The New Geopolitics of Eurasia
Jan. 16, 23, 30 and Feb. 6, 13
In-Person – Thursday 1:10 pm – 2:50 pm
We examine the security issues in Eurasia arising from the Soviet Union’s collapse, Russia’s war against Ukraine and competition between the United States and revisionist autocracies – China, Russia and Iran – for influence in the region. We address areas such as fragile states, nationalism, corruption, authoritarianism and energy politics. We also discuss the evolving nature and scope of America’s engagement in Eurasian affairs brought about by Russia’s neo-imperial war to subjugate Ukraine and China’s increasingly hardening stance on Taiwan.
- Week 1: Nationhood and the national question in the Soviet Union and Post-Soviet Eurasia
- Week 2: Russo-Georgian War: Causes and Consequences
- Week 3: Politics of Collective Security Treaty Organization
- Week 4: Geopolitics of energy security in Eurasia
- Week 5: China’s expanding influence in Eurasia
Olena Lennon, PhD, is an Adjunct Professor of National Security at the University of New Haven where she teaches courses on U.S. foreign and defense policy, international relations and national security. An Eastern Ukraine native, she serves as an election observer with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and has completed several election observation missions in the region. Formerly a Fulbright scholar and most recently a Title VIII Scholar at Woodrow Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute in Washington, DC, she has dedicated her research to domestic and international politics of Ukraine, as well as Eurasian geopolitics and security writ large. Dr. Lennon serves on Freedom House’s team of Ukraine experts that produces a yearly “Freedom in the World” report focused on assessing Ukraine’s domestic political environment. Under the auspices of the United States European Command Office of Defense Cooperation, she has conducted Ukraine country studies training for U.S. advisors to Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense.