Mietek P. Boduszy艅ski

Associate Professor of Politics
  • Expertise

    Expertise

    Mieczys艂aw (Mietek) Boduszy艅ski teaches U.S. foreign policy at 麻豆传媒, as well as courses on the Middle East, Eastern Europe and the Balkans, democracy promotion and democratization. He also organizes and leads Pomona鈥檚 first-ever short-term summer traveling seminar "," an immersive learning experience during which students spend one week in Brussels and two weeks in Morocco exploring diplomatic policy and practice around human rights issues.He is an expert on U.S. foreign policy, democratization and democracy promotion, post-conflict stabilization, transitional justice, Eastern Europe and the Balkans, and the Middle East and North Africa. He has also conducted research in and written about Japan and South Korea.

    Prior to joining Pomona, Boduszy艅ski was a diplomat with the U.S. Department of State with postings in Albania, Kosovo, Japan, Egypt, Libya and Iraq. During the 2022-2023 academic year, he took a public service leave and worked at the Pentagon for the as a policy advisor on issues related to civilian protection as well as atrocities, war crimes and accountability in Ukraine.

    From 2019-2020, Boduszy艅ski served as a volunteer advisor on the Biden/Harris campaign foreign policy team. He was a 2020-2021 serving as a foreign policy advisor in the office of (CA-33). In 2021, Boduszy艅ski was selected as a . In 2021, Boduszy艅ski was selected as a , and in 2024 he joined the .

    A frequent op-ed contributor to publications such as the Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs and The Washington Post/Monkey Cage, Boduszy艅ski's first book is about . His second book, , analyzes U.S. policy responses to the Arab Spring. He is also the co-author of a textbook titled , the second edition of which is due to be published in 2024.

    Boduszy艅ski was a 2016-2018 Center for Public Diplomacy Research Fellow at the University of Southern California, a 2017-2018 resident fellow at IAU College in Aix-en-Provence, France, and a visiting professor at Sciences Po-Paris School of International Affairs (Spring 2018). He has also been a visiting scholar at the Osaka School of International Public Policy (Summer 2017) and the University of Gothenburg-V-Dem Institute. He has taught at the American University of Cairo, Temple University鈥擩apan Campus, European University in Tirana (Albania), the University of San Diego and KIMEP University in Almaty, Kazakhstan. He is a member of the Pacific Council.

    In addition to English, Boduszy艅ski speaks Arabic, Japanese, Serbian-Croatian-Bosnian, Albanian, French, Polish and basic Korean.

    Research Interests

    Boduszynski is currently working on three projects. One examines U.S. leverage over corruption in the Balkans, the second analyzes the pursuit of U.S. values in a new age of strategic competition, while the third looks at U.S. policy in South Korea and Poland in the 1980s.

    Areas of Expertise

    • U.S. Foreign Policy
    • Democratic Transitions
    • Middle East
    • Balkans
    • Japan
    • Libya
    • Egypt
    • Iraq
    • Militias and Security
    • The Arab Spring
  • Work

    Work

    Books and Book Chapters

    "" in Hall Gardner, ed. Geopolitical Turmoil in the Balkans and Eastern Mediterranean, Palgrave Macmillan, 2023.

    鈥淎lgeria" in Markus Porsche Ludwig and Ying-Yu Chen, eds. LIT Verlag, 2022.

    鈥溾 SAGE, March 2020. (With Chris Lamont)

    , Lynne Rienner Publishers 2019

    鈥淣avigating the Narrow Spaces for Transitional Justice in Iraq,鈥 in Arnaud Kurze and Chris Lamont, eds. New Critical Spaces鈥 in Transitional Justice:Mapping Ideas, Actors and Change, Pennsylvania State University Press (2019).

    鈥淧olitical Exclusion and Transitional Justice: A Case Study of Libya,鈥 in Chandra Sriram, Transitional Justice in the Middle East and North Africa, Oxford University Press (with Marieke Wierda). 2017

    鈥淲estern Democratic Leverage and the Arab Spring,鈥 in Christopher K. Lamont et. al., Non-Western Encounters with Democratization: Imagining Democracy after the Arab Spring, Surrey: Ashgate, 127-142 (2015).

    Media Appearances

    Polsat, , November 2, 2023.

    Cap Radio, , February 28, 2022

    CBS Los Angeles, , February 24, 2022

    Op-Eds/Commentaries

    2024

    鈥,鈥 Just Security, 13 March 2024. (with Jasmin Mujanovic).

    2022

    鈥,鈥 USC Center on Public Diplomacy Blog, April 22, 2022 (with Agnieszka Lazorczyk).

    鈥,鈥 Los Angeles Times, March 5, 2022. (with Victor Peskin).

    2021

    The Washington Post鈥檚 The Monkey Cage, December 20, 2021. (co-authored with Victor Peskin).

    The Diplomat, December 2, 2021. (co-authored with Christopher K. Lamont).

    鈥,鈥&苍产蝉辫;Newlines Magazine, 1 June 2021. 

    鈥溾&苍产蝉辫;USC Center on Public Diplomacy Blog, 23 March 2021.

    2020

     USC Center on Public Diplomacy Blog. (with Sarah Alaoui).

    鈥溾 The National Interest, 20 July 2020. (with Gene Park)

    鈥,鈥 Pacific Council Magazine, 13 July 2020. (With Kamil Lungu, IR 鈥20).

    ",鈥&苍产蝉辫;Middle East Institute, 2 June 2020. (with Chris Lamont).

    鈥.鈥 Foreign Policy, 16 April 2020. (with Victor Peskin)

    2019

    鈥溾 (Interview in The Week, December 31, 2019).

    鈥淲ill Algeria鈥檚 New President Resume Politics as Usual or Bring Genuine Change?鈥 The Globe Post, December 20, 2019. (with Jessica Mecellem)

    鈥.鈥 The Conversation, November 21, 2019.

    鈥?鈥 Foreign Policy. August 6, 2019. (with Jamie Levin).

    鈥.鈥 The National Interest. July 16, 2019. (with Gene Park).

    鈥.鈥 USC Public Diplomacy Blog. July 11, 2019. (with Katarzyna Pisarska).

    鈥.鈥 Washington Post/Monkey Cage. May 3, 2019. (With Chris Lamont).

    鈥.鈥 Foreign Policy, April 24, 2019. (with Chris Lamont).

    鈥溾 The Globe Post, April 10, 2019.

    ",鈥 Middle East Institute, March 5, 2019.

    "" Washington Post, February 11 (with Victor Peskin).

    2018

    鈥溾 Perspectives on Public Diplomacy, USC Center on Public Diplomacy, December 2018.

    鈥,鈥 The Hill, October 25, 2018. (with Chris Lamont).

    鈥,鈥&苍产蝉辫;The Hill, August 13, 2018 (with Chris Lamont).

    鈥,鈥 Washington Post/The Monkey Cage, 20 July 2018 (with Sabina Henneberg).

    鈥,鈥 The Hill, 18 June 2018.

    鈥,鈥 War on the Rocks, 12 May 2018 (with Chris Lamont).

    War on the Rocks, 13 April 2018 (with Michael Carpenter).

    2017

    鈥溾 The Hill, 21 December 2017.

    鈥,鈥 USC Center on Public Diplomacy Blog, 14 December 2017.

    鈥溾 The Hill, 14 December 2017.

    鈥,鈥 Fragile States, 3 December 2017 (with Sabina Henneberg).

    鈥,鈥&苍产蝉辫;Foreign Affairs, 27 November 2017 (with Chris Lamont).

    鈥淭he Challenges of Building a Shared Iraqi Identity,鈥 OpenDemocracy, 5 November 2017 (with Chris Lamont).

    鈥,鈥 USC Center for Public Diplomacy Blog, 1 November 2017 (with Philip Breeden).

    鈥淭he Anti-Islamist Campaign and Arab Democracy,鈥 OpenDemocracy, 27 October 2017.

     The Hill, 1 August 2017 (with Michael Carpenter).

    Foreign Affairs, 20 July 2017 (with Sabina Henneberg).

    USC Center on Public Diplomacy Blog, 30 June 2017.

    , Washington Post/Monkey Cage, 28 March 2017.

     East Asia Forum, 27 March 2017 (with Tom Le).

     Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy Policy Brief, 28 March 2017 (with Mohamed 鈥楢rafa).

    2016

     Washington Post/Monkey Cage, 28 December 2016.

    鈥,鈥 The Hill, 26 October 2016.

    鈥,鈥 The Guardian, 6 September 2016.

    2015

    鈥溾&苍产蝉辫;The Conversation, March 23, 2015.

    鈥?鈥&苍产蝉辫;The Conversation, February 25, 2015.

    鈥溾&苍产蝉辫;Los Angeles Times, February 24, 2015. (with Victor Peskin)

    鈥?鈥&苍产蝉辫;The Diplomat, 6 February 2015. (with Chris Lamont)

    2014

    鈥 Los Angeles Times, November 14, 2014. (with Cameron Munter)

    鈥溾&苍产蝉辫;USC Public Diplomacy Blog, November 9, 2014. (with Caitlin Bergin)

    鈥,鈥&苍产蝉辫;Los Angeles Times, September 23, 2014. (with Kristin Fabbe)

    鈥溾&苍产蝉辫;USC Public Diplomacy Blog. (with Monica Chellam)

    鈥淕uaranteeing the European Future of Ukraine," Liberte, March 2014.

    鈥溾&苍产蝉辫;The Christian Science Monitor, February 13. (with Kristin Fabbe)

    2013

    鈥.鈥&苍产蝉辫;Los Angeles Times, December 1, 2013.

    鈥淭he Road from Benghazi,鈥 published on Project Syndicate, 12 September 2013.

    Journal Articles

    鈥,鈥 Brow Journal of World Affairs, February 2024.

    鈥溾 Journal of Contemporary History, 2019. (with Vjeran Pavlakovi膰).

    鈥溾 Journal of Democracy, October 2016.

    鈥淭he Rise and Fall of the ICC in Libya and the Politics of International Surrogate Enforcership,鈥&苍产蝉辫;with Victor Peskin, The International Journal of Transitional Justice (February 2016).

    鈥淎fter the Arab Spring: Are Secular Parties the Answer?鈥 Journal of Democracy, October 2015.

    鈥淭he external dimension of Libya's troubled transition: the international community and 鈥榙emocratic knowledge鈥 transfer,鈥 Journal of North African Studies, Fall/Winter 2015.

    鈥淓uroscepticism, the Croatian Way,鈥&苍产蝉辫;Sudosteuropa, Volume 62, no. 4, 2014.

    With Marieke Wierda, 鈥淎ccounting for the Past, or Avenging in the Present? Libya鈥檚 Political Isolation Law,鈥&苍产蝉辫;Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, Spring 2014.

    With Duncan Pickard, "Libya Starts from Scratch," Journal of Democracy, October 2013.

    Talks

    Panelist: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington, D.C., February 27, 2020.

    Featured Work

  • Education

    Education

    B.A., University of California, San Diego
    San Diego, California

    M.A., Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
    Berkeley, California

    Professional Experience

    Foreign Service Officer, U.S. Department of State, 2004-2013 and 2015-2016

    Served as a U.S. diplomat in a variety of positions at U.S. Embassies in Albania, Kosovo, Japan, Egypt, Libya, and Iraq

    Recent Courses Taught

    • U.S. Foreign Policy
    • The U.S. And Iraq
    • Beyond the Arab Spring
    • Comparative Democratization
    • Diasporas and U.S. Foreign Policy
  • Awards & Honors

    Awards & Honors

    • 2022: Charles Koch Foundation Summer Foreign Policy Fellowship ($15,000)
    • 2022, ($4,000)
    • Selected as a , 2021
    • 2021, National Council for Eurasian and East European Research Grant ($18,000) (with Victor Peskin, Arizona State University)
    • American Political Science Association Congressional Fellowship and Steiger Fellowship, 2020-2021
    • Brandeis University Schusterman Institute for Israel Studies Fellow, 2019
    • USC Center for Public Diplomacy Research Fellow, 2016-2018
    • U.S. State Department, Superior Honor Award, 2016
    • U.S. State Department, Meritorious Honor Award, 2009 and 2010
    • U.S. State Department, Franklin Award, 2007
    • American Political Science Association, Comparative Democratization Section, Juan Linz Award for Best Dissertation in Comparative Democratization, 2006
    • Fulbright Fellowship, 2001-2002