Illinois Global Institute

As the home to the area and global studies centers and thematic programs at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the Illinois Global Institute is dedicated to fostering an environment where international perspectives are integral to teaching and research.

Center for African Studies * Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies * Center for Global Studies * Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies * Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies * Center for the Study of Global Gender Equity * European Union Center * LAS Global Studies * Lemann Center for Brazilian Studies * Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center * The Program in Arms Control and Domestic and International Security

 

REEEC Noontime Scholars Lecture: Jared Meunier, "Sharp Power and the Enjoyment of Crisis: The Mueller Report as Simulated Justice"

Apr 24, 2026   12:00 pm  
108 Coble Hall (801 S. Wright St., Champaign, IL 61820)
Lecture
Sponsor
REEEC
Speaker
Jared Meunier’ (Graduate Student, Russian, East European Studies, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
Cost
Free and open to the public
Contact
REEEC
E-Mail
reec@illinois.edu
Views
127
Originating Calendar
Russian, E. European & Eurasian Center: Speakers

This talk examines how sharp power operates not by changing voters' minds, but by exploiting the affective and symbolic structure of liberal democratic media systems. Using the Mueller Report as a case study, the talk explores how truth-producing institutions use procedural transparency while deferring political closure, which intensifies polarization rather than restoring legitimacy. The talk suggests that sharp power succeeds by parasitizing these conditions by extending existing modes of political attachment and enjoyment.

Jared Meunier is a second-year MA student in the Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center. His work combines language study, visual methods, and critical theory to examine how autocratic influence operates through affective, symbolic, and media-based strategies. His research focuses on sharp power, political enjoyment, and liberal democratic politics.

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