KARRIE J. KOESEL

University of Oregon
Department of Political Science
1284 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-1284
(541) 346-4623 tel
(541) 346-4860 fax
koesel (at) uoregon (dot) edu




ACADEMIC POSITIONS

2009–present Assistant Professor of Political Science
University of Oregon


EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

2009 Ph.D. Cornell University
Department of Government

Dissertation: "Belief in Authoritarianism: Religious Revivals and the Local State
in Russia and China"

Committee: Valerie J. Bunce (chair), Elizabeth J. Perry, Kenneth Roberts, Sidney
Tarrow

2001 M.A. University of Notre Dame
Department of Political Science

1997 B.A. Drake University
Majors: International Relations and Russian Studies


FELLOWSHIPS AND GRANTS

2010–12 Center for Religion and Civic Culture at the University of Southern California, PCRI
Individual Grant, “Where Faith Thrives,” Principle Investigator, $100,000
2009–10 Junior Professorship Development Award, University of Oregon
2008–09 Social Science Research Council (SSRC) Eurasia Program, Dissertation Write-up Fellowship
2007–08 Mellon Foundation Dissertation Completion Grant, Cornell University
2007      Lafaber Fellowship, Cornell University, Government Department
2006–07 Fulbright-IIE Fellowship China
2006–07 Einaudi Center Travel Grant, Cornell University
2006      Starr Dissertation Research Fellowship, Cornell University, East Asia Program
2006      FLAS Summer Language Training, Chinese
2006      Graduate School Fellowship for Summer Language Training, Cornell University, Chinese
2005–06 International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX), Individual Advanced Research
Opportunities Program Dissertation Research Fellowship, Russia
2005–06 Luigi Einaudi Graduate Dissertation Research Fellowship, Institute of European Studies,
Cornell University
2005–06 Lam Dissertation Research Fellowship, Cornell University, East Asian Program (declined)
2003–04 University Exchange Scholar, Harvard University
2003, 2004, 2005 FLAS Summer Language Training, Russian
2002–03 & 2003–04 FLAS Academic Year Chinese language fellowship


AWARDS

2010 Aaron Wildavsky Award for Best Dissertation on Religion and Politics, APSA
2009 LaFeber Prize for Teaching Excellence, Cornell University
2004 J.S. Knight Teaching Fellows Award, for Government 100.6, “Gods and Government—
First-year Writing Seminar.”


RESEARCH PROJECTS

“Crossing the River by Feeling for Stones: The Politics of Religion in Liberalizing Authoritarian
Regimes,” book manuscript examining the political consequences of growing religiosity in contemporary Russia and China.

“The Local Politics of Religion.” Article under development analyzing cooperative and conflictual
religious-state relations in Russia and China.

“The Political Economy of Religious Revival.” Article under development analyzing the strengths and
limits of the religious economy approach to explain resurgence of religiosity across postcommunist region.

“Dictatorships in Collaboration: Russian and Chinese Efforts to Stop Democratic Change,” co-authored
with Valerie J. Bunce. Article under development examining how authoritarian regimes have blocked democratic change alone and in collaboration with each other, at home and abroad.

“The Organizational Weapon: The Rise of a Chinese Protestant House Church.” Article under
development that investigates the surprising (and ironic) similarities between the organizational story behind the rise of the Bolshevik Party in Russia and behind the spread of the underground house church movement in China.


EXCHANGE VISITS AND SUPPLEMENTARY ACADEMIC TRAINING

2006–07 Visiting Scholar, Department of Public Administration, Jilin University, China
2006      Visiting Scholar, Kazan State University, Tatarstan, Russia
2006      Visiting Scholar, Linguistic University of Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
2006      Middlebury College Summer Language Training, Chinese
2005      Visiting Scholar, Moscow Carnegie Center, Russia
2004, 2005 Middlebury College Summer Language Training, Russian
2003–04 University Exchange Scholar Harvard University
2003      Summer, Moscow Institute for Advanced Studies
2002      Summer, Chinese FALCON Program, Cornell University
2000      Summer, ICPSR, Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research, University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor


SELECTED CONFERENCE PARTICIPATION

“Unholy Alliances? Religion and the State in Russia and China,” presented at the Western Economic
Association International, June 29-July 3, 2010, Portland, Oregon.

“Dictatorships in Collaboration: Russian and Chinese Efforts to Stop Democratic Change,” with Valerie
J. Bunce, presented at Midwestern Political Science Association, April 22-24, 2010, Chicago, Illinois.

“Power and Prestige in a Changing World: China, Russia, and the Dilemmas of Becoming a Great
Power,” Chair and Discussant, at the American Political Science Association, Toronto, September 2-6, 2009.

“The Political Economy of Religious Revival,” presented at the American Political Science
Association, Boston, August 28-31, 2008.

“Religious Revivals and Post-Socialist Transitions: A Case of Mazu,” presented at the
Interdisciplinary Graduate Student Conference, October 18, 2004, Cornell University.

“Does Democracy Influence Happiness: A Challenge to Democratic Theory,” presented at the
Annual SRC Graduate Student Conference, May 14-16, 2004, University of California, San Diego.

“The Politics of Identity and Difference: Understanding the Economic, Institutional and Social
Determinants of Nationalist Support across Europe,” co-authored with Dev Gupta, presented at the Nationalism and Ethnicity Workshop, March 2004, Cornell University.

“Nationalism and Extremism Across Eastern and Western Europe,” co-authored with Dev Gupta,
presented at the American Political Science Association, Philadelphia, August 30-September 2, 2003.

“Polyarchy Plus: Measuring the Quality of Democracy within Thirteen Eastern European Countries”
co-authored with Peter Baker, presented at the American Political Science Association, San Francisco, CA, August 30-September 2, 2001.

“Does Democracy Influence Subjective Well-Being?” presented at the American Political Science
Association, San Francisco, CA, August 30-September 2, 2001.

“Examining the Relationship Between Democracy and Quality of Life” co-authored with Joseph Foy,
presented at the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, April 19-22, 2001.

“Democracy’s Dilemma: The Role of Democratic Satisfaction in Consolidation” co-authored with
Claire Smith, presented at the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, April 19-22, 2001.


RESEARCH INTERESTS

Comparative Politics
Contemporary Chinese Politics
Contemporary Russian Politics
Authoritarianism
Comparative Politics of Post-Socialism
Religion and Politics


TEACHING

Fall 2009, PS 399 Gods and Governments
Spring 2010, PS 342 Contemporary Chinese Politics
Spring 2011, PS 607 Comparative Authoritarianism


LANGUAGES AND RESEARCH SKILLS

Chinese (Mandarin)
Russian
Guttman scaling, STATA


SERVICE

Member, Department of Political Science Curriculum Committee, 2009-10
Reviewer, China Quarterly