Marlene Laruelle, Ph.D., is Research Professor of International Affairs and Political Science at the Elliott School of International Affairs, The George Washington University. She is also Director of the Illiberalism Studies Program at GW and the former director of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES). Trained in political theory, she explores the notion of illiberalism and how nationalism and conservative values are becoming mainstream in different cultural contexts. She is the editor of the Oxford Handbook of Illiberalism (2024).