The Kyiv Connection: Governing Diversity and Differences

In 2024, the Davis Center at Harvard (DCRES), the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute (HURI), and the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) began collaborating on an online series, "Kyiv Connection: Disciplinary Dialogues on Ukraine." The series showcases compelling and contemporary conversations across various disciplines, all from a Ukrainian perspective. Each session features a Ukrainian scholar in dialogue with an international counterpart, offering diverse viewpoints and rich insights.

This discussion will feature Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili, a founding director of the Center for Governance and Markets at the University of Pittsburgh, and Oleksandra Keudel, an associate professor and the founding director of the Center for Democratic Resilience at the Kyiv School of Economics. It will be moderated by Emily Channell-Justice, Director of the Temerty Contemporary Ukraine Program at HURI. 

How can societies govern social diversity and, more so, persistent divisions without slipping into violence? Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili and Oleksandra Keudel will explore how polycentric systems—multiple overlapping centers of decision-making—can create the conditions for social order, mutual accommodation, and social cohesion in practice. They will draw on real-world examples from fieldwork in communities with ethnic, status, and religious diversity across various contexts to highlight factors that contribute to resilient institutions in some of the most complex environments. From this perspective, they will also reflect on the role of Ukraine’s decentralization reforms for social cohesion and societal resilience 

Full event information may be found here. 

This event is organized by The Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University and co-sponsored by the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute and Kyiv School of Economics. It is presented as part of the online series, Kyiv Connection: Disciplinary Dialogues on Ukraine.