Marlène Laruelle (born 21 December 1972) is a French historian, sociologist, and political scientist specializing on Eurasia and Europe. She is Research Professor and Director of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at the George Washington University (GW). Laruelle is also a Co-Director of PONARS (Program on New Approaches to Research and Security in Eurasia), Director of GW’s Central Asia Program, and Director of GW's Illiberalism Studies Program. She received her Ph.D. in history at the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Cultures (INALCO) and spent time as a post-doc in the area of political science at Sciences Po in Paris. She is Senior Associate Scholar at the Institut français des relations internationales (IFRI). Her particular focus of interest