David Rivera
Associate Professor of Government by Special Appointment
David Rivera earned his A.B. in Russian and Soviet Studies from Harvard and his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. His teaching and research interests include both international relations and comparative politics, with special interests in the international politics of Eurasia, post-communist democratization, and the composition of the Russian elite. From 1994-1996 Rivera served as director of the Harvard Russian Institute of International Affairs in Moscow. He has authored or co-authored articles in Problems of Post-Communism, Perspectives on Politics, Political Science Quarterly, Post-Soviet Affairs, Politicheskie issledovaniya [Political Research], Mir i Politika [The World and Politics], Obozrevatel’-Observer, and Sotsial’no-gumanitarnyi znaniya.
Recent Courses Taught
International Relations
Russia and the World
International Security
Transitions to Democracy
Selected Publications
- “Are Siloviki Still Undemocratic? Elite Support for Political Pluralism during Putin’s Third Presidential Term,” Russian Politics 4, No. 4 (2019): 499-519. With Sharon Werning Rivera.
- “The Militarization of the Russian Elite under Putin: What We Know, What We Think We Know (but Don’t), and What We Need to Know.” Problems of Post-Communism, Vol. 65, No. 4 (2018), pp. 221-232. With Sharon Werning Rivera.
- “Is Russia a Militocracy? Conceptual Issues and Extant Findings Regarding Elite Militarization.” Post-Soviet Affairs, Vol. 30, No. 1 (2014). With Sharon Werning Rivera.
- “Yeltsin, Putin, and Clinton: Presidential Leadership and Russian Democratization in Comparative Perspective.” Perspectives on Politics, Vol. 7, No. 3 (September 2009), pp. 591-610. With Sharon Werning Rivera. (Copyright Cambridge University Press.)
- “The Russian Elite under Putin: Militocratic or Bourgeois?” Post-Soviet Affairs, Vol. 22, No. 2 (April-June 2006), pp. 125-144. With Sharon Werning Rivera.
- “Engagement, Containment, and the International Politics of Eurasia,” Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 118, No. 1 (Spring 2003), pp. 81-106.
Working Papers
National Media
- “Why We’ll Miss Mikhail Gorbachev,” Syracuse Post-Standard, September 8, 2022. With Sharon Werning Rivera.
- “Ability, Virtue, and Donald Trump: What Alexander Hamilton Would Say about the 2016 Election,” Medium.org, November 16, 2016. With Sharon Werning Rivera.
- “‘Thin Skin’ and Presidents: A Dangerous Combination?” Medium.org, October 13, 2016.
Appointed to the Faculty
2016Educational Background
Ph.D., University of Michigan
M.A., University of Michigan
A.B., Harvard University
