The first lecture in the Havighurst Center's spring 2026 colloquium series, "Democracy in Post-Communist Eastern Europe"
Courtney Blackington a Teaching Assistant Professor and Academic Advisor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh. She also serves on the Faculty Advisory Board for the Center for Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies at Pitt. Her research focuses on how emotions, political socialization, and religious socialization shape the likelihood that people will mobilize in defense of—or against—liberal democratic institutions and rights. She also studies what makes some conspiracy theories spread widely, and how conspiratorial beliefs affect people’s willingness to tolerate democratic backsliding. Her research has been supported by the U.S. Department of State, American Councils, the European Union, the BEAR Network, the University of North Carolina, and the University of Pittsburgh. She earned her PhD in Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, her MA in Political Science from Columbia University, and her BA in Government from the College of William and Mary. She spent the 2021-2022 academic year as a Fulbright and Title VIII Scholar at the Polish Academy of Sciences and the University of Warsaw. Her work has been published in Perspectives on Politics, Government and Opposition, East European Politics, East European Politics and Societies, and Politics, Religion, and Ideology. She has also published in The Monkey Cage and The Loop. The Washington Post has covered her research.
