Contact Information
Biography
Expertise in Minorities, Nationalism, Eastern Europe, EU Enlargement, and Refugee Resettlement.
Education
Ph.D., Political Science, The George Washington University, 2009B.A., Political Science, Boston College, 2001
Courses, Publication, Presentations and Honors/Awards/Grants
- COURSES
POSC 116 - Current Challenges for Liberal Democracies - POSC 208 - Politics of Great Powers
- POSC 245 - International Relations
- POSC 303 (FCEL) - Politics of Immigration
- POSC 321 - Government and Politics of Russia and Eastern Europe
- POSC 408 - Democracy Conflict and World Politics
- POSC 419W - Ethnic Conflict: Politics and Policy
Publications
BOOK PUBLISHED BY MAJOR ACADEMIC PRESS
Strategic Frames. Europe, Russia, and Minority Inclusion in Estonia and Latvia, Russian
and Eastern European Studies Series, University of Pittsburgh Press, 2018. Series
editor: Jonathan Harris. The book examines how European institutions and Russia have
interactively shaped policymaking toward Russian-speakers in Estonia and Latvia over
the course of the past twenty-five years.
Honorable Mention, Joseph Rothschild Book Prize in Nationalism and Ethnic Studies,
2019.
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLES
• "Reframing Russia's Soft Power in Post-Accession Latvia: Education Reform and Naturalization
for Stateless Children," Eurasian Geography and Economics 62, no. 3 (2021): 264-292.
Published online December 19, 2020. Through an analysis of recent parliamentary debates
over education and naturalization policies, this article demonstrates how Russia's
soft power agenda provides a key context in which Latvia's policies toward Russian-speakers
are made.
• "Pinning-down Democracy in Estonia: A Q-Method Study," Polity 50, no. 1 (January
2018): 4-42 (co-authored with Rune H. Anderson and Külliki Seppel). Using Q methodology
to identify current discourses on democracy in Estonian society, this article highlights
the disjuncture that exists between understandings of democracy among ethnic Estonians
and predominant academic conceptualizations and measurement instruments.
• "Does Russia Matter? European Institutions, Strategic Framing, and the Case of Stateless
Children in Estonia and Latvia," Problems of Post-Communism 64, No. 5 (October 2017):
257-275.This article explores how Russia's kin-state activism has influenced naturalization
procedures for stateless children in Estonia and Latvia through a qualitative analysis
of parliamentary debates from independence in 1991 through 2015.
• "The Ethnic Participation Gap: Comparing Second Generation Russian Youth and Estonian
Youth," Journal on Ethnopolitics and Minority Issues in Europe, Vol. 13, No.1 (2014),
pp. 19-56. Through a quantitative analysis of "The Integration of the European Second
Generation" (TIES) survey, this article explores the factors that influence the political
and civic participation of second generation Russian youth in comparison with Estonian
youth.
• "The Relationship between Integration Dimensions among Second Generation Russians
in Estonia," Studies of Transition States and Societies, Vol. 3, No. 1 (2011), pp.
76-91 (co-authored with Gerli Nimmerfeldt and Marti Taru). This article examines the
relationship between structural, cultural, social and identificational dimensions
of integration among second generation Russians in Estonia through a quantitative
analysis of "The Integration of the European Second Generation" (TIES) survey.
• "Estonia Caught between East and West: EU Conditionality, Russia's Activism, and
Minority Integration," Nationalities Papers, Vol. 38, No. 3 (May 2010), pp. 361-392.
This article employs Q methodology to explore how EU conditionality and Russia's activism
have influenced elite attitudes toward minority policies, majority-minority relations,
and language use in Estonian society.
PEER-REVIEWED CHAPTERS IN EDITED VOLUMES
• "Latvia's Soft Neo-militancy: Limiting Russia's Influence," in J. Rak and R. Baecker
eds., Neo-militant Democracies in the Post-communist Member States of the EU (New
York: Routledge, forthcoming). The chapter argues that Latvia's "soft neo-militarism"
is largely a product of historical legacies and Latvia's nation-building process,
as well as its current relations with Russia. It concludes with a discussion of the
legitimacy of neo-militant restrictions in Latvia, as well as possible alternatives
for safeguarding Latvian democracy against external and internal threats.
• "Russia Rising: Hard and Soft Power Challenges," in Z. Csergo, D. Eglits and P.
Pickering eds., Central and East European Politics: From Communism to Democracy (Fifth
Edition) (Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield, 2021), pp. 269-304. This chapter provides
an overview of the hard and soft-power resources that Russia uses to influence other
countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Case study examples highlight how Russia
seeks to influence Central and East European countries through military and economic
pressures, cyberattacks, information campaigns, and support for particular political
parties. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the West as an alternative center
of power and the challenges that CEE countries face at the crossroads of Russian and
European influence.• "Shattering the Glass Ceiling: Russian Perspectives on Integration
in Estonia," in R. Vetik ed., Nation-Building in the Context of Post-Communist Transformation
and Globalization (Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 2012), pp. 283-318. Through in-depth interviews
with Russian minority representatives, this chapter explores how Russian-speakers
understand integration and how they assess the Estonian integration program.
• "Contact and Crisis in Interethnic Relations," in R. Vetik & J. Helemäe, eds., The
Russian Second Generation in Tallinn and Kohtla-Järve (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University
Press, 2011), pp. 163-180. Through a quantitative analysis of "The Integration of
the European Second Generation" (TIES) survey, this chapter evaluates the influence
of key variables including interethnic contact, experiences of discrimination, and
the Bronze Soldier Crisis on interethnic attitudes between ethnic Estonian youth and
second generation Russian youth in Estonian society.
OTHER SCHOLARLY PUBLICATIONS
• "Russia's Soft Power Agenda and Public Diplomacy: Lesson from the Baltics (Between
Europe and Russia (Bear) Network, Policy Memo produces for Brussels Policy Conference,
May 18, 2021). Available at: http://www.bearnetwork.ca/policy-memos. Russia's soft
power agenda and public diplomacy campaigns have raised considerable concerns across
the Central and Eastern European (CEE)region. This policy memo argues for the importance
of assessing the influence of Russia's soft power agenda on minority policymaking
in target states. Drawing largely from examples and lessons learned in the Baltic
States, it concludes with recommendations for combating Russia's information campaigns.
• "Cultural Integration and Adaptation," in The Integration of Second Generation Russians
in Estonian Society: Country Report on TIES Survey in Estonia (Tallinn: Institute
for International and Social Studies, 2008), pp. 58-93. This chapter of the country
report provides a summary of the cultural integration and adaptation of second generation
Russians in comparison with ethnic Estonian youth through a quantitative analysis
of the TIES survey.
• "Social Relations," in The Integration of Second Generation Russians in Estonian
Society: Country Report on TIES Survey in Estonia (Tallinn: Institute for International
and Social Studies, 2008), pp. 94-106. This chapter of the country report provides
a summary of the social integration and adaptation of second generation Russians in
comparison with ethnic Estonian youth through a quantitative analysis the TIES survey.
Presentations
INVITED SCHOLARLY PRESENTATIONS
• US Department of State, Foreign Service Institute. "Minority Integration and Minority
Rights in the Baltic Countries," Washington, DC, June 29, 2021. Invited presentation
to prepare Foreign Service Officers for working it the region.
• EURAC Research, Political Organizations of Cross-border Minorities, Online Colloquium,
"Neo-militant Democracy in Latvia," June 15, 2021. Invited presentation for scholarly
exchange.
• Between Europe and Russia Network, Brussels Policy Conference "Bridging the EU and
Russia." "Russia's Soft Power Agenda and Public Diplomacy: Lesson from the Baltics,"
May 18, 2021. Invited presentation intended to encourage dialog between policymakers
and scholars.
• US Department of State, Foreign Service Institute. "Minority Integration and Minority
Rights in the Baltic Countries," Washington, DC, March 3, 2021. Invited presentation
to prepare Foreign Service Officers for working it the region.
• PA Statewide Refugee Consultation. "ARYSE After School Club," January 20, 2021.
Invited presentation to present the after school club at Duquesne University and assessment
outcomes to national, state, and regional stakeholders.
• US Department of State, Foreign Service Institute. "Minority Integration and Minority
Rights in the Baltic Countries," Washington, DC, September 2, 2020. Invited presentation
to prepare Foreign Service Officers for working it the region.
• US Department of State, Foreign Service Institute. "Minority Integration and Minority
Rights in the Baltic Countries," Washington, DC, June 24, 2020. Invited presentation
to prepare Foreign Service Officers for working it the region.
• Columbia University, Harriman Institute, November 18, 2019. Book Talk: Strategic
Frames. Europe, Russia and Minority Inclusion in Estonia and Latvia (University of
Pittsburgh Press, 2018).
• US Department of State, Executive Analytic Exchange. "Interethnic Relations and
Minority Integration in Estonia," Washington, DC, October 29, 2019. Invited presentation
to prepare the newly appointed Ambassador to Latvia, John Leslie Carwile.
• University of Montreal, "State Strategies toward Russian-Speakers in Estonia and
Latvia: How Policymakers Frame Europe and Russia in Debates over Citizenship and Language
Policy," June 19, 2019. Invited Lecture for the "Between Europe and Russia" (BEAR)
Network Montreal graduate summer school.
• Jewish Community Center, Pittsburgh PA. "The Century of Immigration," "Between Two
Worlds: Identity and Acculturation," and "Family and Community." October 8, 22, November
5, 2018. Documentary and Lecture Series as part of the "Becoming Americans" grant
through City Lore funded by the National Endowment of the Humanities.
• Queen's University, "Strategic Framing and the Case of Stateless Children: How Europe
and Russia Influence Policymaking toward Russian-speakers in Estonia and Latvia."
September 28, 2018. Invited public lecture sponsored by the Centre for the Study of
Democracy and Diversity and the Department of Political Studies.
• McGill University, "Strategic Frames. Europe, Russia, and Minority Inclusion in
Estonia and Latvia." September 27, 2018. Invited public lecture sponsored by the Jean
Monnet Centre, Montreal and the Department of Political Science.
• US Department of Defense, "The Baltic States: Culture and Socio-Political Trends
in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania." Ft. Carson, CO, January 26, 2017. Invited presentation
by the Leader Development and Education for Sustained Peace Program (LDESP) to prepare
the command of the 4th Infantry Division of the US Army for deployment to the Baltic
States for both NATO and US led operations.
• University of Pittsburgh, "The Bronze Soldier Crisis: Russia's Activism and Minority
Policies." Pittsburgh, PA, October 10, 2014. Invited presentation for the Baltic Symposium,
Re) Imagining and (Re) Interpreting Spaces, Symbols and Sites: The Baltic Region from
the 19th to the 21st Century.
• University of Pittsburgh, "Interethnic Relations and Minority Integration in Estonia."
Pittsburgh, PA, June 26, 2013. Invited presentation for the Baltic Studies Summer
Institute (BALSSI) and university community.
• US Department of State, "Interethnic Relations and Minority Integration in Estonia,"
Washington, DC, July 20, 2012. Invited presentation to prepare the newly appointed
Ambassador to Estonia, Jeffrey Levine.
SCHOLARLY PRESENTATIONS, COMPETITIVELY REVIEWED (Since 2012)
• Association for the Slavic East European and Eurasian Studies Annual Convention.
November 8, 2020. Roundtable: Understanding the Political Impact of Anxiety in Central
and Eastern Europe with Federigo Argentieri, Zsuzsa Csergo, Jane Curry, Michelle Kelso,
and Sharon Wolchik. International Forum.
• American Political Science Association Annual Convention. September 13, 2020. Roundtable:
Kin-State Politics in a Time of Geopolitical Realignment with Zsuzsa Csergo, Erin
Jenne, David Laitin, Harris Mylonas, and Myra Waterbury. International Forum.
• Association for the Study of Nationalities Annual Convention, Columbia University,
New York, NY. May 2, 2019. Book Panel, Strategic Frames. Europe, Russia and Minority
Inclusion in Estonia and Latvia. International Forum
• American Political Science Association Annual Convention, San Francisco, CA. September
3-7, 2015. Does Russia Matter? Citizenship and Language Policies in Estonia and Latvia."
International Forum.
• Association for the Study of Nationalities Annual Convention, Columbia University,
New York, NY. April 23, 2015. "Does Russia Matter? Citizenship Policies in Estonia
and Latvia." International Forum.
• Association for the Study of Nationalities Annual Convention, Columbia University,
New York, NY. April 19, 2013. "Russia's Soft Power: Identifications with Russia among
Second Generational Russians in Estonia." International Forum.
• British Association for Slavonic and East European Studies Annual Convention, Fitzwilliam
College, Cambridge University. Cambridge, UK. April 6, 2013. "Political and Civic
Participation among Second Generation Russians in Estonia." International Forum.
• International Political Science Association Annual Conference, Universidad Complutense
de Madrid, Madrid, Spain. July 9, 2012. "Pinning-down Democracy in Estonia: A Q-Method
Study." International Forum. Previous version presented at the ISS World Congress,
Central European University, Budapest, Hungary (2008). International Forum.
• Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies Annual Convention, University
of Illinois, Chicago, IL. April 28, 2012. "The Consequences of Playing the Compatriot
Card: The Influence of Russia's Activism on Elite Attitudes in Estonia and Latvia."
International Forum.
• International Studies Association Annual Convention, San Diego, CA. April 2, 2012.
"Moving ‘Beyond Conditionality': Problematizing Elite Attitudes in Estonia and Latvia
in the Post-Accession Period." International Forum.
Honors/Awards & Grants
AWARDS
• Excellence in Community Engagement, Pennsylvania Statewide Refugee Consultation,
2021.
• Honorable Mention, Joseph Rothschild Book Prize in Nationalism and Ethnic Studies,
2019.
• Faculty Excellence Award in Service in the McAnulty College and Graduate School
of Liberal Arts, Duquesne University, spring 2019.
• Jewish Family and Community Service's Aryeh Sherman Volunteer of the Year Award.
Immigration and Refugee Services, Pittsburgh, PA, 2018.
• Junior Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award in the McAnulty College and Graduate
School of Liberal Arts, Duquesne University, spring 2016.
FELLOWSHIPS AND GRANTS AWARDED (Since 2010)
• Faculty Development Fund Award, "City of Bridges: Receiving Refugees in Pittsburgh,"
Duquesne University, 2018 ($8330).
• City Lore funded by the National Endowment for Humanities. "Becoming Americans,"
2017.
• Presidential Scholarship Award, Duquesne University. "Strategic Frames. Europe,
Russia, and Minority Inclusion in Estonia and Latvia," 2017.
• Research Grant for Emerging Scholars, Association for the Advancement of Baltic
Studies. "The Consequences of Playing the Compatriot Card: The Influence of Russia's
Activism on Elite Attitudes in Estonia and Latvia," 2012.
• Presidential Scholarship Award, Duquesne University. "The Language of Belonging:
Second Generation Russians in Estonia," 2012.
• Severino A. Russo Endowed Faculty Development Award, Duquesne University. "The Consequences
of Playing the Compatriot Card: The Influence of Russia's Activism on Elite Attitudes
in Estonia and Latvia," 2012.
• McAnulty Summer Grant Writing Funding Award, 2012.