Dr. Jeff Hawn

Dr Jeff Hawn completed his PhD in 2025 with his thesis titled From Collapse to Crisis: The Constitutional Standoff in Post-Soviet Russia, the Role of the United States, and the Failure of Russia’s Democratic Transition. His thesis is expected to be published as a book within the next two years. Jeff's research examines the failure of Russia’s democratic transition during the Soviet collapse. Beyond Russia Jeff follows multiple overlapping threads including the failure of Western Foreign Policy towards Russia, the contradictory objectives of economic and constitutional reform, and broader global trends which enabled the rise of authoritarianism in Russia and elsewhere.    

Jeff has published numerous articles related to his research and broader geo-political issues in Riddle Russia and Foreign Policy as well as authoring various white papers for numerous research organizations. Jeff has also provided commentary and appeared on several international news programs including CBS News, France24, BBC, LBC, TVT and i24News. Jeff also serves as a permanent advisor to London based Consulting Group Crimson Advisory for geopolitical risk mitigation.

Prior to undertaking his PhD work Jeff held a bachelor's and master's degrees in international relations from American University and a certificate in Russian studies from St. Petersburg State University in Russia. He has a wide range of experience in research and consulting having previously worked as a global intelligence analyst for the private intelligence company Stratfor.