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In the News: Brian Taylor

Taylor Speaks with LiveNOW from FOX and UNITED24 About the Latest With Ukraine

“The way the U.S. is going about it is not inclined to make a ceasefire take place and last. All the pressure at the moment seems to be on the Ukrainians to show that they're willing to settle and that they want peace. But the country that started the war is Russia and its Russia that's on the attack,” says Brian Taylor, professor of political science.

March 11, 2025

Taylor Speaks With NPR LA’s ‘AirTalk’ About the Rising Tensions Between Ukraine and Trump

“One thing I would call attention to is that President Trump and Russian President Putin had an hour and a half long conversation last week. And since that conversation Trump has repeated multiple Putin talking points about the war,” says Brian Taylor, professor of political science.

February 26, 2025

Taylor’s ‘Russian Politics’ One of Forbes’ Must-Read Books to Understand Russia, the War in Ukraine

“Syracuse University professor Brian Taylor, author of ‘Russian Politics: A Very Short Introduction,’ packs a wealth of analysis and interesting facts into a compact book,” writes Stuart Anderson, senior contributor at Forbes.

February 18, 2025

Taylor Talks to Newsweek About the US Sending Nuclear Weapons to Ukraine

“In theory, the U.S. could station U.S. nuclear weapons in Ukraine and maintain command authority of them, like it does in several NATO member states,” says Brian Taylor, professor of political science. “But it's extremely difficult to imagine that happening.”

December 4, 2024

Russian Politics: A Very Short Introduction

Brian Taylor

Professor and Russia expert Brian Taylor offers an up-to-date overview of the key forces that drive Russian politics. This book explores the primacy of the state over society, the role of the “West” in Russian political development, and the effect of the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union on the Russian political and economic system. Published by 
Oxford University Press.

December 3, 2024

Taylor Comments on Election Interference by Russia in Associated Press Article

“Russia clearly interfered in this election,” says Brian Taylor, professor of political science and expert on Russian politics. He says Russia’s objectives were to “help Trump and to sow chaos more generally—although there is no evidence that their activities changed the outcome.”

November 15, 2024

Taylor Speaks With AFP, The Hill and Newsweek About Trump’s Victory, Impact on Ukraine-Russia War

“I can’t imagine Donald Trump rolling up his sleeves and digging into the nitty-gritty of the words of this conflict,” says Brian Taylor, professor of political science. “That’s not who he is [but] that’s what it takes to bring about ceasefires and peace settlements, lots of detailed, nitty-gritty negotiation on a whole host of issues. It’s not simply tell both sides to stop.” 

November 7, 2024

Murrett and Taylor Speak with Fox News About North Korea Sending Troops to Russia

“North Korea and Russia signed a joint military assistance agreement last June and they are pursuing cooperation...In terms of what North Korea might get in return, I think the big fear is that Russia would be sharing more advanced nuclear technology, perhaps submarine technology or other conventional weapons technology with North Korea,” says Brian Taylor, professor of political science.

October 25, 2024

Taylor Shares Insights on Ukraine’s Recent Military Successes in Russian Territory with LiveNOWFox

Brian Taylor, professor of political science and director of the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs, spoke with LiveNOW from FOX to discuss Ukraine’s recent military advances marking the first time Ukraine has occupied Russian territory.
August 21, 2024

See related: Conflict, Russia, Ukraine

Taylor Quoted in Vox Article on the US-Russia Prisoner Swap

“Putin wanted to bring home a Russian assassin...and other spies, to show people who work in the Russian intelligence services that their government will try to bring them home if they get caught. The U.S. government and its allies wanted to free innocent people being held hostage in Russian prisons,” says Brian Taylor, professor of political science.

August 7, 2024

Taylor Speaks With ABC News About Evan Gershkovich, Possible Prisoner Trade

Russia has maintained that discussions about trades for Gershkovich can only start in earnest after the trial is over, says Brian Taylor, professor of political science. “So the quicker the trial and the inevitable verdict, the quicker they can offer Evan as a piece in a possible trade,” Taylor says.


July 19, 2024

Taylor Speaks with Spectrum News About the NATO Summit, President Biden

“...NATO member states are aware of it that a Trump presidency might mean quite a shaky time period for the alliance going forward,” says Professor of Political Science Brian Taylor. “President Biden has decades of experience with respect to dealing with NATO member countries and understanding the alliance. And President Trump has a much more negative and hostile attitude towards the alliance.

July 12, 2024

Taylor Weighs In on Trump’s Ukraine Peace Plan in Newsweek Article

“The idea of a peace plan for Russia's war against Ukraine sounds nice, but the ideas proposed by two Trump advisers would not be acceptable to either Russia or Ukraine,” says Brian Taylor, professor of political science and director of the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs.

July 5, 2024

Maxwell at 100: Expanding Views of Citizenship and a Wider World View

The Maxwell School has evolved to meet the needs of an increasingly interconnected world while continuing its focus on citizenship. 

June 13, 2024

Taylor Discusses the Impact of Ukraine Using Western Weapons Against Russia With Fox News, La Presse

Brian Taylor, professor of political science, says that the authorization given by the U.S. and Germany to Ukrainian strikes on Russian soil with weapons they supply could have an impact on the balance of power on Ukrainian territory.

June 11, 2024

Taylor Talks to the Associated Press, Wall Street Journal About Putin’s Fifth Term

“The war in Ukraine is central to his current political project, and I don’t see anything to suggest that that will change. And that affects everything else,” says Brian Taylor, professor of political science and director of the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs.

May 10, 2024

Taylor Discusses ‘Trump 2.0’ With the Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Brian Taylor, professor of political science, says a key feature of Trump 2.0 would likely be that the president would not have as many Russia-sceptics in his sphere. "If Trump is elected in 2024, he will surround himself with people who adhere to his worldview and are therefore less hostile to Russia and more sympathetic to Putin."

April 22, 2024

Taylor Provides an Update on Russia's War with Ukraine on Campbell Conversations

“In general, not a huge amount of change,” says Brian Taylor, professor of political science. “Russia is on the front foot now because Ukraine is running out of ammunition, especially artillery. And this has to do with the hold up on the U.S. military assistance package in the U.S. Congress over the last half year.”

March 30, 2024

Taylor Discusses Putin and Russia’s Presidential Election With CBS News, Newsweek, Al Jazeera

“Really, we have 24 years of watching Putin build an increasingly repressive, authoritarian state. So the main purpose of elections like this in an authoritarian country is to show everyone that Putin is forever, there is no alternative to Putin, there's no point in resisting his state,” says Brian Taylor, director of the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs.

March 18, 2024

Taylor Speaks With Fox, Newsweek, WWL Radio About the Ongoing War in Ukraine

"I thought the Russian invasion two years ago would have been more successful. I thought Russia would have managed to seize and hold more territory than they did. ...That’s because Russia fought worse than I thought they would and Ukraine has fought much better," says Brian Taylor, director of the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs.

February 27, 2024
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