Registration REQUIRED by 4pm on March 30, 2026 in order to attend this event.
Please join the Harriman Institute for a lecture by Anastassia Obydenkova. Moderated by Elise Giuliano.
What are the implications of Non-Democratic Regional Organizations (NDROs) for the promotion of a sustainable agenda in Eurasia? Specifically, how do these organizations advance—or impede—environmental initiatives across the Post-Communist region? This lecture addresses these questions by fostering a dialogue between the fields of environmental regionalism and authoritarian regionalism. While the theory of 'authoritarian regionalism'—also known as the study of NDROs—is a relatively nascent field, existing literature has primarily focused on the political, cultural, economic, and security dimensions of non-democratic institutions. However, a distinct subset of NDROs, namely multilateral financial institutions (MFIs) or regional development banks, remains under-researched within the intersection of sustainability and authoritarian regionalism. This lecture examines the sustainability approaches of key regional development banks in Eurasia by analyzing their legal frameworks (1991-2021) and social media presence (2017-2021). The session highlights the external influences—from both Western and Eastern actors—that shape their environmental agendas. Ultimately, this 'plausibility probe' study argues that these NDROs navigate a complex landscape of international pressure and regional interests.
Please email [email protected] to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.
