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Maria Popova

Academic title(s): 

Associate Professor

听

Maria Popova
Contact Information
Address: 

855 Sherbrooke St. W.
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 2T7

Phone: 
514-396-1905
Office: 
Ferrier 462
Degree(s): 

BA, Dartmouth

MA, PhD, Harvard

Curriculum vitae: 
PDF icon popova_cv_2024.pdf
Link(s): 
Research areas: 
Comparative Government and Politics
Biography: 

Maria Popova is an Associate Professor of Political Science at 91社区 and Scientific Director of the Jean Monnet Centre Montreal. She also serves as Editor of the Cambridge Elements Series on Politics and Society from Central Europe to Central Asia. Her work explores the rule of law and democracy in Eastern Europe. Her first book Politicized Justice in Emerging Democracies, which won the American Association for Ukrainian Studies book prize in 2013, examines the weaponization of law to manipulate elections and control the media in Russia and Ukraine. Her recent articles have focused on judicial and anticorruption reform in post-Maidan Ukraine, the politics of anticorruption campaigns in Eastern Europe, conspiracies, and illiberalism. Her new book with Oxana Shevel on the roots of the Russo-Ukrainian war entitled 鈥淩ussia and Ukraine: Entangled Histories, Diverging States鈥 is available from Polity Press:

Specialization: 

Comparative politics,听European politics (Ukraine, Bulgaria, Russia), post-Communist transformation, courts and politics, corruption and anticorruption.

Areas of interest: 
  • European Politics: rule of law, populism, corruption, anti-establishment parties, EU accession, protest, Ukraine, Bulgaria.
  • Comparative Judicial Politics: judicial independence, global expansion of judicial power, post-communist judicial reforms, politics of corruption prosecutions.
  • Russian politics: authoritarian consolidation, weaponization of law.
Professional activities: 
  • Scientific Director, Jean Monnet Centre Montreal
  • Editor, Cambridge Elements Series, Politics and Society from Central Europe to Central Asia
Current research: 
  • The Russo-Ukrainian War
  • Ukraine's Road to EU Accession: judicial and anticorruption reform
  • Prosecution of political corruption in the Balkans and East Central Europe
  • Foreign-educated reformist politicians in Eastern European democracies
Selected publications: 

Books

Russia and Ukraine: Entangled Histories, Diverging States. London. Polity Press. 2024.

Politicized Justice in Emerging Democracies: A Study of Courts in Russia and Ukraine. New York: Cambridge University Press. 2012.

Winner, 2012-2013 American Association for Ukrainian Studies prize for best book in the fields of Ukrainian history, politics, language, literature, and culture. Featured in a Critical Dialogue in Perspectives on Politics and reviewed in 11 other journals in comparative politics, area studies, law, and anthropology.

Journal Articles

  1. "Ukraine is Europe: Lessons for Europe and for Political Science," European Political Science, 23(3). With Oxana Shevel
  2. 鈥淐ivil Society as an Informal Institution in Ukraine鈥檚 Judicial Reform Process,鈥 German Law Journal, 24(8), pp. 1488-1502. With Serhii Lashyn and Anastasia Leshchyshyn.
  3. 鈥",鈥 (2022) Journal of Narrative Politics 8 (2).
  4. 鈥淲ill the Real Conspiracy Please Stand Up: Sources of Post-Communist Democratic Failure,鈥 (2022) Perspectives on Politics, 20 (1): 222 - 236. With Nikolay Marinov
  5. "" (2020) Law & Policy, Vol. 42, Iss. 4, pp. 365-381.
  6. "No Revolution of Dignity for Ukraine鈥檚 Judges: Judicial Reform After Maidan鈥 (2020)听Demokratizatsiya 28 (1): 113-142. With Daniel Beers
  7. 鈥淧rosecuting High-Level Corruption in Eastern Europe.鈥 (2018) Communist and Post-Communist Studies 51( 3):听231-244. With Vincent Post.
  8. "Putin-Style 鈥淩ule of Law鈥 & the Prospects for Change." Daedalus, Vol. 146, No. 2 (2017), pp. 64-75
  9. 鈥淔ear and Loathing on the Post-Communist Street: Why Bulgaria's DANSwithme Protest Fizzled out, but Ukraine's Euromaidan Escalated,鈥 Critique and Humanism, Vol. 46, No. 2 (2016), pp. 109-127. A Bulgarian version: 鈥炐⊙傃邪褏 懈 芯屑褉邪蟹邪 薪邪 锌芯褋褌泻芯屑褍薪懈褌懈褔械褋泻懈褌械 褍谢懈褑懈: 蟹邪褖芯 斜褗谢谐邪褉褋泻懈褟 锌褉芯褌械褋褌 袛袗袧小 蟹邪褌懈褏胁邪, 邪 褍泻褉邪懈薪褋泻懈褟褌 袝胁褉芯屑邪泄写邪薪 械褋泻邪谢懈褉邪?,鈥 泻薪. 45, 斜褉. 1/2016, 褋褌褉. 107-129.
  10. 鈥淒ie Entwicklung der ukrainischen Justiz seit dem Euromaidan,鈥 Transit: Europaische Revue, Vol. 48 (Winter 2015/Fruhling 2016), pp. 136-156.
  11. 鈥淲hy the Orange Revolution Was Short and Peaceful and Euromaidan Long and Violent鈥 Problems of Post-Communism, Vol. 61 (November-December 2014), No. 6, pp. 64-70.
  12. 鈥淲hy Doesn鈥檛 the Bulgarian Judiciary Prosecute Corruption?鈥 Problems of PostCommunism, Vol. 59, No. 5 (September-October, 2012), pp. 35-49.
  13. 鈥淧olitical Competition as an Obstacle to Judicial Independence: Evidence from Russia and Ukraine鈥, Comparative Political Studies, Vol. 43, Issue 10 (October 2010), pp. 1202-1229.
  14. 鈥淏e Careful What You Wish For: A Cautionary Tale of Post-Communist Judicial Empowerment鈥 Demokratizatsiya, Vol.18, No. 1 (Winter 2010), pp. 56-73.
  15. 鈥淲atchdogs or Attack Dogs? The Role of the Russian Courts and the CEC in the Resolution of Electoral Disputes鈥, Europe-Asia Studies, Vol. 58, No. 3 (May 2006), pp. 391-414.
  16. "Implicit Objections to the Rule of Law Doctrine in Russian Legal Thought", Journal of East European Law, Vol. 11, Nos. 2-3 (2004), pp. 205-229.
  17. 鈥淩ossiiskaya Pravovaya Mysl' i Printsip Verkhovenstva Prava: Problemy Adaptatsii i Neobkhodimost' Dialoga鈥, Konstitutsionnoe Pravo: Vostochnoevropeiskoe Obozrenie, Vol. 3, 44 (2003).

Book Chapters

  1. 鈥淛udicialization of Corruption鈥 in Macedo Pinto de Sousa, Luis and Susana Coroado (eds.) Encyclopaedia in Corruption and Society. 2024. Elgar, pp. 169-173.

  2. 鈥淩ussia鈥檚 Invasion and Ukraine鈥檚 Resistance鈥 in Hale, Henry, Juliet Johnson, and Tomila Lankina (eds.) Developments in Russian Politics 10. 2024. Bloomsbury. With Oxana Shevel.

  3. 鈥淧oliticization of Courts in European Democracies鈥 in Howard, Robert, Rebecca A. Reid, and Kirk M. Randazzo (eds.) Research Handbook on Law and Political Systems. 2023. Elgar, pp. 170-186. With Christine Rothmayr Allison.

  4. 鈥淯kraine Between National Security and the Rule of Law鈥 in Palko, Olena and Manuel Ferez, eds. Ukraine鈥檚 Many Faces. 2023. Transcript verlag and Columbia University Press, pp. 291-296; Spanish version published as 鈥淯crania: Entre la seguridad nacional y el Estado de Derecho鈥 in Palko, Olena and Manuel Ferez, Descubriendo Ucrania. Su pueblo, su historia y su cultura, Poliedro Editorial de la Universidad de San Isidro, pp. 187-191.

  5. 鈥淕arantir la s茅curit茅 脿 long terme de l鈥橴kraine鈥 in Le R茅veil Europ茅en et Transatlantique. 2022. Ed. des Equateurs. With Oxana Shevel

  6. 鈥淭he Post-Communist Judiciary: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back鈥 in Engelbrekt, K. and Petia Kostadinova (eds.), Bulgaria鈥檚 Democratic Institutions at Thirty: A Balance Sheet (Lexington Books, 2020).

  7. 鈥淧rosecuting Corruption in Eastern Europe鈥 (with Vincent Post) in Solomon, P. and Kaja Gadowska (eds.), Legal Change in Post-Communist States: Progress, Reversions, Explanations. Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics and Society Series, (ibidem Press, 2019)

  8. 鈥淛ournalists, Judges and State Officials: How Russian Courts Adjudicate Defamation Lawsuits Against Media鈥 in Kurkchiyan, M. and Agnieszka Kubal (eds.), A Sociology of Justice in Russia (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018), pp. 141-169.
  9. 鈥淯kraine鈥檚 Politicized Courts鈥 in Hale, H. E. and Robert W. Orttung (eds.), Beyond the Euromaidan: Comparative Perspectives for Advancing Reform in Ukraine (Redwood City: Stanford University Press, 2016), pp. 143-161.
  10. 鈥淲ho Brought Ataka to the Political Scene: Analysis of the Vote for Bulgaria鈥檚 Radical Nationalists鈥 in Dragostinova, T. and Yana Hashamova (eds.), Beyond Mosque, Church, and State: Alternative Narratives of the Nation in the Balkans (Budapest and New York: Central European University Press, 2016), pp. 259-287.
  11. 鈥淧olitizirovannoe pravosudie v novykh demokratiyakh: politicheskaya bor鈥檅a i sudebnaya nezavisimost鈥 v Rossii i Ukraine鈥 in Volkov, V. (ed.), Kak Sud鈥檌 Prinimayut Resheniya: Empiricheskie Issledovaniya Prava (Moscow: Statut, 2012), pp. 199-224.

Shorter Academic Writing

  1. 鈥淯kraine鈥檚 Judiciary After Euromaidan.鈥 Comparative Politics Newsletter Vol. 25, No. 2 (Fall 2015), pp. 32-36.
  2. 鈥淭he 2014 Parliamentary Elections in Bulgaria.鈥 Electoral Studies, Vol.38 (June 2015), pp. 114-118. With Petia Kostadinova.
  3. 鈥淭he 2013 parliamentary elections in Bulgaria.鈥 Electoral Studies, Vol. 34 (June 2014), pp. 365-368. With Petia Kostadinova.
  4. 鈥淧ost-Communist Courts: Independence, Accountability, and Popular Trust,鈥 Guest Editor鈥檚 Introduction, Problems of Post-Communism, vol. 59, no. 5 (SeptemberOctober 2012), pp. 3-5.

Policy Articles, Blog Posts and Op-eds

  1. 鈥淚l ne faut pas abandonner les Ukrainiens鈥 La Presse, February 23, 2024. With Justin Massie.
  2. 鈥鈥 Just Security, December 21, 2022. With Oxana Shevel.
  3. 鈥 PONARS Policy Exchange, June 3, 2022. With Oxana Shevel.
  4. 鈥鈥 Washington Post Monkey Cage Blog, May 23, 2022. With Nikolay Marinov.
  5. 鈥,鈥 Foreign Affairs, April 19, 2022.
  6. 鈥,鈥 Policy Options, March 31, 2022.
  7. 鈥,鈥 Journal of Democracy, March 18, 2022. With Oxana Shevel.
  8. 鈥,鈥 Just Security (reprinted in Slate), February 24, 2022. With Oxana Shevel
  9. 鈥,鈥 Foreign Affairs, February 17, 2022. With Oxana Shevel.
  10. 鈥鈥 Journal of Democracy, February 14, 2022. With Oxana Shevel.
  11. 鈥The 2021 Bulgarian Election: A 鈥淨Anon鈥 Turn for Eastern European Politics?鈥 LSE EUROPP Blog, April 13, 2021 With Nikolay Marinov.
  12. "Das Trugbild vom Durchbruch zum Rechtsstaat: Justizreform nach der Revolution der W眉rde,鈥 Ukraine-Analysen, Ausgabe 238, Oct 9, 2020. With Mykhailo Zhernakov
  13. 鈥淗ow Can the EU Help Ukraine Build the Rule of Law and Fight Corruption? Romania and Bulgaria as Guideposts,鈥 PONARS Policy Memo, No. 469, April, 2017
  14. 鈥淲ill There Be a 鈥淔ull, Rapid and Transparent Investigation into Nemtsov鈥檚 Murder,鈥 The Monkey Cage@The Washington Post, March 7, 2015
  15. 鈥淯kraine鈥檚 Judicial Reforms,鈥 VoxUkraine, December 15, 2014 (translated and reprinted by Ukrainska Pravda, December 17, 2014)
  16. 鈥淯kraine鈥檚 Legal Problems: Why Kiev鈥檚 Plans to Purge the Judiciary Will Backfire,鈥 Foreign Affairs, April 15, 2014
  17. 鈥淭he Kremlin, Not Language, is Driving Ukraine Apart,鈥 The Globe and Mail, April 15, 2014. With Matthew Light
  18. 鈥淲hat is Lustration and Is It a Good Idea for Ukraine to Adopt it?,鈥 The Monkey Cage@ Washington Post, April 9, 2014 (reprinted by Kyiv Post). With Vincent Post.
  19. 鈥淲as Yanukovych鈥檚 Removal Constitutional?,鈥 PONARS Eurasia Commentary, March 20, 2014
  20. 鈥淲hat Doesn鈥檛 Kill Ukraine鈥,鈥 Foreign Policy, March 12, 2014. With Oxana Shevel
  21. 鈥淲hy Domestic Developments in Ukraine Still Matter,鈥 The Monkey Cage @ Washington Post, March 5, 2014
  22. 鈥淭he Strange Court Case of Alexey Navalny,鈥 The Monkey Cage, July 22, 2013
Courses: 
  • POLI 212听 Introduction to Comparative Politics: Europe and North America
  • POLI 330: Law and Courts in Europe
  • POLI 331: Politics of East Central Europe and the Balkans
  • POLI 451: The European Union
  • POLI 639: Mixed Methods Research in European Studies
  • POLI 612: Research Methods in Political Science
Group: 
Associate Professor
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