Elizabeth Plantan
Assistant Professor of Political Science
Dr. Elizabeth Plantan's research and teaching interests encompass the global study of civil society, authoritarian regimes, and environmental politics, with a focus on the comparative and international politics of China and Russia.
- Ph.D., Government, Cornell University
- M.A., Russian & East European Studies, Indiana University - Bloomington
- B.A., Wesleyan University

Biography
Dr. Elizabeth Plantan is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Stetson University. Prior to joining the faculty at Stetson, she was a China Public Policy Postdoctoral Fellow at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard Kennedy School from 2018-2020. Her current book project examines environmental activism in China and Russia. Dr. Plantan received her Ph.D. in Government from Cornell University. In addition, she holds an M.A. in Russian & East European Studies from Indiana University Bloomington and a B.A. in Government and Russian & East European Studies from Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT.
More About Elizabeth Plantan
Areas of Expertise
- Comparative Politics
- Authoritarianism
- Environmental Activism
- Russian & Chinese Politics
- Civil Society & NGOs
Course Sampling
- Introduction to Comparative Politics
- Russian Politics
- Chinese Politics
- Environmental Politics
- State-society relations in authoritarian regimes
- Russian & Chinese domestic and international politics
- Environmental activism
- The politics of I/NGOs
- Transnational advocacy networks
- "A Tale of Two Laws: Managing Foreign Agents and Overseas NGOs in Russia and China." In Valerie J. Bunce, Karrie J. Koesel, and Jessica C. Weiss, eds., Citizens & the State in Authoritarian Regimes: Comparing Russia & China. Oxford University Press. 2020.
- "Mass Mobilization in China and Russia: From Unexpected Victories to Unintended Consequences," Russian Politics, 3(4). 2018.
- "Protecting Cultural Heritage: Unexpected Successes for Environmental Movements in China and Russia." In Carol Hager and Mary Alice Haddad, eds., NIMBY is Beautiful: Cases of Local Activism and Environmental Innovation Around the World. NY: Berghahn Books. 2015.
Related Non-Academic Publications:
- "Comparing Recent NGO Laws in Russia and China: Do Russia's Laws Foreshadow China's Future?" ChinaFile: The China NGO Project. 10 August 2017.
- "Putin Joins the Climate Change Deniers." (with Peter Rutland) Transitions Online. 18 April 2017.
- "Rising Temperatures." The New York Times. 12 September 2012. Appeared in print in: The International Herald Tribune. 13 September 2012. Page 6.