Fellows Research

Russia’s energy intensity is extremely high. Russia is known for its rich oil and gas exports; yet, is wasting its resources domestically. Inefficient and outdated generation, distribution and consumption practices result in severe energy losses and leaks. Russia’s energy efficiency problems are complex and require, for the most part, long-term structural solutions. In recognition of this, Russia has now made energy efficiency a major component of its energy strategy. Russia’s new polices and legislative framework aim to increase Russia’s energy efficiency by up to 40%.

Downloads: 

Improving Energy Efficiency in Russia: Real Progress and Present Challenges (486 KB pdf)

Image: 

This research sought to examine the potential for the spread of Islamic militancy amongst the Uighur of Kazakhstan.

Downloads: 

Islamic Militancy and the Uighur of Kazakhstan (305 KB pdf)

Image: 

My research explored the dynamics of cultural globalization, by analyzing the attitudes and behaviors of young migrants who return from the US to Kazakhstan. My general question was what “cultural remittances” these return migrants brought back with them, as well as how and why such innovations were either embraced or rejected.

Downloads: 

The Social Process of Cultural Globalization (269 KB pdf)

Image: 

This project explores how sub-national factors influenced levels of protest in post-Soviet Russia during the turbulent decade of the 1990s. In the midst of rapid and often confusing and painful reforms, why did some Russian cities experience high levels of political protest, while others remained relatively quiet? My research answers this question using archived documents, newspaper clippings, and interviews based on extensive fieldwork. The project examines the socio-political histories of four provincial Russian cities: Biysk, Cherepovets, Komsomolsk-na-Amure, and Volzhskiy.

Downloads: 

Political Protest in Weak Societies and Weak States: Social Control in Post-Communist Russia (259 KB pdf)

Image: 

The Cold War has had a lasting impact on Americans' perception of Russians, and on Russians' perceptions of Americans. The threat of nuclear war between the world's two military superpowers, which arose out of the disintegration of their alliance in World War II, colored two generations' sense of their identity and their future. Old stereotypes and genuine security concerns continue to impact the two countries.

Downloads: 

Popular Responses to the United States in Post-WW II Soviet Union (220 KB pdf)

Image: 

My research focused on small-scale women entrepreneurs in several regions of Tajikistan with the objectives of analyzing the impact of their businesses on themselves, their households, and their communities; understanding best practices and barriers to their business success; and exploring the influence of migration on their entrepreneurship. Three-quarters of the 53 in-depth interviews conducted were in food businesses (processing or selling) because of its economic centrality and ease of entry for women.

Downloads: 

Women's Small-Scale Entrepreneurship in Food Processing: Tajikisan (360 KB pdf)

Image: 

The goal of this research project was to examine the phenomenon of “color revolutions” and their correlations with civil society movements in Georgia and Armenia. The focus of the project was to argue that civil society—while detrimental in the successful realization of the Rose Revolution in Georgia—has been appropriated and neutralized by the opposition-turned-government which removed Eduard Shevardnadze from power in 2004.

Downloads: 

Is the Party Over? Limits and Opportunities of Civil Society in Armenia and Georgia (251 KB pdf)

Image: 

This study examines the democracy promotion efforts of new democracies – countries that used to be recipients of democracy assistance but have now become democracy promoters. The focus of this research is on the Eastern European members of the European Union (EU). and seeks to answer the question: Why do some of these countries but not others support democracy abroad? This question is answered by a comparison of two cases – Bulgaria and Slovakia. The transition trajectories and international context of these two countries are very similar.

Downloads: 

Exporting Revolution: Why Do Some Eastern E.U. Democracies Support Democracy Abroad? (266 KB pdf)

Image: 

During a two-week preparatory trip to the Kyrgyz Republic in August 2011, I met with representatives of survey research organizations in Bishkek to determine which organization will carry out the second wave of public opinion surveys about economic inequality first conducted in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in 2007. I also made determinations about the size and design of the sample and obtained detailed cost estimates. Securing each of these components is critical for the nationally representative surveys I plan to organize and oversee in summer of 2012.

Downloads: 

Perceptions of Economic Inequality in Contemporary Central Asia (276 KB pdf)

Image: 

The study was initiated in response to speculation about how much hatred and trauma from the Balkan wars of the 1990s is being passed on to the next post-war generation of children, potentially planting the seeds for another conflict. The methodology was drawn from research with children of Holocaust survivors, which hypothesizes that parents transmit their trauma to their children directly (i.e., children identify with and internalize parents' traumatic symptoms) and indirectly (i.e., children react to and try to cope with parents' traumatic symptoms).

Downloads: 

Inter-Generational Transmission of Trauma in Croatia: Veterans' Families 20 Years after the Siege of Vukovar (356 pdf file)

Image: