Month: September 2021

Seminar with Prof. Vello Pettai Sept 28

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Foresight Scenarios on Populism: Imagining Central and Eastern European Politics in 2030

Welcome to the RUCARR seminar with Prof. Vello Pettai, University of Tartu: Foresight Scenarios on Populism: Imagining Central and Eastern European Politics in 2030

When: September 28, 3-5 pm (Swedish time)

Where: Zoom, sign-up here

Abstract

Foresight research offers a range of techniques and perspectives in order to analyse political trends looking toward the future. This presentation will lay out a series of foresight scenarios about populist politics in Central and Eastern Europe that have been developed within the EU Horizon-2020 project “POPREBEL”. The scenarios are not meant as predictions, but rather as perspective-enhancing exercises about how different drivers might come together to create different outcomes by 2030. Participants will be asked to provide their analytical advice about how to improve the scenarios.

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New publications by Dr Kamal Makili-Aliyev

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RUCARR researcher Dr Kamal Makili-Aliyev has recenly publised two new articles:

  • ‘The Perspective of Post-Soviet States on the Burqa Ban. A Study of the Delegalization of Religious Headwear in Post-Soviet States’, in Matwijkiw A. and Oriolo A. eds., Law, Cultural Studies and the Burqa Ban, Cambridge: Intersentia, 2021, pp. 329-348. (ISBN 978-1-83970-058-3) <https://bit.ly/3DgGffy> 
  • ‘The Role of Azerbaijan in the Non-Aligned Movement Through the Lens of International Law and Security’, in Dimitrijević D. and Čavoški J. eds., The 60th Anniversary of the Non-Aligned Movement, Belgrade: Institute of International Politics and Economics, 2021, pp. 359-370. (ISBN 978-86-7067-283-3) <https://doi.org/10.18485/iipe_60nam.2021.ch20>
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Seminar with Dr. Nino Antadze – October 19

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The role of traditional rituals in resisting energy injustice: The case of hydropower developments in Svaneti, Georgia

RUCARR seminar with Dr. Nino Antadze (University of Prince Edward Island)

October 19, 3.15 pm (zoom)

Sign-up here

Abstract

This study with co-author Kety Gujaraidze intervenes in the energy justice literature by bringing to the foreground the local, emplaced, and bottom-up perspective. We specifically explore the potential of place-based agency, expressed in the form of traditional rituals, to expand the repertoire of extra-institutional means of resistance against various manifestations of energy injustice. We investigate the recent developments in the hydropower sector in the Svaneti region of the Republic of Georgia. Based on a qualitative research design involving personal interviews and document analysis, we explain how and why the traditional ritual of taking the oath of unity on the icon of St. George has been used to oppose hydropower developments, and how the employment of this extra-institutional action is linked to the changed political opportunity structure. In addition to underscoring the need to recognize and respect the cultural and religious importance assigned to traditional rituals by local communities, the findings of our study imply a need to consider traditional rituals not merely as symbolic or/and performative means of resistance, but also as political tools that may have a significant impact on the development of energy projects.

Bio

Dr. Nino Antadze is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Prince Edward Island (Canada). Dr. Antadze studies environmental planning processes with the emphasis on environmental and energy justice, and large-scale environmental change with the focus on climate justice and just transitions. Dr. Antadze earned a PhD in urban and regional planning from the University of Waterloo, Canada. She also holds an MSc in Environmental Management and Policy from Lund University, Sweden and an MSc in Environmental Sciences and Policy from Central European University, Hungary.