CREES

Ambassador Mark Pekala will reflect on his experience as U.S. Ambassador to Latvia (2012 – 2014) and the shared policy priorities between the U.S., Latvia, and Latvia’s Baltic neighbors.

A two-day symposium during which students from U-M and other Midwestern universities will explore Russian and Eastern European security issues.

In this workshop, students will break into small groups, each tasked with determining U.S. preferences for the basic structure of the Strategic Stability Dialogue, its conduct, and its mandate and agenda.

During this workshop, students will each take on the role of a key stakeholder and participate in a community deliberation activity.

Curbing corruption in Armenia was one of the main goals of the new Armenian government before the velvet revolution in 2018. According to Transparency International, Armenian Corruption Perception Index has increased by 7 points and the rank has improved by 28 positions in 2019 compared to 2018. What were the social and economic factors keeping the high level of corruption in the country? Recent empirical studies have predominantly looked at antecedents of corruption from a macro level. Based on the analysis of three datasets comprising of individual-level surveys taken over a three-year period in Armenia, the study argues that social norms, personal wealth, and the high reliability of corrupt transactions impact an individual’s decision to be involved in corruption.