Two University of Maryland School of Public Policy master's students, Kanan Abdiyev and Diana Nalyvanna, recently gave presentations at the Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies Northeast (REEESNe) Student Conference, co-hosted by the University of Pittsburgh and Yale University. Their participation was made possible by an endowed student support fund in honor of the late John Steinbruner, CISSM’s former director.
Held at the University of Pittsburgh, the 2026 conference brought together undergraduate and graduate students from leading institutions to present original research and promote transnational dialogue on pressing regional and global challenges. The experience provided the participating SPP students an opportunity to share their work and exchange insights with other emerging scholars approaching the conference theme of integration and fragmentation in Europe and Eurasia from different perspectives.
“Having peers from other institutions engage critically with my work, push back on my arguments, and ask hard questions about what 'durable security' actually requires made this a valuable experience,” said Abdiyev.
Nalyvanna contributed a lightning-round presentation assessing the strengths and weaknesses of existing frameworks to classify regime types. Drawing on lessons from Ukraine and Turkmenistan, she highlighted how different analytical frameworks shape the way scholars and practitioners interpret political systems. Her presentation introduced many participants to the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) framework, which uses a multi-dimensional approach to measuring democracy in contrast to more common approaches, which treat democracies and autocracies as binary choices. Nalyvanna’s contribution prompted constructive discussion on how to best conceptualize governance and political change across diverse contexts.
“Scholars often divide countries into democracies and autocracies, but this binary framework does not fully capture how these systems function in practice,” argued Nalyvanna. “Drawing on my experience as a Ukrainian diplomat in Turkmenistan, I used the V-Dem framework to show how different types of autocracies, such as electoral autocracies and closed autocracies, shape governance and state-society relations, with tangible consequences for how citizens experience political power.”
Abdiyev presented his paper titled, “The South Caucasus as an Arena of Shifting Interests: Regional Competition, Mediation, and Post-Conflict Order-Building.” His research examines the evolving Armenia–Azerbaijan peace process following the Second Karabakh War in 2020, and considers whether emerging regional frameworks can generate durable cooperative security in a low-trust, high-competition environment. His paper analyzes how mediation efforts and economic connectivity initiatives could reshape regional dynamics, arguing that long-term stability depends on credible guarantees, balanced governance arrangements and the ability of regional actors to navigate external geopolitical pressures. It will be published in the 2026 REEESNe annual student proceedings.
Abdiyev’s research flows out of his personal and professional experience. At the conference, he shared insights from his work at the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Washington, D.C., highlighting the practical and human dimensions of diplomacy and how policy is shaped in real-world institutional settings.
“Presenting this research at REESNe meant something different for me than it might for others,” reflected Abdiyev. “The Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process is not a case study I picked from a list. I grew up watching this conflict shape my country, and I spent time inside the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Washington seeing how it plays out at the diplomatic level.”
Abdiyev and Nalyvanna’s participation in this regional studies conference is part of a broader effort at the School of Public Policy and CISSM to combine rigorous academic training with real-world policy engagement. These experiences would not be possible without the generous support of alumni and friends of CISSM to funding vehicles like the John Steinbruner Endowed Student Support Fund in Public Policy. By facilitating opportunities for students to share their ideas and build professional networks, the Fund helps prepare future experts to add value to policy debates about complex international security challenges.
