Born and educated in Montréal, Québec, I received postgraduate degrees in government at Sussex and Essex universities in England. A Canada Council Doctoral Fellowship allowed me to complete a political sociology PhD at the University of Warsaw. I was awarded a Fulbright Distinguished Chair post at the Australian National University in Canberra in 2017 and regularly carry out research there and in New Zealand. In the 1980s, I served as cultural lecturer for groups visiting the Soviet Union including the Caucasus, Central Asia, Siberia, as well as Ulan Bator in Mongolia which had not yet received US diplomatic recognition.

I began publishing scholarly books in the 1980s and have authored or edited over twenty books. Subjects include the collapse of the USSR; Russia's identity in international relations; the rise of liberal and illiberal nationalisms; the internationalization of ethnic conflict; the dangers of xenophobia and Islamophobia; critiques of multiculturalism; the impact of fear on foreign policy making; a reimagined understanding of nationhood; and an empirical application of Thucydides' typology of political fears. In 2024 I edited a book with mainly European and Russian scholars titled 'Exploring Russia as exceptional in international politics.'

Apart from politics courses, I have taught world cinema and world literature. I served as Director of my university's World Literature program until Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans in 2005. Because of the Covid pandemic, I developed "Teach Anywhere" skills including smart Canvas course design. In 2025 I was awarded Emeritus distinction and seek research opportunities and collaborations in different parts of the globe. The PRC would be a most attractive