Events

Europe and Central Asia are linked by decades of commodity trade, but also by developing climate cooperation. Yet Central Asia plays a limited role in the European public debate on global climate change and energy transition. Both global and local energy transitions pose significant challenges for Central Asia, given its rapidly growing population, ageing infrastructure, heavy dependence on fossil fuels and climate change. At the same time, the transition to renewable energy and the development of hydrogen production and net zero value chains offer new opportunities for all countries in the region. The conference is designed to attract a broad audience, including researchers, policy makers and members of civil society.

On March 29, 2004, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia formally acceded to NATO in what was the biggest enlargement round in the history of the Alliance. Since then, the seven countries, which represent much of NATO‘s eastern flank, have contributed extensively to the implementation of NATO‘s core tasks and policy priorities, and to this day remain among the most active and supportive members of the Alliance. Since Lithuania hosted the NATO Summit in 2023 and the Netherlands are poised to host one in 2025, this event will provide a unique opportunity to combine an anniversary celebration and a focused discussion on the past, present and future of the North Atlantic Alliance. This event, therefore, will focus both on highlighting the impact of the 2004 enlargement, as well as the challenges NATO faces on its eastern flank and how the Alliance can face those.

Abkhaz, Armenians, Azerbaijani and Georgians have long co-existed in a region framed as the South Caucasus. These different ethnic categories result from socio-political constructions that are rarely questioned. Playing a pivotal role in the wars that have unfolded in the region, ethnic categorization is particularly central in shaping current antagonizations. Since the late 1980s, the coexistence of differently ethnicised populations in the South Caucasus has been deeply challenged by a series of conflicts, wars and pogroms. Since 24 February 2022, the co-existence of Abkhaz, Armenians, Azerbaijani and Georgians has been unfolding against the backdrop of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, bringing an additional layer of complexity.

During the lecture, the speaker Dr. Kseniya Oksamytna (City University of London) will present her article “Imperialism, supremacy, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine” published in Contemporary Security Policy in 2023.

17 March Putin is scheduled to be elected president of the Russian Federation for yet another six years in office, in spite of launching a devastating war against Ukraine and letting oppositional politician Alexei Navalny die in prison. Putin will be the eighth president of Russia since the fall of communism, but he was also the seventh, the sixth, the fourth and the third. Since the start of this millennium he has ruled the country in an increasingly authoritarian way. Elections in Russia have since become a farce, a kind of political theatre or circus that has little to do with democracy. The field of candidates is tightly controlled, opposition politicians sidelined, jailed or murdered and the election results are falsified. How did this come about? When was democracy lost in Russia – or was it perhaps an empty letter from the very start? What purposes do elections serve in Russia's political system if not the election of the country's leaders? On March 13 the IISH and the Moscow Times jointly organize an event to reflect on Russia's presidential elections, past, present and future. With presentations by Gijs Kessler and Mikhail Fishman, followed by a panel discussion with Samantha Berkhead, Alexander Gubsky, and Kristina Petrasova.

Get ready for the March programme of Eastsplainers! In this final edition of Eastsplainers we devote our attention to academia and the knowledge production in Central and Eastern Europe, and in Ukraine in particular.

Namens de Rusland & Oost-Europa Kennis Alliantie (REKA) nodigen wij u graag uit voor het symposium Oekraïne in de EU: geopolitieke en economische kansen op maandag 4 maart aanstaande van 12:30 uur tot 16:30 uur in Internationaal Perscentrum Nieuwspoort in Den Haag.

Two years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the war continues to cause extreme civilian harm and military casualties and has changed Ukrainian society to the core. Two years of war in Europe also changed perceptions of NATO and the defence policies of European countries, whilst the EU decided to open accession negotiations with Ukraine. Yet, war in the Middle East and rising tensions in Asia have also directed international attention away from Ukraine. Promised weapon deliveries materialise slower than foreseen, and public support for Ukraine is not as self-evident as it was just after the invasion.

This JIRD Special Forum Discussion by UKRAINE-PLUS will aim to critically reflect on individual, institutional and disciplinary stratification and authority in debates of and about war.

Given the current geo-political situation, have you wondered which philosophers influenced Putin's perspective on Russia? Additionally, what alternatives does Russian thought offer to his "Russian World" ideology? Come explore the religious-philosophical sources which contribute to this discussion and the role of religion in present-day Russia, by joining the course Russian Religious Philosophy in the Silver Age.

Poetin stortte Europa in de grootste oorlog sinds de Tweede Wereldoorlog. Nog steeds fascineert de vraag waarom hij eigenhandig het pad van de vernietiging koos. Hoe radicaliseerde Poetin? En op welke historische en religieuze gronden rechtvaardigt hij de oorlog?

In the November edition of Eastsplainers, we explore cinematic representations of Central and Eastern Europe.