Matthew Frear
Assistant professor
- Name
- Dr. M.J. Frear
- Telephone
- +31 71 527 2089
- m.j.frear@hum.leidenuniv.nl
- ORCID iD
- 0000-0001-7334-649X
Matthew Frear is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of History. He teaches and supervises students on the BA International Studies, MA International Relations, BA Russian Studies, and MA Russian and Eurasian Studies programmes. His main fields of research are Russian and Eurasian politics and international relations, and comparative authoritarianism. He is a researcher on the EU-STRAT project funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. He is also affiliated with the Central and East European Studies Centre in Leiden.
Fields of interest
Authoritarian consolidation and non-democratic regimes; opposition politics, popular protest and democratisation; Belarusian government and politics; international relations of Russia and Eurasia.
Research
Dr. Frear's research lies at the nexus of comparative politics and international relations, with a focus on Russia and Eastern Europe, and Belarus in particular. He has published original reseach on Belarusian politics and foreign policy and presented numerous papers at academic conferences in Europe, North America and Asia.
Dr. Frear is currently part of the Leiden team in the EU-STRAT project: ‘The EU and Eastern Partnership Countries: An Inside-Out Analysis and Strategic Assessment’, which is funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. The project focuses on Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova, and involves partner institutions from ten countries.
Teaching activities
Dr. Frear teaches a range of courses on Russian and Eurasian politics and international relations at both the Leiden main campus and in The Hague.
Curriculum vitae
Dr. Frear holds a PhD from the University of Birmingham (UK, 2011). He has been a lecturer at the University of Birmingham and Aston University, before joining Leiden University in 2013.
Outside academia, Dr. Frear has contributed to policy discussions and briefings on Russia and Eurasian politics at a number of British and Dutch governmental bodies, international organisations and think tanks. He has also been deployed as an international election observer for the OSCE/ODIHR in Ukraine, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan. Earlier in his career he spent many years working in public dipomacy for the British Council, including Russia and Ukraine.
Assistant professor
- Faculty of Humanities
- Institute for History
- History and International Studies
- Mazepus H., Dimitrova A.L., Frear M.J., Toshkov D.D. & Onopriychuk N. (2021), When business and politics mix: local networks and socio-political transformations in Ukraine, East European Politics and Societies 35(2): 437-459.
- Frear M.J. & Mazepus H. (2021), Security, civilisation and modernisation: : Continuity and change in the Russian foreign policy discourse, Europe-Asia Studies 73(7): 1215-1235.
- Mazepus H., Dimitrova A.L., Frear M.J., Chulitskaya T., Keudel O., Onopriychuk N. & Rabava N. (2021), Civil society and external actors: how linkages with the EU and Russia interact with socio-political orders in Belarus and Ukraine, East European Politics 37(1): 43-64.
- Frear M.J. (2021), ‘Better to be a dictator than gay': homophobic discourses in Belarusian politics, Europe-Asia Studies 73(8): 1467-1486.
- Frear M.J. (13 August 2020), Lukashenka's rule is entering its last phase. Dossier Belarus. Leiden: Raam op Rusland. [blog entry].
- Frear M.J. & Mazepus H. (2019), ‘Dynamics of Russian Official Communications: Concepts, World Views and Narratives’. EUSA International Biennial Conference 9 May 2019 - 11 May 2019. Denver, USA: EUSA Biennial Conference.
- Frear M.J. (2019), ‘Homophobia, Homodictatorship, or "Who cares?". ASEEES Summer Convention 14 June 2019 - 16 June 2019. Zagreb, Croatia: ASEEES Summer Convention.
- Frear M.J. (2019), Evolution and Adaptation in Belarusian Strategic Culture. In: Miklóssy K. & Smith H. (Eds.), Strategic Culture in Russia’s Neighborhood: Change and Continuity in an In-Between Space. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. 229-257.
- Frear M.J. (18 December 2019), Russia pushes, but doesn't dare to force Belarus into a union state. Dossier Belarus. Leiden: Raam op Rusland. [blog entry].
- Frear M.J., Maniokas K., Jonavičius L. & Tabarta I. (2018), Report on complementary and alternative modes of engagement with the Eastern Partnership countries.
- Frear M.J. (2018), Belarus under Lukashenka: Adaptive Authoritarianism. Abingdon: Routledge.
- Mazepus H., Dimitrova A., Toshkov D., Chulitskaya T. & Frear M.J. (2018), Getting the message across: How can the EU bolster its soft power in the Eastern Neighbourhood? no. 3. [policy paper].
- Frear M.J. (2017), What the EU Says in the Eastern Partnership: Differentiation in Action: EU-STRAT Newsletter, (2): 7-8.
- Frear M.J. (2017), Review of: Kanet R.E. & Sussex M. (2015), Power, Politics and Confrontation in Eurasia. Foreign Policy in a Contested Region. Europe-Asia Studies 69(1): 183-184.
- Frear M.J. & Mazepus H. (2017), A New Turn or More of the Same? A Structured Analysis of Recent Developments in Russian Foreign Policy Discourse. EU-STRAT Working Paper Series no. 2017- 3 (Freie Universität Berlin). [working paper].
- Dimitrova A.L., Frear M.J., Mazepus H., Toshkov D.D., Boroda M., Chulitskaya T., Grytsenko O., Munteanu I., Parvan T. & Ramasheuskaya I. (2017), The Elements of Russia’s Soft Power: Channels, Tools, and Actors Promoting Russian Influence in the Eastern Partnership Countries. EU-STRAT Working Paper Series.
- Frear M.J. (20 February 2017), Russia Through the Eyes of Dutch Security and Foreign Policy Experts. Leiden Rusland Blog. [blog entry].
- Frear M.J. (2017), ‘Education, Science and Technology in Belarus’ at Sustainable Development? Human and Institutional Capital in the Eastern Partnership Countries and Russia, Chatham House, London, 31 May 2017. .
- Frear M.J. (23 June 2016), Eurasian Economic Union: the story so far. Leiden Rusland Blog. [blog entry].
- Frear M.J. (2016), Review of: Wilson A. (2014), Ukraine Crisis: What it Means for the West. Slavonic and East European Review 94(3): 585-587.
- Frear M.J. (2 December 2016), What’s New in Russia’s Latest Foreign Policy Concept?. Leiden Rusland Blog. [blog entry].
- Frear M.J. (2016) Patronal politics: Eurasian regime dynamics in comparative perspective. Review of: Hale H. (2015), Patronal Politics: Eurasian Regime Dynamics in Comparative Perspective. East European Politics 32(3): 403-404.
- Frear M.J. (23 September 2016), De parlementsverkiezingen in Wit-Rusland: de status-quo met een twist. Leiden Rusland Blog. [blog entry].
- Frear M.J. (11 March 2016), Putting the Putin in Putinization. Leiden Rusland Blog. [blog entry].
- Frear M.J. (2016), Review of: Ioffe G. (2014), Reassessing Lukashenka. Belarus in Cultural and Geopolitical Context. Europe-Asia Studies 68(2): 354-355.
- Frear M.J. (16 January 2015), New Year, New Government and New Crisis in Belarus. Leiden Rusland Blog. [blog entry].
- Frear M.J. (11 September 2015), Europe’s ‘Last Dictatorship’ Releases Last Political Prisoners: What Next?. Leiden Rusland Blog. [blog entry].
- Frear M.J. (22 October 2015), Surprise! Belarus’s Lukashenko wins a fifth term in a landslide! (Okay, no surprise. Here’s what happened.). The Monkey Cage: The Washington Post. [blog entry].
- Frear M.J. (13 November 2015), EU Suspends Sanctions On Belarus: Déjà Vu All Over Again?. Leiden Rusland Blog. [blog entry].
- Frear M.J. (2015), Review of: Sakwa R. (2015), Frontline Ukraine. Crisis in the Borderlands. Europe-Asia Studies 67(10): 1724-1725.
- Frear M.J. (2015), ‘The Forgotten Side of the Slavic Triangle: Belarus-Ukraine Relations’ at ICCEES World Congress, Tokyo, 3-8 August 2015. .
- Frear M.J. (26 September 2014), Belarusian Perspectives on the Crisis in Ukraine. Leiden Rusland Blog. [blog entry].
- Frear M.J. (2014) Review: Gender, Politics, and Society in Ukraine. Review of: Hankivsy O. & Salnykova A. (2012), Gender, Politics, and Society in Ukraine. Toronto: Toronto University Press. Europe-Asia Studies 66(1): 162-163.
- Frear M.J. (2014), Belarusian Perspectives on Eurasian Economic Integration, Russian Analytical Digest 2014(146): 10-12.
- Frear M.J. (2014), The parliamentary elections in Belarus, September 2012, Electoral Studies 33(1): 350-353.
- Frear M.J. (26 September 2014), Belarusian Perspectives on the Crisis in Ukraine. Leiden Rusland Blog. Leiden: Leiden University. [blog entry].
- Frear M. (2013), Belarus: Player and Pawn in the Integration Game. In: Dragneva R. & Wolczuk K. (Eds.), Eurasian Economic Integration: Law, Policy and Politics. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. 119-138.
- Frear M.J. (2012), Opposition Strategies for the 2012 Elections in Belarus, Baltic Rim Economies (3): 23.
- Frear M.J. (22 October 2012), 2012 Belarus Parliamentary Elections Post-Election Report: Same as It Ever Was. The Monkey Cage. [blog entry].
- Frear M.J. (2011) Review: Key Players and Regional Dynamics in Eurasia. The Return of the ‘Great Game’. Review of: Freire M.R. & Kanet R.E. (2010), Key Players and Regional Dynamics in Eurasia: The Return of the ‘Great Game’. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Europe-Asia Studies 63(8): 1519-1520.
- Frear M.J. (2011), The EU and Belarus after the 2010 Presidential Election, Baltic Rim Economies (2): 51.
- Frear M.J. (2010), Friends or Foes? Developments in Relations between Russia and Belarus, Russian Analytical Digest 2010(87): 2-4.