Sociology Professor Receives Distinguished Dissertation Award

By Brian Laubscher
August 18, 2026

Ivan Shmatko, assistant professor of sociology at Washington and Lee University, was recently selected as one of two winners of the 2026 CAGS-ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award presented by the Canadian Association for Graduate Studies (CAGS).

Established in 1994, the award annually recognizes Canadian doctoral dissertations that make unusually significant and original contributions to their academic field. Winners are granted a $1,500 cash prize, certificate of recognition and an opportunity to attend the annual CAGS Conference held in Regina, Saskatchewan, in November 2026.

The award was adjudicated by a committee of eight expert judges, with Shmatko's dissertation, "Vernacular Army: Order Accomplishment in the Ukrainian Military During the Russian Invasion of Ukraine," achieving a near-perfect score from all judges.

Shmatko's dissertation examines how the Ukrainian Armed Forces sustained cohesion, coordination and resilience during one of the most difficult periods in the country's history. Working from extensive ethnographic fieldwork conducted during the full-scale Russian invasion, he traces how soldiers, commanders and military institutions absorbed the disruptions of war by relying on informal networks, trust and local knowledge.

His research shows that flexibility, improvisation and grassroots problem-solving can become essential sources of organizational strength for a military in times of crisis. The dissertation advances sociological theory and offers practical insight for scholars and policymakers who study military organizations, governance and institutional resilience in conflict and post-conflict settings.

Shmatko earned a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Alberta (Canada) in 2025 and previously served as a mentor at the Invisible University for Ukraine. He is entering his second year as a member of the W&L faculty and focuses his research and scholarship on the sociology of law, military ethnography and the ethnography of post-socialism.

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