Max Kovalov
Instructor of International Studies, Bennett Director of the Mroz Global Leadership Institute

Office Hours: By appointment. Email me at kovalovm@cofc.edu
Phone: 843.953.4884
E-mail: kovalovm@cofc.edu
Max Kovalov is an instructor of international studies and Bennett Director of the John Edwin Mroz Global Leadership Institute. He teaches courses in international studies, comparative politics, and international relations. His research focuses on democratization, politics of memory, populism, and political institutions in post-Communist states. Kovalov's current research project is on populism and participation in Poland and the impact of political outsiders on democracy in a comparative perspective. He earned his PhD in political science from the University of Oklahoma in 2013. In 2002-2004 he was a recipient of Edmund Muskie graduate fellowship awarded by the US State Department.
Education
Ph.D. in Political Science, University of Oklahoma, 2013
M.S. in International Studies, Oklahoma State University, 2004
B.A. in Business Administration, Vinnytsia National Technical University, Ukraine, 2001
Press and Media
“Stealing Ukraine,” College of Charleston Magazine, Summer 2022.
“International Studies Professor Examines Conflict in Ukraine,” College Today, April 19, 2022
“The War and the Humanitarian Crisis in Ukraine,” Let’s Talk Podcast, Interview with News 2 Carolyn Murphy, April 10, 2022
“Does Russia seek neutral Ukraine?” Panel discussion with Max Kovalov, Damon Wilson and Frank Emerson, March 22, 2022.
“Prologue to the Turmoil: Ukraine-Russia Relationships in Historical Context,” Interview for Fox 24 News, March 7, 2022.
“Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine,” Panel discussion for a Teach-In Series, hosted by the University of Oklahoma College of International Studies, March 3, 2022.
“Putin ready to kill Ukrainians to remind them of his love and affection,” Post & Courier, February 21, 2022.
“Normalizing Ukraine – Russian style,” Post & Courier, February 28, 2022.
“Ukraine in Perspective: Understanding the Roots of the Current Crisis,” Kentucky Caliber, Podcast Discussion with Jason Belcher, February 4, 2022
Courses Taught
- INTL 100 Introductioon to International Studies
- INTL 350 Democracy and Democratization in Comparative Perspective
- INEU 101 Introduction to European Studies
- POLI 352 Geographies and Politics of the European Union
- POLI 259 Model UN
- POLI 259 Eastern European Politics, Society, and Culture
- INEU 400 European Studies Capstone
- PRST 300 Understanding Global Issues
- POLI 200 Introduction to Comparative Politics
Publications
- “When Lenin becomes Lennon: decommunization and the politics of memory in Ukraine,” Europe-Asia Studies, 74(5), 709-733, 2022.
- “Electoral manipulations and fraud in parliamentary elections: the case of Ukraine,” East European Politics and Societies, 28(4), 781-807, 2014.
- “The Armed Conflict in Eastern Ukraine: Exploring Competing Narratives,” The Copernicus Journal of Political Studies 1, 5: 144–51 [contribution to special issue], 2014.
- “The Democratic Outcome of the Orange Revolution,” in Expanded EU: From Autonomy to Alliance, 47-59. Amsterdam/New York, NY: Rodopi, 2008.