Was the war in Ukraine inevitable? What is Vladimir Putin trying to achieve? What does the conflict say about Ukraine as a democracy? Those are just a few of the questions Michael Berkman explores this week with Donna Bahry, professor emerita of political science at Penn State and an expert in Soviet and post-Soviet politics and democratization.
Donna has studied Russia and the Soviet Union for decades and traveled to the country dozes of time from late Gorbachev era through 2018. She also talks about the challenges of doing scholarly work in the region and how that task will become even more difficult in the wake of the current crisis.
Related EpisodesWill Alexei Navalny make Russia more democratic?
Changing the climate conversation
From political crisis to profound change
Andrew Sullivan on democracy’s double-edged sword
The case for open primaries
Understanding impeachment — from the Federalist Papers to the whistleblower
Street-level bureaucrats at the border
Out of Order: A conversation with Mitch Landrieu and Margaret Carlson
China’s threat to democracies around the world
One state’s fight for fair maps
How music transcends political polarization
Doing the hard work of democracy in Baltimore
How conspiracies are damaging democracy
Defending the First Amendment and the Fourth Estate
Standing up for science and fighting the climate wars [rebroadcast]
Tracing the past, present, and future of protests
A conversation about conversation [rebroadcast]
Politics and Polls: Blue state federalism
The Pledge: Are you scared of the cafeteria lady?
How Democracies Die author Daniel Ziblatt on the “grinding work” of democracy [rebroadcast]
A democracy summer reading list [rebroadcast]
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
City Manager Unfiltered
Potencial Americano
The ASIC Podcast
The Chris Plante Show
Red Eye Radio