Department of Political Science

Kathleen earned her B.A. in Foreign Affairs and Russian Language & Literature at the University of Virginia in 2015. After graduation, she worked in Washington, DC, holding internships at several think tanks.  In 2018, she earned her Master of Arts in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  Her M.A. thesis examined the evolution of elite mobility and political patronage in the North Caucasian republics across the Soviet and post-Soviet periods.  She has also published an article on this topic in Russian Analytical Digest.  Kathleen plans to continue researching regional politics in the post-Soviet space, while also focusing on the “frozen” conflict zones of the South Caucasus, examining their relations with both regional and great powers.