Russian Studies Workshop

John C. Stanko is a doctoral student in the Department of Political Science. John’s broad research area is the use of non-coercive influence by authoritarian regimes to achieve foreign policy objectives. More specific interests include Russia-China geopolitical relations, international higher educational policies and cooperation within Eurasia, and the application of network analysis to understanding soft power resources. John earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Texas Tech University and a master’s degree in Russian, East European, & Eurasian Studies from the University of Kansas before spending 2 years working in Moscow. John has previously been a Monterey Summer Symposium on Russia (MSSR) Fellow and has also received FLAS funding for studying both the Chinese and Kazakh languages.

Interview with John Stanko and Professor Simon Miles