Dr. Kudelia Awarded 2026 Book Prize by AAUS

Political Science Professor Serhiy Kudelia received 2026 Book Prize from the American Association for Ukrainian Studies (AAUS) for his book Seize the City, Undo the State: The Inception of Russia’s War on Ukraine. 

When announcing the award, the AAUS book prize committee released the following statement:

"Serhiy Kudelia’s Seize the City, Undo the State offers a nuanced, well-researched account of the internal and external factors that shaped local responses to the insurgency in Donbas towns in 2013-2014. Drawing on new evidence, including the interviews with numerous conflict witnesses and participants from opposing sides, the author highlights the role of local actors and shows how central they were to either advancing or obstructing Ukraine’s state-building efforts. Kudelia argues that Russia’s intervention was crucial but worked through (and depended on) local actors—elites, militants, and civic resistance—producing sharply different outcomes across communities such as a dozen Donbas towns versus Kharkiv and Odesa. The committee believes that the book offers important lessons for Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction and reforms."