Political scientist Beissinger celebrated at conference

Intellectually formidable, groundbreaking and beloved were among the many words used to describe Mark Beissinger, Henry W. Putnam Professor Emeritus, during a two-day conference held in his honor.

 A multidisciplinary array of scholars from around the world converged on the Princeton campus on Thursday and Friday, October 23 and 24, for “Celebrating Mark Beissinger: Conversations about Russia and Ukraine, Eastern Europe, and Comparative Politics.”

Thursday’s public event, focused on the current Russian occupation of Ukraine, brought together Olga Onuch, professor of comparative and Ukrainian politics at the University of Manchester, Ukrainain poet, translator and essayist Mykola Riabchuk, and Grigore Pop-Eleches, professor of politics and international affairs and acting director of the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies (PIIRS). On Friday, leading scholars, Princeton colleagues and former students, extolled the contributions, achievements and influence of Beissinger on the study of empire, nationalism, state-building, and protest and revolutions.

“[The conference] was a testament to the scope of and the breadth of Mark’s influence,” said Killian Clarke *20, assistant professor at Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. Clarke earned his doctorate in politics and was Beissinger’s advisee. “He turned the collapse of the Soviet Union into an opportunity to define whole new research agendas on nationalism and empire and revolution—and do it in a in a way that drew from different scholarly traditions.”

Lars-Erik Cederman, professor of international conflict research at ETH Zurich, who served as a conference discussant, heralded Beissinger’s influence in shaping others’ approaches to research and scholarship. “What I thought was amazing that so many of the younger people got the chance to speak,” he said. “That’s also a testament to Mark's own emphasis in his scholarship, building up several generations of scholars. This result speaks for itself.”

 Beissinger retired in July after 18 years on the Princeton faculty. He is the author of numerous scholarly articles and six highly regarded books, including “Scientific Management, Socialist Discipline, and Soviet Power,” which was based on his dissertation; “Nationalist Mobilization and the Collapse of the Soviet State”; and “The Revolutionary City: Urbanization and the Global Transformation of Rebellion.”

 As a University administrator, Beissinger advanced international and regional studies in his roles as director of PIIRS, director of graduate studies in the Department of Politics, and co-director of the Workshop of Post-Communist Politics. At PIIRS, which he led from 2010 to 2017, Beissinger launched the Fung Global Fellows Program for visiting scholars and the Graduate Fellows Program, which provides dissertation completion support to Princeton students, and expanded the Global Seminars Program, PIIRS’s signature summer study abroad program. “Administrative work connected me with people all over the University,” which both enriched his scholarship and expanded his professional and social circles, Beissinger said. “It makes me feel like I’ve contributed to the community.”

Beissinger will divide his time between New Jersey and Maine and will stay connected to the University. “We have a wonderful tradition in among the comparativists in the Department of Politics: The emeritus faculty continue to give feedback to graduate students,” he said. “And I'm going to continue with my scholarship. I like to call it a ‘permanent sabbatical’ rather than a retirement.”

“Princeton has been the center of my life for decades,” he said of the conference. “There are many different dimensions to a career. For all these people to come together — I'm just so incredibly touched.”