Oxford University Hosts Professor Kudelia for a Talk on His New Book

Professor of Political Science Sergiy Kudelia presented his book Seize the City, Undo the State: The Inception of Russia’s War on Ukraine (Oxford University Press, 2025) at St. Anthony’s College, Oxford University to an audience of faculty, graduate students, and visitors on December 1, 2025. 

In his talk, Dr. Kudelia outlined the book’s data collection process, which drew on his multiple research visits to the Donbas region in Eastern Ukraine between 2018 and 2019. He highlighted how the book’s comparative examination of conflict dynamics across several towns of Donbas advances a broader theoretical understanding of the conditions under which insurgency campaigns can take hold. 

During Q&A session, Dr. Kudelia reflected on how his views on the origins of the armed conflict evolved since he started working on the topic in 2014. He explained that the book’s micro-level approach enabled him to compare the roles of Russian and local actors in triggering the conflict and to identify mechanisms that facilitated the rise of the broader insurgency in Donbas.

The lecture was organized as part of the Russian and Eurasian Studies Center Seminar Series, which brings leading scholars in the field to St. Anthony’s College of Oxford University.