Mailing Address:
SCHOOL OF H&SS
PENN STATE BEHREND
170 KOCHEL CENTER
ERIE, PA 16563
Biography
Lena Surzhko Harned, Ph.D., is an associate teaching professor of Political Science. She is also the associate director and a faculty affiliate of the Public Policy Initiative at Penn State Behrend. Her primary research interests are in the field of comparative politics.
She is the author of several papers dealing with issues of nationalism and ethnic conflict, identity politics, electoral politics, comparative democratization, and political behavior in the post-communist states of Eastern Europe.
Her co-authored book, Post-Soviet Legacies and Conflicting Values in Europe: Generation WhY, was published in 2017 and examines the intergenerational conflict and consequences in post-Soviet Ukraine and Russia.
Research Interests
comparative politics, political behavior, European politics, politics of the European Union, politics of the post-Soviet space, democratization, nationalism and ethnic conflict, Russian politics, Ukrainian politics
Publications
The only ‘winner’ here is Putin: Ukraine unites in response to Trump-Zelenskyy spat and resigns itself to new reality, The Conversation - March 2, 2025
In pushing for Ukraine elections, Trump is falling into Putin-laid trap to delegitimize Zelenskyy, The Conversation - February 19, 2025
What Does Trump Presidency Mean for Ukraine - January, 2025
On Ukraine, candidate Trump touts his role as dealmaker while Harris sticks with unwavering support, The Conversation - October 22, 2024
Democracy Can Win at the Ballot Box - August, 2024
From Kursk to Kursk: Putin’s attempt to project an image as Russia’s ‘protector’ has been punctured throughout his 25 years in power, The Conversation - August 26, 2024
Decolonisation in practice: reconceptualising Ukrainian nationalism, The Loop, ECPR's Political Science Blog - January 31, 2024
Should the West be concerned abour Russia's disintegration?, The Ukrainian Quarterly - July 13, 2023
I am a Ukrainian American political scientist, and this is what the past year of war has taught me about Ukraine, Russia and defiance, The Conversation - February 21, 2023
Why the 'Kosovo precedent' was a gateway for Russia’s abuse of international law, The Loop - February 20, 2023
Collaborator: Jiří Nykodým
Russian Abuses of International Law: The Kosovo Precedent and R2P, World Orders Forum - January 3, 2023
Collaborator: Jiří Nykodým
What a cathedral and a massive military parade show about Putin’s Russia, The Conversation - May 6, 2022
Russian World and Ukrainian Autocephaly: Religious Narratives in Anti-Colonial Nationalism of Ukraine., Religions - April 12, 2022
La catedral del ejército ruso: una iglesia hecha de armas y gloria que simboliza la Rusia de Putin, The Conversation - March 3, 2022
Holy wars: How a cathedral of guns and glory symbolizes Putin’s Russia, The Conversation - March 2, 2022
In Kazakhstan, Russia follows a playbook it developed in Ukraine, The Conversation - January 7, 2022
What’s on the agenda when Ukraine president meets Biden?, The Conversation - September 1, 2021
How Vladimir Putin uses natural gas to exert Russian influence and punish his enemies, The Conversation - June 23, 2021
‘The US is falling apart’: How Russian media is portraying the US Capitol siege, The Conversation - January 22, 2021
President Trump’s use of the authoritarian playbook will have lasting consequences, The Conversation - December 17, 2020
Collaborator: Luis Jimenez
Effects of EU’s norm promotion on changes in cultural values of non-member states: case of Ukraine, Ukrainian Professional Education - 2019
Ukraine is taking a beating at the impeachment hearings- here's what's at stake, The Conversation - November 20, 2019
New Generation Political Activism in Ukraine by Christine Emeran, Harvard Ukrainian Studies Journal - November, 2019
Ukraine’s President Zelenskiy may come to regret his discussion with President Trump, TheConversation - October 1, 2019
A Comedian who played a president on TV just became Ukraine's President , The Conversation - April 18, 2019
Post-Soviet Legacies and Conflicting Values in Europe: Generation Why - December, 2017
Collaborator: Ekaterina Turkina
Framing the Revolution: The Role of Social Media in Ukraine’s Euromaidan Movement, Nationality Papers - 2017
Collaborator: AJ Zahuranec
The effect of supranational identity on cultural values in Europe, European Political Science Review - 2016
Collaborator: Galina Zapryanova, Author
Diagnosing the Health of Russia’s Third Sector: Putin, Women’s Health, and Foreign NGOs, Georgetown Journal of International Affairs - 2015
Introduction: The Ukrainian Crisis, Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism - April 22, 2015
Generational Differences in Values in Central and Eastern Europe: The Effects of Politico-Economic Transition, Journal of Common Market Studies - 2014
Collaborator: Ekaterina Turkina, Author
Has the New Aid for Trade Agenda been Export Effective? Evidence on the Impact of US AfT Allocations 19992008, International Studies Quarterly - 2013
Collaborators: David Bearce, Author; Steven Finkel, Author; Anibal Perez-Linan, Author; Juan Rodriguez-Zepeda, Author
Forging Rights in a New Democracy: Ukrainian Students between Freedom and Justice, Nationality Papers - August, 2013
Liberal Nationalism, Nationalist Liberalization, and Democracy: Cases of post-Soviet Estonia and Ukraine, Nationality Papers - September, 2010
Education
Ph.D., Political Science, The University of Pittsburgh
MA, Political Science , The University of Pittsburgh
BA, Political Science , Edinboro University of Pennsylvania