Please join the Program on US-Russia Relations at the Harriman Institute for a book presentation with Bálint Magyarand Bálint Madlovics. Moderated by Elise Giuliano.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 jeopardizes the country’s independence and its chances for Western-style development. However, the heroic attitude of the Ukrainian people, combined with a solidifying national identity, makes the domestic foundations for a western turn stronger than ever. After the invasion, building strong foundations of liberal democracy will be a top priority. In addition to alleviating immediate problems, the country must also address its post-communist legacy and the constraints of its oligarchic structures and patronal democracy.
Bálint Madlovics and Bálint Magyar, the authors of The Anatomy of Post-Communist Regimes (CEU Press, 2020) and A Concise Field Guide to Post-Communist Regimes (CEU Press, 2022), present their new edited volumes on the structural consequences of the war and the chances of building liberal democracy in Ukraine in the aftermath. In the first volume, Ukraine’s Patronal Democracy and the Russian Invasion, the contributors – dominantly leading Ukrainian scholars – examine the impact of the war on democratic institutions, systemic corruption, the oligarchs’ position and influence and the civic identity and activism of Ukrainian society. The second volume, Russia’s Imperial Endeavor and Its Geopolitical Consequences, discusses how the war is redrawing the geopolitical map as we know it as a result of the resurgent imperialist aspirations of the Russian Federation.
