Kathryn Stoner Speaks on “Russia Resurrected” and Receives Receives Fletcher U.S.-Russia Relations Book Prize
By Alex Thomas, MALD 2023 Candidate, The Fletcher School
On April 14, 2022, Kathryn Stoner joined students, staff, and faculty of The Fletcher School as part of the 2022 Annual Political Risk Conference to speak on her latest book, “Russia Resurrected: Its Power and Purpose in a New Global Order.” Stoner was awarded the third annual book prize of the Fletcher U.S.-Russia Relations Initiative for her groundbreaking work.
In the piece, Stoner explores how Russia has reasserted itself as a great power and offers a modern reassessment of the country. She accomplishes this through an analysis of Russia’s economic and social development and an exploration of its domestic political processes.
As part of the Fletcher U.S.-Russia Relations Initiative award, Stoner was invited to present some of the key findings from her book with the Fletcher community and to partake in a book talk and discussion moderated by Professor Daniel Drezner. The event began with an introduction by Drezner and proceeded with a brief ceremony in which Stoner was given the physical award.
Afterward, Stoner gave a presentation that outlined the crux of her book’s argument, the need for reassessing Western methods of gauging Russian power, and applied it within the context of the unfolding war with Ukraine.
“It’s imperative that we re-think the notion of how we understand power,” Stoner said. “The argument that Russia is weak and that Putin is a weak leader is simply outdated.”
She then went on to speak about Putin’s soaring approval ratings. She attributed them to the role that the state-sponsored media has played in censoring viewpoints critical of Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
“It’s all about the perception among the Russian people that [Putin] controls. They’re supporting the war because of the information that they’ve been given, which we know isn’t the whole picture.”
After an overview of Stoner’s work and its application to current events, Drezner proceeded to moderate a brief discussion in which members of the audience were invited to participate. The topics that the questions covered ranged from Putin’s power and potential diplomatic offramps in Ukraine to future conflicts with the West and the relationship between Russia and China.
Stoner is the Mosbacher Director at the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law and a Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. She is also a Professor of Political Science (by courtesy) and a Senior Fellow (by courtesy) at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.
