Patrick C.

My blogs

About me

Introduction My current research interests are in sociopolitical power dynamics, namely the interaction between civil activists and regimes in the former Soviet Union, particularly Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. Previous research conducted under the aegis of the Foreign Military Studies Office (FMSO) provided insights into the evolution of citizen politics and the hybridization of authority structures in the Russian Federation. I approached this topic via developments in technology, particularly social media, and the wave of protests that swept across the globe from 2009 to today, focusing on the interaction between civil activists and regimes in Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Iran, and nations associated with the Arab Spring revolutions. Uncovering the darker sides of technological development and the use of social media for protest and repression reshaped my understanding of the sociopolitical situation in the post-Soviet space. Conducting research about Russia’s development since the fall of the Soviet Union has piqued my interest to understand the sociopolitical milieu in other former Soviet republics.