Venezuela: Policy Recommendations for a New Administration

Wednesday, Nov. 20 // 10–11:00 am (ET)

In July, opposition candidate Edmundo González overwhelmingly won Venezuela's presidential election. But as the January 10 inauguration approaches, there is little hope for a political transition. After refusing to accept defeat, the authoritarian government cracked down on dissent. Today, González is living in exile in Spain and Venezuela is holding 1,600 political prisoners.

The United States acknowledged González's victory and imposed sanctions and travel restrictions on allies of strongman Nicolás Maduro. Major regional actors, including Brazil and Colombia, refused to accept the official results. What other actions should the United States and its partners consider in advance of January 10? Assuming Maduro clings to power, as expected, how should the next US administration approach Venezuela in light of the electoral fraud and worsening human rights conditions?

STILL TO Come THIS WEEK

Book Talk | The Post-Soviet Human

Tuesday, Nov. 19 // 1–2:00 pm (ET)

In his new book, The Post-Soviet Human: Philosophical Reflections on Social History after the End of Communism, Mykhailo Minakov argues that the post-Soviet period (1989–2022) was an unprecedented era in human history. Not only did the USSR’s dissolution open opportunities for the people and nations of Eastern Europe and northern Eurasia to experience freedom and test their creative powers, but these opportunities did not extract a price comparable to the cost in human lives and suffering during the Russian Revolution and Civil War of 1917–24.

Minakov describes how the post-Soviet Human attempted to establish free politics and economy and gain collective emancipation and personal freedom during this era. Even though these attempts failed in most cases, the post-Soviet Human’s political creativity—with its democratic and autocratic achievements—was an intriguing phenomenon worth deeper study and understanding. Without learning the lessons of post-Soviet history, East European and Eurasian peoples will be doomed to repeat the vicious cycle of tragedy and destruction.