In the News: Brian Taylor

Brian Taylor, professor and chair of political science, believes the situation between Russia and Ukraine will not change significantly with Zelensky’s election.

"The Code of Putinism" (Oxford University Press, 2018), Professor of Political Science Brian Taylor's new book, is described as "an essential guide for understanding Russian decision making beyond mere cable news talking points."

Brian Taylor, expert on Russian politics, discusses the strengthening relationship between China and Russia,, who are both concerned about US domination of the international system. "The two countries have expanded their economic and political cooperation over the last decade," writes Taylor.

"With only 209 pages of actual text, it is a fraction of the length of many windier, weightier academic books that say more while telling us less," reads a review of Professor of Political Science Brian Taylor's book, "The Code of Putinism."

Brian Taylor, professor of political science, considers key elements of Vladimir Putin's "code" to be the idea of statism, habit of control, and emotion of respect. 

"Now, Russia’s World Cup has come and gone, but stability has given way to stagnation," says Brian Taylor, professor and chair of political science and author of The Code of Putinism.

"Current poor relations between Russia and the West are due to a fundamental mismatch in outlooks between Putin and his close associates and most Western leaders," says Brian Taylor, professor and chair of political science.

"The Code of Putinism," written by Brian Taylor, a professor in the Department of Political Science, "provides a sober-minded account of how Mr. Putin came to lead Russia and why his almost czar-like role today bodes ill for Russia’s future," according to the book review.

"The whole press conference was Trump repeatedly scoring own goals with the ball that Putin had given him," says Brian Taylor, professor of political science, adding, "Putin must’ve been extremely happy."

"Vladimir Putin sees the World Cup as another opportunity to advance his campaign to restore Russia’s rightful place in the world," says Brian Taylor, professor and chair of political science.

"The key thing that happened Sunday is that Putin formally became a lame duck in a political system dependent on one man," says Brian Taylor, professor and chair of political science.

Institutional reforms such as increasing the independence of the courts or increasing bureaucratic accountability would undermine its very foundation, says Brian Taylor, professor and chair of political science.

As ever, to understand Russia you must know the man in charge.

The Maxwell School has appointed new chairs for the departments of anthropology, economics, history, international relations (undergraduate), political science and sociology, as well as an interim chair of social science. 

"Serbia is still negotiating with the EU to join the group," says Brian Taylor, professor of political science. "But it wouldn’t be surprising if Serbia was trying to keep its options open in terms of East and West.”