Why did the U.S. State Department sanction four Georgian judges? Why did Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan promote the judge who once imprisoned him? What drives legal reforms in the post-communist world? This presentation examines the influence of international actors on legal reforms in Armenia and Georgia, challenging the idea that Western institutions act independently in promoting the reforms. Instead, these institutions, like the Council of Europe and its Venice Commission, often follow the local elites in the legal field. By prioritizing technocratic reforms, they undermine more radical changes advocated by civil society, thus preserving power structures within the legal establishment despite political shifts. The analysis highlights how contested influence between the West and Russia shapes governance and reform in the South Caucasus.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Egor Lazarev is an assistant professor at the Department of Political Science at Yale. His research focuses on law and state-building in the former Soviet Union. His first book, State-Building as Lawfare: Custom, Sharia, and State Law in Postwar Chechnya, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2023. The book explores the use of state and non-state legal systems by both politicians and ordinary people in postwar Chechnya. Egor’s other research has been published in World Politics, World Development, and Political Science Research & Methods. Currently, he conducts field research on legal reforms in the post-communist world. 

Virtual to Public. Only those with an active Stanford ID with access to the William J. Perry Conference Room in Encina Hall may attend in person.