I am an Associate Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University. My ongoing research focuses on corruption, the rule of law, property rights, and political and economic transitions, primarily with a focus on Ukraine and Russia. I am the author of Property Rights in Post-Soviet Russia: Violence, Corruption, and Demand for Law (Cambridge University Press). Other publications have appeared in leading journals, including the American Journal of Political Science, the American Political Science Review, Comparative Political Studies, the Journal of Law, Economics, & Organization, and World Development. My commentaries have been published in the Chicago Tribune, The Hill, The Moscow Times, US News & World Report, and The Washington Post. From 2019-2024, I served as the Faculty Director of Northwestern’s Russian, Eurasian, and East European Studies (REEES) Program.
Current projects include research on the effectiveness of anti-corruption information campaigns; the factors that affect citizens’ willingness to give bribes; the effects of international exchange programs on attitudes toward democracy, corruption, and related political issues; and the potential of transparency initiatives to contribute to the development of the rule of law.