The Authoritarian International: Tracing How Authoritarian Regimes Learn in the Post-Soviet Space
19 October 2023, 3:00 pm–5:00 pm

Please join us for this book launch with Dr Stephen Hall organised by the SSEES Politics and Sociology seminar series
This event is free.
Event Information
Open to
- All
Availability
- Yes
Cost
- Free
Organiser
-
SSEES
Location
-
Masaryk roomUCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies16 Taviton streetLondonWC1H 0BW
Stephen Hall argues that democracies can preserve their norms and values from increasing attacks and backsliding by better understanding how authoritarian regimes learn. He focuses on the post-Soviet region, investigating two established autocracies, Belarus and Russia, and two hybrid-regimes, Moldova and Ukraine, with the aim of explaining the concept of authoritarian learning and revealing the practices that are developed and the sources of that learning. He finds clear signs of collaboration between countries in developing best survival practices between autocratic-minded elites and demonstrates that learning does not just occur between states, but happens at the intra-state level, with elites learning from previous domestic regimes. He highlights the horizontal nature of this learning, with autocratic-minded elites developing methods from several sources to ascertain the best practices for survival. Post-Soviet regional organisations are crucial for developing and sharing these survival practices as they provide 'learning rooms' and training exercises.
Discussant:
Dr Natasha Kuhrt, Senior Lecturer in International Peace & Security, King's College London
Dr Natasha Kuhrt is a Senior Lecturer in International Peace and Security in the Department of War Studies. After gaining a BA first class hons in Russian & German language and literature followed by an MA in Soviet Studies, at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (University of London), she spent several years in publishing before obtaining a PhD at UCL on Russian Policy Towards China and Japan. Dr Kuhrt joined King’s as a visiting lecturer in the Law School in 2002, before going full time in the Department of War Studies in 2009.
About the Speaker
Stephen Hall
Lecturer in Russian and Post-Soviet Politics at University of Bath
