Ukraine’s Political Economy & Wartime Politics

Session Submission Type: Panel

Brief Description

Our panel addresses several important questions about political and economic conditions in Ukraine and the nature of politics during wartime, specifically since the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Using original survey data, Berenson analyzes public opinion about institutional trust and tax compliance in Ukraine from 2020 to 2025. His paper provides insight into how wartime conditions affect these critical aspects of governance. Also using original survey data, Wilson Sokhey looks at public opinion about the local provision of public services since 2022. A vignette survey experiment explores whether prompting information about high (or low) levels of local corruption shape individuals’ perceptions about public good provision. Zadorian and Hutson explore Ukraine's energy heritage and how the country has navigated a history of dependence and exploitation by Russia. Finally, Minhas examines the rhetorical nationalism used by Putin to justify aggression against Ukraine. Minha uses ruBERT, a transformer-based language model adapted specifically for the Russian language to study Kremlin speeches and official communications. Taken together, these papers provide important insight into political and economic development in Ukraine and the larger region.

Sub Unit

• Politics/Law

Chair

• Emma Mateo, Harvard U

Papers

• Becoming Citizens: New State-Society Relations Emerging in Wartime Ukraine - Marc P. Berenson, King's College London (UK)

• Ukrainian Energy: Memory and Materiality in Overcoming Soviet Oil Heritage - Amanda Zadorian, Oberlin College; Nathan Mark Hutson, Kyiv School of Economics

• Public Service Provision During Wartime: Survey Evidence from Ukraine in 2024 - Sarah Wilson Sokhey, U of Colorado at Boulder

• Rhetorical Strategies and Nationalism: Analyzing Putin's Language in Justifying Aggression against Ukraine through Machine Learning - Jadie Minhas, Arizona State U

Discussants

• Dinissa Duvanova, Lehigh U

• Artur Baranov, Northwestern U