Month: May 2026
Seminar May 19: The Colonial Imaginary of ‘Europe’ in the EU’s Asymmetrical Response to the Russian and Israeli Aggressions: Ukraine as a Member of the ‘Family’ Whilst ‘Othering’ Palestine
🎓Welcome to our online seminar!
Seminar May 19: The Colonial Imaginary of ‘Europe’ in the EU’s Asymmetrical Response to the Russian and Israeli Aggressions: Ukraine as a Member of the ‘Family’ Whilst ‘Othering’ Palestine
🎤Alvaro Oleart, Post-doctoral Researcher at the Université Libre de Belgique (ULB)
📅May 19, 15:15-17:00
🏢Zoom: https://lnkd.in/e8wPDsrm
Abstract: What is ‘Europe’? The response to this question is not straightforward, as ‘Europe’ is a floating signifier that is in constant renegotiation. In this article, we focus on the imaginary of ‘Europe’ that has been deployed in the most salient international crises of the last years that have heavily shaken European Union (EU) politics: the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the attack of Hamas on 7 October 2023, followed by the ensuing offensive of Israel on the Palestinian Gaza Strip. More concretely, we ask: what is the narrative of ‘Europe’ articulated by the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, and the HRVP, Josep Borrell, in response to these events? We argue that, in the context of these two cases, two distinct imaginaries of ‘Europe’ have been mobilised based on differentiated conceptualisations of the relationship of ‘Europe’ to Ukraine and Palestine. Whereas Ukraine is conceived as part of the ‘European family’, there is a process of ‘othering’ Palestine. Our article exposes the racism and double standards of the EU in regard to the defence of international law and human rights, the exclusiveness of who belongs to ‘Europe’ and the continuity of the colonial thinking that permeates the narratives of EU leaders.
Seminar May 12: From role change to policy change: EU member states and change in EU foreign policy after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Seminar May 12: From role change to policy change: EU member states and change in EU foreign policy after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
🎤Tyyne Karjalainen, Research Fellow in the European Union research programme at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs – FIIA (FIIA)
📅May 12, 15:15-17:00
🏢Zoom: https://lnkd.in/ejcufBbr
Abstract: Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine has led to a fundamental rethinking of EU foreign policy, including enlargement, security and defence and energy policy. This lecture builds on a recent article published in the Journal of European Integration and analyses the EU policy shift as an outcome of the member states’ co‑constitutive role changes: abandoning opposition to enlargement, renouncing the energy partnership with Russia, and the military turn. It shows that these changes remain contested and highly context-specific, limiting outcomes of the EU policy shift. While the EU is increasingly expected to implement its new defence agenda, the member states’ objectives remain fragmented. In enlargement policy, the member states’ role changes are not sufficient for enlargement to materialise.
Tyyne Karjalainen is a Research Fellow in the European Union research programme at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA) since 2020, and a doctoral researcher in political science at the University of Turku since 2021. Her research focuses on European security, Ukraine, the EU’s foreign and security policies, and EU enlargement. She has also published on peacebuilding, crisis management, and peace mediation. Her work has appeared in several peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of European Integration, European Journal of International Security, The International Spectator, and Contemporary Social Science.
Seminar June 2: Russian-led Eurasia: still holding together, but for how long?
🎤Sean Roberts, Senior Lecturer and Ulrike Ziemer PhD, Senior Lecturer, both from University of Winchester
📅June 2, 13:15-15:00
🏢Zoom: https://lnkd.in/eFB3P9Ua
Abstract: Developments in the post-Soviet space continue to raise important questions on the strength of Russia’s regional leadership. However, gauging the cohesion of Russian-led Eurasia is complicated by competing images of Russia’s relations with long-standing allies—notably Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan—which are often portrayed in terms of a ‘community of fate’ or partners destined for closer integration but also as a ‘community of fortune’ or ad hoc, situational partners, loosely centered on Russia. By drawing on the English School of International Relations and considering Russian-led Eurasia as an example of a nascent, regional interstate society, bound together by shared interests and values but also Russian hegemony, we understand how Russia’s ‘rights’ and ‘responsibilities’ serve to simultaneously unite and divide the region.