Registration REQUIRED by 4pm on January 29, 2025 in order to attend this event.
Please join the Ukrainian Studies Program Harriman Institute for a lecture by Anastasiia Vlasenko, Postdoctoral Research Scholar at the Harriman Institute. Moderated by Mark Andryczyk.
How do legislative networks affect politics? This project examines the effect of lawmakers' ties in the Ukrainian Parliament on corruption, political survival, and law-making activities. In addition to conventional party and fraction ties, Ukrainian legislators tend to form networks through unelected parliamentary staff where personal legislative assistants serve as human links between members of parliament. Dr. Vlasenko suggests that a higher number of legislator's ties within such networks is associated with increased returns to office through participation in corruption schemes, better chances of reelection, and higher frequency of legislative co-sponsorship. This effect of legislative networks exists due to proliferation of clientelist relations aided by Ukrainian oligarchs. The study implies that rent-seeking and vote-buying behavior is made possible by low levels of accountability and transparency which are typical for countries with weak democratic institutions.
