic of Moldova.

This program is produced by Ankine Aghassian, Doug Becker and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Russia Attacks Ukraine – February 27, 2022

February 26, 2022 host

Russia attacked Ukraine this week. What does this mean for the region and the world? What are the international reactions to this invasion? What should be the international response? [ dur: 58mins. ]

Anna Ohanyan is the Richard B. Finnegan Distinguished Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Stonehill College, and a two-times Fulbright Scholar in the South Caucasus. She is the editor of Russia Abroad: Driving Regional Fracture in Post-Communist Eurasia and Beyond, and her latest book “The Neighborhood Effect: The Imperial Roots of Regional Fracture in Post-Communist Eurasia“. Professor Ohanyan is also a nonresident senior scholar in the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Robert English is Associate Professor of International Relations and Co-Director of the Central European Studies Program at the University of Southern California (USC). He is the author of Russia and the Idea of the West.
Serhiy Kudelia is Associate Professor of Political Science at Baylor University. He is the author of When Numbers Are Not Enough: The Strategic Use of Violence in Ukraine’s 2014 Revolution, “The Donbas Rift” and the op-ed “Breaking the Russia-Ukraine Stalemate“.

This program is produced by Maria Armoudian, Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Conflict hot spots: Ukraine and Yemen – January 30, 2022

January 29, 2022 host

Conflict hot spots are popping up all around the world. We discuss two of them.

Is Russia acting out of aggression or self-defense in its threats against Ukraine? [ dur: 28mins. ]

Robert English is Associate Professor of International Relations and Co-Director of the Central European Studies Program at the University of Southern California (USC). He is the author of Russia and the Idea of the West.

The Houthis in Yemen launched drone strikes against the United Arab Emirates this week. Is this a new round of escalation in that ongoing and devastating war?

We will explore the new escalations in the civil war in Yemen. [ dur: 30mins. ]

Hamoud Salhi is Professor of Political Science and Associate Dean of International Education at California State University, Dominguez Hills. He is commentator for Arabic media.
Charles Schmitz is Professor of Geography at Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland. He is an Affiliated Scholar with the Middle East Institute in Washington DC. He is the author of the publications Historical Dictionary of Yemen, “Huthi Visions of the State: A Huthi Republic with an Unofficial Imam,” in Hamidaddin, Abdullah (ed). The Huthi Movement in Yemen: Ideology, Ambition and Security in the Arab Gulf and “A Parasitic Political Economy,” in Amat Alsoswa and Noel Brehony (eds.), Building a New Yemen: Transition and International Community.

This program is produced by Maria Armoudian, Doug Becker, Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars’ Circle – Contested Presidential Election in Belarus -/- Hormonal changes in women affects use of birth control – Aug 30, 2020

August 29, 2020 host

Belarus has been rocked by protests and police crackdown following the contested presidential election in Belarus. We examine the history of Belarus and the likelihood of the continuation of the Lukashenko dictatorship. Hosted by Doug Becker [ dur: 43mins. ]

Professor Margarita Balmaceda is Professor of Diplomacy and International Relations at Seton Hall University. She is also an Associate at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies and of the Ukranian Research Institute at Harvard University. She is the author of Living the High Life in Minsk: Russian Energy Rents, Domestic Populism and Belarus’ Impending Crisis and The Politics of Energy Dependency: Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania Between Domestic Oligarchs and Russian Pressure.
Tatsiana Kulakevich is lecturer at the University of South Florida and research fellow at USF Institute on Russia. She is the co-author of the book chapter Belarusian Political Parties: Organizational Structures and Practices. and Twenty Years in the Making: Understanding the Difficulty for Change in Belarus. Her analyses appeared in media and academic journals, including The Monkey Cage, The Conversation, The Globe Post and Belarus Digest.

Then, hormones change our brain according to neuroscientists. What might these changes be? What does this mean for women taking birth control pills over the course of their child bearing years? [ dur: 14 mins. ]

Belinda Pletzer is a researcher at the Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Salzburg, Austria. She is the co-author of many publications including, Sex and menstrual cycle influences on three aspects of attention, 50 years of hormonal contraception. Time to find out what it does to our brain and Subcortical structural changes along the menstrual cycle: beyond the hippocampus.

This program is produced by the following team members: Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Deeper insight into Russia – Ukraine – Western Europe – USA conflict and path towards peace – December 15 , 2019

December 14, 2019 host

Since the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, Eastern Ukraine has been a site of conflict. Russophones in Ukraine, armed by Russia and joined by Russian nationals, launched a revolt to break from Kyiv. Following months of fighting, the area became a frozen conflict. Each week brings new casualties but little territory has changed hands. We spend the hour discussing the causes of the conflict in Eastern Ukraine, the impact of the internationalization of the war, and potential pathways to peace. Doug Becker hosts. [ dur: 58 mins. ]

Robert English is Associate Professor of International Relations at the University of Southern California. He is the author of Russia and the Idea of the West: Gorbachev, Intellectuals and the End of the Cold War and The Other Side: How Soviets and Americans Perceive Each Other.
Oxana Shevel, Associate Professor of Political Science, Department of Political Science at Tufts University. She is the author of Migration, Refugee Policy, and State Building in Postcommunist Europe and the book chapter Memory of the Past and Visions of the Future: Remembering the Soviet Era and its End in Ukraine.
Dr. Tor Bukkvoll is a Senior Research Fellow at the Norwegian Defense Research Establishment. His publications include, Tools of Future Wars – Russia is Entering the Precision-Strike Regime and Fighting on behalf of the state – the issue of pro-government militia autonomy in the Donbas war.

This program is produced with generous contribution from Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

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Scholars' Circle Interviews

Scholars’ Circle – Insight into Russian Politics in Patronal System (2 of 2 ) -/- Discussion on “Just War Theory” – May 21, 2017

May 20, 2017 host 1 Comment

First, while many in the West decry the politics of the former Soviet Union countries as corrupt and anti-democratic, our guest argues that there are much better ways of understanding the processes and politics of patronal systems. This is part 2 of 2 part interview with Professor Henry E. Hale. You can find part one here. [ dur: 24 mins. ]

Henry E. Hale is Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at The George Washington University. His books include Patronal Politics: Eurasian Regime Dynamics in Comparative Perspective, The Foundations of Ethnic Politics: Separatism of States and Nations in Eurasia and the World and Why Not Parties in Russia? Democracy, Federalism, and the State.

Then, on the Scholars’ Circle panel, What exactly is “Just(ified) war theory”? And can it be applied to modern warfare? [ dur: 35 mins. ]

Jeff McMahan is a Professor of Philosophy at Rutgers University. He is the author of Killing in War, The Ethics of Killing: Problems at the Margins of Life and editor of Ethics and Humanity: Themes from the Philosophy of Jonathan Glover
Heather Roff is a Professor of International Studies at the University of Denver. She is the author of Global Justice, Kant and the Responsibility to Protect: A Provisional Duty (Global Politics and the Responsibility to Protect) .
Thomas Gregory is a lecturer of Political Studies at the University of Auckland. He is the author of “Drones – mapping the legal debate”.

Find book authored by our guest scholars on this Book Shelf .

This program is produced with generous contribution from Ankine Aghassian, Melissa Chiprin, Tim Page, Mike Hurst and Sudd Dongre.

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The Scholars' Circle Interviews

Tag Archives: Eastern Europe

Scholars’ Circle – Moldova Election 2024 – November 24, 2024

Scholars’ Circle – Russia Attacks Ukraine – February 27, 2022

Scholars’ Circle – Conflict hot spots: Ukraine and Yemen – January 30, 2022

Scholars’ Circle – Contested Presidential Election in Belarus -/- Hormonal changes in women affects use of birth control – Aug 30, 2020

Scholars’ Circle – Deeper insight into Russia – Ukraine – Western Europe – USA conflict and path towards peace – December 15 , 2019

Scholars’ Circle – Insight into Russian Politics in Patronal System (2 of 2 ) -/- Discussion on “Just War Theory” – May 21, 2017

By Maria Armoudian