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Experts available on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Northwestern University experts are available to discuss the causes and impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Scholars of international relations can explain the global ramifications of such an attack; political scientists and historians are available to contextualize the situation; and economic experts can explain the ramifications for businesses as well as consumer prices here at home.

Connect with faculty directly using the contact information below, or reach out to media relations for assistance.

Ukraine/Russia experts

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Jordan Gans-Morse

Soviet Union historian

Associate Professor of Political Science

  • Former Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia
  • Corruption, the rule of law, property rights and political and economic transitions, with a focus on the former Soviet Union

Jeffrey Winters

Political historian

Professor and Director of the Equality Development and Globalization Studies program

  • History of oligarchs
  • Politics of wealth and how targeted sanctions could shape the outcome of the war
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V.S. Subrahmanian

Global cybersecurity expert

Walter P. Murphy Professor of Computer Science
Buffett Faculty Fellow, Buffett Institute for Global Affairs

  • Cybersecurity and artificial intelligence
  • National and multinational cybersecurity policy
  • Running and detecting social influence campaigns
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Ian Hurd

International law expert

Professor of Political Science

  • International law and organizations
  • Politics of legitimacy at the United Nations
  • UN reform

Yohanan Petrovsky-Shtern

Modern Ukraine expert

Crown Family Professor of Jewish Studies and Professor of History

  • War and empire
  • History and culture of Ukraine

Yohanan Petrovsky-Shtern has studied in Russia and been a visiting professor at universities in Kyiv and Lviv, Ukraine. He also is an amateur artist whose work has appeared in several museums, including Ukrainian Museum in New York.

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Olga Kamenchuk

Russian public opinion expert

Associate Professor of Instruction, School of Communication

  • International public opinion
  • Strategic public diplomacy

Olga Kamenchuck has 15 years of professional polling and public opinion research experience in the former Soviet Union and is a leading expert on Russian public opinion. 

Ian Kelly

International relations expert

Ambassador in Residence, International Studies and Slavic Languages and Literature

  • Global diplomatic strategy
  • International context of invasion
  • Potential motivations for attack
  • Impact to democracy abroad

Prior to joining Northwestern's faculty as ambassador in residence, Ian Kelly was U.S. ambassador to Georgia, ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, State Department spokesperson, and director of the Office of Russian Affairs in Washington, D.C.

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Karen J. Alter

International law expert

Norman Dwight Harris Professor of Political Science and Law
Co-Director of the Global Capitalism and Law Research Group
Co-Chair of the Organization of Women Faculty

  • Construction of global economic rules regulating trade and money
  • Determinants of politically sustainable capitalism
  • Limitations of sanctions' effectiveness
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William Reno

Political conflict expert

Professor of Political Science & Chair of the Department of Political Science

  • Politics of violent conflict
  • Political effects of foreign military assistance
  • Avenues to provide aid to Ukraine
  • Avoiding escalation of nuclear conflict
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Christina M. Paschyn

Political activism expert

Assistant Professor of Journalism & Strategic Communication in Residence

  • The Crimean Tatars — history and current political activism in Ukraine and Russia
  • Ukrainian female soldiers' portrayals in Global South and Global North media

Sandeep Baliga

Sanctions expert

John L. and Helen Kellogg Professor of Managerial Economics & Decision Sciences

  • Maximizing the effectiveness of sanctions
  • Factors that prolong war
  • Game theory and international relations

Dassia Posner

Russian and Soviet theatre expert

Associate Professor of Theatre, Slavic Languages and Literatures

  • Russian and Soviet theatre 
  • Artistic censorship in Russia
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Timothy Calkins

Brand expert

Clinical Professor of Marketing

  • Factors driving businesses' decisions about whether to continue operating in Russia
  • Impact to the brand of businesses that continue relations with Russia