Lincoln Mitchell

Associate, Harriman Institute, Columbia University

212-854-2514

lam13@columbia.edu

Lincoln Mitchell is an Associate at the Harriman Institute and an Affiliate at the Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies at Columbia University.  He is also a practitioner in the field of political development.  Mitchell is also a frequent blogger on The Huffington Post, where he writes primarily about domestic U.S. politics.  He is currently working on a book about the Color Revolutions in the former Soviet Union.  Mitchell’s current research includes work on democratic transitions in the former Soviet Union, the role of democracy promotion in American foreign policy, and public opinion in the Muslim World.

Prior to joining the Harriman Institute, Mitchell was Arnold A. Saltzman Assistant Professor in the Practice of International Politics at Columbia University.  In addition to serving as Chief of Party for the National Democratic Institute in Georgia from 2002-2004, he has worked on political development issues in the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, the Caribbean, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.  Mitchell also worked for years as a political consultant in New York City advising and managing domestic political campaigns.

In addition to his written publications, Mitchell has been quoted extensively in most major American, Georgian, and Russian newspapers and has appeared on numerous television and radio programs discussing relations between Georgia, Russia, and the United States, including All Things Considered, Lou Dobbs, NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, ABC Nightline, the Diane Rehm Show, the BBC, CNN International as well as in Russian and Georgian television. 

Mitchell received a Ph.D. from Columbia University’s Department of Political Science.

Selected Publications

"A Counterproductive Disdain." New York Times (August 31, 2011)

Article Text

“Georgia’s Story: Competing Narratives Since the War” Survival (August 2009)

“Compromising Democracy: State Building in Saakashvili’s Georgia,” Central Asian Survey (Summer 2009)

“Georgia Postbellum,” American Interest (May/June 2009)

With Alexander Cooley, “No Way to Treat Our Friends: Recasting Recent U.S.-Georgia Relations.” Washington Quarterly (Winter 2008)

Uncertain Democracy: U.S. Foreign Policy and Georgia’s Rose Revolution (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008)

Publisher Information

“Beyond Bombs and Ballots: Dispelling Myths about Democracy Assistance,” The National Interest (March/April 2007)

See All Publications by Lincoln Mitchell