My name is Mane Avagyan, and I currently serve as the Editorial Lead for the USC Global Policy Institute. Now in my second year with GPI, I oversee written content development and contribute to the Institute’s research and editorial direction. I am a Sophomore at the University of Southern California majoring in International Relations with a minor in Business Finance. My main interest areas include authoritarianism, Eastern Europe, the post-Soviet region, and global political economy, and I am particularly drawn to the ways political systems and economic structures shape regional and international outcomes.