A recent Durham PhD has quickly developed into a scholarly publication. Vladimir Liparteliani’s research on Russian and Western influence in Georgia has now appeared as a new Routledge monograph, extending his doctoral work into a study of soft power, nation-building and Georgian national identity.
A former Durham PhD student has seen his doctoral research transformed into a new monograph published by Routledge, little more than a year after the completion of his doctorate.
Vladimir Liparteliani’s Soft Power Competition Between Russia and the West: Contesting Georgian National Identity, 1991–2024 is published in the Routledge Histories of Central and Eastern Europe series. Vladimir completed his PhD in Modern Languages and Cultures at Durham University, where he was supervised by Professor Andy Byford.
The book develops the research Vladimir undertook for his Durham doctorate, which examined the role of Russian and Western soft power in post-Soviet Georgian nation-building between 1991 and 2024. His doctoral thesis, The Role of Russian and Western Soft Power Competition in Post-Soviet Georgian Nation-Building, 1991–2024, was deposited in the Durham e-Theses repository in 2025.
The rapid transition from PhD thesis to published monograph represents a significant achievement for an early-career researcher and highlights the potential for doctoral research at Durham to develop into substantial contributions to international scholarship.
MLAC warmly congratulates Vladimir Liparteliani and his former supervisor, Professor Andy Byford, on the publication of Soft Power Competition Between Russia and the West: Contesting Georgian National Identity, 1991–2024.
Read more about the book on Routledge
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