Debattinlägg – “Rekryteringsmark för IS i Uzbekistan”

“If Uzbekistan does not undergo reforms, the conditions for recruitment to radical Islamistic groups will further increase”  – Article by Dr. Märta-Lisa Magnusson, Senior lecturer in Caucasus Studies at Malmö University – Published in the Swedish daily newspaper Sydsvenskan, 2017-04-11.

Debattinlägg: ”Om Uzbekistan inte reformeras skapas än större förutsättningar för rekrytering till radikala islamistiska grupper.”

Uzbekistan har drabbats av bombexplosioner och andra dåd som regimen stämplat som terrorbrott av jihadister. Vissa hävdar att regimen utnyttjar hotet från terrorism för att rättfärdiga brutala angrepp på oppositionella. Hur många uzbeker som rekryterats till IS är ovisst. Det skriver Märta-Lisa Magnusson, universitetslektor i Kaukasusstudier vid Malmö högskola.

Read the article: https://www.sydsvenskan.se/…/om-uzbekistan-inte-reformeras-…

Circassian refugees from Syria

Web/campus seminar “Circassian refugees from Syria” on March 29. Introduction by Dr. Lars Funch Hansen, Section for Caucasus Studies.

Presentation by Sola-Samar Zakaria, herself a recent refugee from Syria,  followed by discussion with participation of representatives from the new Circassian diaspora in Sweden.

  • When: 15.15, March 29
  • Where: Studio on the 5th floor, C0502 (Niagara)

Short background
Most of the Circassians in North Caucasus were displaced to the Ottoman Empire in the 1860s, following the Russian military expansion in the Caucasus. The largest Circassian diaspora is found in Turkey, but large groups live in many courtries of the Middle East. Before the war, an estimated 100,000 Circassians lived in Syria. Today, many Circassians have been displaced once more and have found refuge in different countries, including Sweden

 

Seminar on Pro-Western and Pro-Russian Tendencies in Georgia’s Foreign Policy

Welcome to a web & campus seminar on February 28, 3.30 pm (Swedish time) with Dr. David Matsaberidze, who will give a paper on the topic:  “Pro-Western and Pro-Russian Tendencies in Georgia’s Foreign Policy”

David Matsaberidze is Assistant professor of International Relations at the Faculty of Social and Political Science, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University.

When
3.30 pm (Swedish time)

Where
Campus seminar – Niagara building  C0502. http://wpmu.mah.se/rucarr/about/visit-us/
Web seminar – for Malmö University students & staff: LIVE Lecture & live chat
Follow the seminar online at: https://blogg.mah.se/caucasusstudies/video/

Two RUCARR papers on the future of the EU

Welcome to this semester’s first RUCARR seminars! Due to unforseen circumstances we will have to make a change in the programme.

Paper (1)

Associate professor Derek Hutchesson (European Studies, Dept. of Global Political Studies) will give the presentation: Brexit, the future of the EU and its implications for the wider Europe

When: February 7, 14-16.
Where: C826, Niagara building

Paper (2)

Prof. Bo Petersson, (left) Co-Director of RUCARR,  will present a new book chapter: Perspektiv på östutvidgningen: EU:s triumf eller fröet till dess undergång? 

The chapter is included in the new publication: Tilliten i EU vid ett vägskäl. Europaperspektiv 2017. Santérus förlag.
Discussant: Associate professor Derek Hutchesson.

When: March 14, 14-16.
Where: Niagara building

 

First RUCARR seminars 2017: February 7 and March 14

Welcome to this semester’s first RUCARR seminars! Due to unforseen circumstances we will have to make a change in the programme.

Paper (1)

Associate professor Derek Hutchesson (European Studies, Dept. of Global Political Studies) will give the presentation: Brexit, the future of the EU and its implications for the wider Europe

When: February 7, 14-16.
Where: C826, Niagara building

Paper (2)

Prof. Bo Petersson, (left) Co-Director of RUCARR,  will present a new book chapter: Perspektiv på östutvidgningen: EU:s triumf eller fröet till dess undergång?
Discussant: Associate professor Derek Hutchesson.

When: March 14, 14-16.
Where: Niagara building

The chapter is included in the new publication: Tilliten i EU vid ett vägskäl. Europaperspektiv 2017. Santérus förlag.

 

RUCARR scholars participated in ICLD roundtable meeting

RUCARR scholars Bo Petersson, Derek Hutcheson, Erika Svedberg and Karina Vamling participated in a roundtable meeting held by the Swedsh International Center for Local Democracy (ICLD, http://www.icld.se/eng/start.pab) in Malmö, December 12-13.

The goal of the roundtable was to bring together Russian and Swedish researchers experienced in studying local governance.

Prof. Bo Petersson and Dr. Derek Hutcheson gave the presentation “Master-planning, local involvement and sustainable urban development in Scandinavia and Russia”.

RUCARR Inaugural conference, December 8–9 2016

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Opening addresses
Prof. Kerstin Tham, Vice-Chancellor of Malmö University.
Ambassador Ingrid Tersman, Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Chair of RUCARR Advisory Board.
RUCARR Co-directors, Prof. Bo Petersson and Prof. Karina Vamling

Keynote1 – Prof. Vladmir Gel’man (European University at Saint-Petersburg & University of Helsinki): Authoritarian Russia: Analyzing Post-Soviet Regime Changes.
Discussant: Dr. Carolina Vendil Pallin (Swedish Defence Research Agency, Stockholm)

Keynote 2 – Prof. Stephen Jones (Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts): Can the South Caucasian States Break with their Past?
Discussant: Senior lecturer, Dr. Märta-Lisa Magnusson (Malmö University)

Roundtable discussionAuthoritarianisms Past and Present: What Prospects Ahead?
Prof. Vladmir Gel’man, Prof. Stephen Jones, Dr. Märta-Lisa Magnusson, Dr. Carolina Vendil Pallin, Dr. Jeremy Morris (Aarhus University), Dr. Derek Hutcheson (Malmö University) and others. Moderator is Dr. Katrine Gotfredsen (Malmö University).

Sign-up for the conference

gatuvyThe inaugural conference of the research platform Russia and the Caucasus Regional Research (RUCARR) will be held at the Faculty of Culture and Society, Malmö University on December 8-9, 2016. The conference will include presentations from internationally leading experts on Russia and the Caucasus. Keynote addresses will be delivered by Prof Vladmir Gel’man (European University at Saint Petersburg & University of Helsinki) and Prof Stephen Jones (Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts)

Please, use the sign-up link. Looking forward to seeing you
Bo Petersson and Karina Vamling
RUCARR Co-directors

Read more: PROGRAMME

Perspectives on fieldwork in the Caucasus, late 1980s–early1990s

A workshop was held on November 24-25 at the Section for Caucasus Studies, with support from the research platform RUCARR. The focus of the workshop was to discuss perspectives on fieldwork in the Caucasus during the period shortly before and after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Participants in the workshop were Lars Funch Hansen, Helen Krag, Märta-Lisa Magnusson, Søren Theisen and Karina Vamling, who all conducted research in different parts of the Caucasus during this period of transition (Ib Faurby and Vibeke Sperling were not present at the workshop).