PolyGlobal Event Recap: The Anatomy of Modern Conflicts in Former-Soviet Eurasia

By Nicolas A. ’26

On April 8, Gregory P. ’25 hosted a PolyGlobal event featuring Professor Steve Swerdlow of the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences for his Global Scholars capstone project. Entitled “The Anatomy of Modern Conflicts in Former-Soviet Eurasia: Causes, Consequences, and The Role of Human Rights,” and formatted as a Q&A session, Greg asked a series of thought-provoking questions about modern-day conflicts between former Soviet countries and the role of human rights within these conflicts. As a human rights lawyer and expert on the former Soviet Union, Professor Swerdlow served as a Senior Central Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch, an NGO, before becoming an Associate Professor of Human Rights Practice at USC. 

To provide context for the rest of the discussion, Greg first posed a question about why former Soviet states find themselves in such instability. In response, Professor Swerdlow attributed the constant instability, specifically in Central Asia and the Caucasus, to a variety of factors, such as an immense amount of ethnic diversity, authoritarianism in countries like Russia, autocracies in places like Turkmenistan, and unchecked Russian aggression on countries that Professor Swerdlow labels as “colonies” of Russia. To encompass the sundry elements that keep these nations in everlasting conflict, Professor Swerdlow stated that the Soviet Union is still in collapse even decades after 1991. After establishing an overview of the issues in the region, Greg transitioned to a more specific topic: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Professor Swerdlow was sure to establish the fact that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was not based on NATO but rather on imperialism and Russia’s aspirations to assert control over a people they view as being ethnically Russian. Additionally, Professor Swerdlow included several of the human rights violations happening in the warzone, like extrajudicial killings and the forced deportation of Ukrainian children to be indoctrinated and relinquish their Ukrainian identity in favor of a Russian one. This portion of the discussion was extremely informative, as conflicts involving other Soviet nations, such as Armenia and Azerbaijan, are still ongoing and play a significant role in current geopolitical affairs. 

Transitioning from the geopolitical landscape of Eurasia, Professor Swerdlow shared more with the audience about his work with Human Rights Watch. In short, Professor Swerdlow and several other colleagues resided in Central Asian countries, such as Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, to interview eyewitnesses of human rights violations. Subsequently, Professor Swerdlow and his colleagues collaborated with respective governments to address the issues and find solutions to these violations. For example, Professor Swerdlow plans to take his USC students to Armenia to interview displaced Armenians from the Artsakh region, aiming to help the Armenian government address the issues the community faces. In a region inundated with conflict and instability, Professor Swerdlow’s work is vital in fostering a greater focus on ensuring basic human rights are held. Lastly, Professor Swerdlow expressed his staunch support of the International Criminal Court. Despite noting that the court requires mechanisms to enforce its verdicts, Professor Swerdlow highlighted the court as a lifeline in places like Africa, where it is the primary source of accountability and law enforcement. 

Gaining a better understanding of the world we are surrounded by is the objective of the Global Scholars program here at Poly, where we are fortunate enough to have access to brilliant minds like Professor Swerdlow to supplement our learning of current world affairs. We would like to extend our greatest gratitude to Greg for organizing and navigating the event with his thorough questioning and to Professor Swerdlow for taking time out of his busy schedule to educate us in the field he has much passion for.