Tuesday, November 4, 20254:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Bunche Hall, Rm 10383
About the Talk
Ukraine’s resilience in the first months of Russian aggression came as a great surprise to both its Moscow adversaries and Western partners. Ukrainian postcommunist state—broadly described dysfunctional—appeared to be quite viable, and Ukrainian society—broadly stereotyped as divided or even split along many lines—appeared to be quite unanimous and unified. Civic mobilization, a.k.a. rallying around the flag, is a widespread phenomenon that many communities demonstrate in critical situations, against existential threats, external aggression in particular. From the first days of the war, Ukrainians rallied around the national flag, proving strong patriotic commitment to national cause and firm self-identification with their country, its symbols and institutions. They emphasized their pro-Western orientation and commitment to “European”, liberal-democratic values as arguably opposite to those of authoritarian Russia. This created a unique opportunity for the government to harness the energy of civic mobilization not only for the military resistance but also for the long-due domestic reforms – not only “against” somebody (the Russian enemy) but also “for” something (institutional cleaning-up and modernization). Four years into the war, it seems that the ruling elite has largely failed on the second issue, badly affecting thus and undermining the first one, which is definitely the nation’s priority of existential importance. What was wrong and what can be done to fix the problem – is the question that goes far beyond the pure academic curiosity.
About the Speaker
Mykola Riabchuk is a Principal Research Fellow at the Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies in Kyiv and a visiting lecturer at the University Warsaw. He penned dozen books translated into Polish, French, German, Serbian and Hungarian, and was distinguished with several awards, most notably the Antonovych Prize (2003), the “Bene merito” medal of the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (2009), Jerzy Giedroyc Prize (2023), the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland (2025), and the Taras Shevchenko National Prize in Arts and Literature (2022). In 2014-2018, he headed the Ukrainian PEN Center and, in 2014-2023, chaired the jury of the “Angelus” international literary award. His latest books (in English) are Eastern Europe since 1989: Between the Loosened Authoritarianism and Unconsolidated Democracy (Warsaw, 2020), and At the Fence of Metternich’s Garden. Essays on Europe, Ukraine, and Europeanization (Stuttgart, 2021).
About the Discussant
Daniel Treisman is a distinguished professor of political science at the University of California, Los Angeles, research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research and current co-director of the UCLA Center for European and Russian Studies. He has published four books and many articles in leading political science and economics journals including The American Political Science Review and The American Economic Review, as well as in the public affairs journals Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy. A former interim lead editor of The American Political Science Review, he has also served as a consultant for the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and as acting director of UCLA’s Center for European and Eurasian Studies. In Russia, he is a member of the International Advisory Committee of the Higher School of Economics and a member of the Jury of the National Prize in Applied Economics. He has been a Guggenheim Fellow and a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution (Stanford) and the Institute for Human Sciences (Vienna), and has received fellowships from the German Marshall Fund of the US and the Smith Richardson Foundation. His latest book, The Return: Russia’s Journey from Gorbachev to Medvedev (The Free Press, 2011) was one of the Financial Times’ Best Political Books of 2011.
Venue & Parking
Bunche Hall Room 10383
11282 Portola Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90095
The nearest parking structure to this event is UCLA Parking Structure 5. Alternatively, visitors can also park at UCLA Parking Structure 4. Visit UCLA Visitor Parking for up-to-date information on parking rates.
Sponsor(s): Center for European and Russian Studies, Department of Slavic, East European & Eurasian Languages & Cultures