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L&S Experts on Ukraine

March 4, 2022
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Updated on: 6/23/2022

Experts from UW–Madison are available to discuss the latest situation in Ukraine with the news media.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared a state of emergency after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered military operations, hitting cities and bases with airstrikes and shelling.

Links listed below faculty bios will take you to recent news articles/features in which our L&S experts are quoted, as well as to articles authored by our L&S experts.


Photo of Yoshiko Herrera

YOSHIKO HERRERA

Yoshiko Herrera is a professor of political science. She is an expert on politics in Russia and other post-Soviet states, nationalism, identity and ethnic politics. Contact: yherrera@wisc.edu

"The war in Ukraine was Vladimir Putin’s decision, and it was a massive miscalculation. He was wrong about Ukrainian resolve, wrong on military strategy, wrong about the economic effects on Russia, and wrong about the unity across the globe in opposing his actions. While Putin is to blame for the war, there are three background factors that led to tensions between Russia and Ukraine, namely Putin’s sense of humiliation and need to avenge the 1990s; his imperial ambitions and lack of recognition of Ukrainian national identity and sovereignty; and his paranoia about Ukraine being an example to Russians of a successful social revolution and a pro-Western democracy, which could threaten his hold on dictatorial power in Russia.” — Yoshiko Herrera


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FRANCINE HIRSCH

Francine Hirsch is Vilas Distinguished Professor of History. She is a historian of Russia and the Soviet Union with an expertise in Soviet nationality policy, the Nuremberg Trials, and the history of Russian-American engagement. She is the author of Empire of Nations: Ethnographic Knowledge and the Making of the Soviet Union (2005) and Soviet Judgment at Nuremberg: A New History of the International Military Tribunal after the Second World War (2020). Contact: fhirsch@wisc.edu


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JON PEVEHOUSE

Jon Pevehouse, chair of the department of political science and a professor of political science and public affairs, is an expert on American foreign policy and international relations.

Pevehouse says, “”The situation in Ukraine is the most significant challenge to the post-Cold War world to date. Putin has gambled that the political cracks in NATO, a divided American public, and economic troubles in key Western states will limit strong responses from Ukraine’s political allies. The coming weeks will tell us both the strength of the international political resistance to the invasion as well as the strength of the military resistance within Ukraine itself.” Contact: pevehouse@polisci.wisc.edu


Photo of Kathryn Ciancia

KATHRYN CIANCIA

Kathryn Ciancia is an associate professor of History. She is a historian of modern Poland and eastern Europe, with a focus on nationalism, borderlands, violence, citizenship, and migration. Her first book, On Civilization's Edge: A Polish Borderland in the Interwar World (2020), tells the story of a multiethnic region that was part of interwar Poland and is now located in western Ukraine. Contact: ciancia@wisc.edu


Photo of Irina Shevelenko

IRINA SHEVELENKO

Irina Shevelenko is Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures. She is a scholar of modern Russian literature and culture, particularly Russian poetry, intellectual history, Émigré communities, early twentieth-century Russian nationalism, and late Soviet and post-Soviet literature. Contact: idshevelenko@wisc.edu


Photo of Anton Shirikov

ANTON SHIRIKOV

Anton Shirikov is a Ph.D. candidate in Comparative Politics. He is working on media politics, misinformation, and perceptions of media in autocracies, and his other work explores contemporary political institutions and authoritarian legacies in the post-communist space. Before coming to UW-Madison, Anton has been a journalist and editor, covering business and politics in Russia. He obtained his master’s degree from the European University at St. Petersburg.


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ANDREW KYDD

Andrew Kydd is a professor of political science and an expert on international relations, especially international security topics such as war and peace, nuclear weapons, terrorism and conflict resolution. Contact: kydd@wisc.edu


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MARK COPELOVITCH

Mark Copelovitch, is a professor of political science and public affairs and director of European Studies. He is an expert on international political economy and international relations. He can discuss the economic sanctions on Russia, as well as the factors shaping the US, EU, and NATO response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Contact: copelovitch@wisc.edu


Photo of Jessica Weeks

Jessica Weeks

Jessica Weeks is Professor of Political Science and H. Douglas Weaver Chair in Diplomacy and International Relations. Her research and teaching interests focus on the links between domestic politics and foreign policy, the domestic and international politics of authoritarian regimes, and how public opinion affects foreign policy. Weeks received her B.A. in political science from The Ohio State University in 2001, a Master’s degree in international history from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in 2003, and a PhD in political science from Stanford University in 2009. Contact: jweeks@wisc.edu



Photo of Ted Gerber

TED GERBER

Ted Gerber, a professor of sociology, is an expert on Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet countries. He has studied Russian domestic policy and foreign policy, and completed three major research projects on Ukraine, including a study of people displaced by the 2014 conflict and a recent study that included four (virtual) focus groups with people living in the separatist-controlled territories. Contact: tgerber@ssc.wisc.edu



More experts can be found on the UW–Madison Experts page. 

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Tags Ukraine, Arts & Humanities, Social Science