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Philip Krasovsky Decker FPOE | 8/31, 1pm | THE MOLOTOV-RIBBENTROP PACT: A CULTURAL AND DIPLOMATIC HISTORY - 8/31 at 1:00pm
Posted 8/19/2026
Monday, August 31, 2026
1:00 PM
211 Dickinson Hall
Zoom Meeting ID: 939 1256 4514
Password: DeckerFPOE
Abstract
This dissertation combines diplomatic, military, ideological and cultural history to tell a novel origin story of the Second World War. It concerns the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the infamous non-aggression treaty signed by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union on August 23, 1939. After years of ideological mudslinging, these regimes, in a move that astonished the globe, suddenly put aside their differences, jointly attacked and occupied the Polish state, and divided Eastern Europe between them.
Departing from historiographies that remember this partnership primarily in light of how it ended—Hitler’s invasion of the USSR on June 22, 1941—the dissertation investigates the era of Nazi-Soviet détente as a ‘new normal’ that people in both countries tried to shape and define on their own terms. It shows that much of the German public supported the thaw, that powerful factions within the Third Reich worked to preserve it, and that Hitler and his inner circle sought to vindicate the Pact within the framework of Nazi dogma. It shows that Stalin was aware of and encouraged this rationalizing process, that the Soviet public displayed its own enthusiasm for better relations, and that authorities on both sides struggled to control their subjects’ appetite for direct communication with one another. The dissertation narrates how, especially in Germany, better relations with the Soviet Union proved to be a commercial bonanza, milked in films, plays, books, operas and jubilee celebrations on Russian themes. Finally, the project exhumes the forgotten phenomenon of Nazi-Soviet cultural exchange, part of a long tradition of German-Russian dialogue and more complex than mere diplomatic choreography.
The dissertation proposes that synthesizing cultural and geopolitical analysis is the key to a holistic assessment of the 1939-1941 epoch, improving on traditional approaches that either compare these ‘parallel totalitarianisms’ as isolated units or restrict the study of interactions to the military-economic side of the ledger. If the project has succeeded, readers will gain insight not only into the subjective meaning that people of all stations invested in the German-Soviet partnership, but also the sources of a bilateral relationship that scrambled the existing premises of politics, warfare and ideology worldwide.
A copy of the dissertation will be available for review two weeks before the exam. Questions? Please contact Lee Horinko (lhorinko@princeton.edu).
"Political Representation, Discontent, and Backsliding: How Different Political Systems Channel Mass Frustrations" Workshop - 10/29
Posted 8/18/2026
On October 29-30, 2026, Princeton will host the third Princeton-Sciences Po Workshop on “Political Representation, Discontent, and Backsliding: How Different Political Systems Channel Mass Frustrations”. The workshop is organized by Vin Arceneaux (Sciences Po) and Markus Prior (Princeton).
The workshop focuses on research on public opinion and electoral systems to understand how institutional features (broadly understood) channel, modify, and redirect public sentiments that may (or not!) have common, “populist” ingredients. Different systems are bound to vary in their vulnerability to the same kind of misperceptions—and each system may cultivate its own type of misperceptions. Different systems convert public impatience about material disruptions or long-term policy challenges in different ways. Different systems will create different varieties of unreasonable expectations.
For a poster session, we invite proposals from graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to present relevant empirical research.
If you are interested in participating, submit the following items using this Google Form by September 15:
- an extended abstract (max 500 words) describing topic, research design, and key results
- one sentence explaining the connection of your research with the workshop theme
- the name of your dissertation adviser (grad students) or supervisor (postdocs)
- a draft of the paper (optional)
If you have any questions, feel free email Markus Prior (mprior@princeton.edu).
Career Development for Graduate Students
Posted 8/18/2026
The Center for Career Development (a separate office from GradFUTURES) is available in August/early September for orientation tabling, panels, and short overviews, and throughout the semester for bespoke workshops for your discipline’s graduate students.
The Center for Career Development offers 1:1 advising, small group sessions, and larger-scale programming to graduate students of all years, supporting their exploration of, application to, and decision-making around careers in academia, higher ed administration, social impact, government, and across industry spaces.
Fall Graduate Reception, Wednesday September 16th at 4:30pm - RSVP
Posted 8/14/2026
RSVP
Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship - Apply by 11/1
Posted 8/13/2026
For more than forty years, the Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship has supported outstanding doctoral students whose dissertations engage significant questions of religion, ethics, morals, and values. The Fellowship provides financial support during the final year of dissertation writing, allowing Fellows to devote sustained attention to completing original scholarship that contributes to important intellectual conversations across the humanities and social sciences. The Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship is now open for applications.
The Newcombe Foundation will also offer two zoom info sessions for interested students and faculty advisors: