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Danielle N. Lussier uses thought-provoking analysis on why democracy succeeds in some countries but not others, such as comparing the post-transition experiences of two cases of contemporary democratization: Russia and Indonesia. Following authoritarian regimes, democracy eroded in Russia but flourished in Indonesia - so confounding dominant theories of democratization that predicted the opposite outcomes based on their levels of socioeconomic development and histories of statehood.

Over the course of this luncheon, Lussier will discusses the key behaviours and patterns of political participation as a factor in Russian democracy and its political elite.

Danielle N. Lussier is an associate professor of political science. Her research focuses on democratization, political participation, and religion and politics, with geographic expertise on post-communist Eurasia and Indonesia. She is the author of Constraining Elites in Russia and Indonesia: Political Participation and Regime Survival (Cambridge University Press, 2016). Her research has also been published in Journal of Democracy, Religion & Politics, Problems of Post-Communism, Post-Soviet Affairs, and Slavic Review. Lussier is completing a second edition of The Many Faces of Political Islam with Mohammed Ayoob (Michigan State University) and is also developing a book manuscript on the role of houses of worship in the political lives of Muslims and Christians in Indonesia. Her research has been supported by the Global Religion Research Initiative, the Kennan Institute, and several programs at Grinnell College.

Lussier teaches courses on Russian politics, democratization and regime change, Islam and politics, and comparative politics. She also participates in the Russian, Central, and East European Studies concentration. If you would like to know more about her research, visit https://www.grinnell.edu/user/lussierd.

For more information on the Foreign Relations Council visit their website at www.icfrc.org.