Category: Ukraine

RUCARR Thesis Award 2024 awarded to Johan Richter

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The RUCARR Thesis Award 2024 has been awarded to Johan Richter for his MA thesis entitled “Milbloggers, Telegram, and the Russo-Ukraine War: The Role of Non-State Actors in Shaping Strategic Narratives during Global Conflict”- 

The Thesis Award was presented to Johan Richter by Prof. Mona Lilja, Head of Department, Global Political Studies, on October 22, 2024.

Excerpts from the statement by the jury:

Johan Richter’s thesis is an innovative study of Russian military bloggers  

and their role in influencing and amplifying the Russian regime’s discourse on the war in Ukraine.  The research design is elegant and sophisticated without being over-complicated. The amount of data he has used for this thesis, and the manner in which he handles the analysis and keeps the reader’s interest is impressive.

This is a thesis that contains high-quality original research and uses a systematic research framework. It is innovative and points the way forward to new possible lines of research in the study of authoritarian information spheres.

Children’s Literature and the War in Ukraine, Nov 14

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Children’s Literature and the War in Ukraine

When: 11/14/2024 2:15:00 PM
Where: Orkanen, E526, Nordenskiöldsgatan 10

https://staff.mau.se/first-page/calendar-for-staff/childrens-literature-and-the-war-in-ukraine/

Dr Aliona Yarova presents a Crafoord-funded postdoc project in which she has explored the societal and educational potential of Ukrainian children’s literature about the war. The talk, which is co-organized by the Faculty of Education and the University Library, will focus on her research in Ukrainian children’s literature, her collaboration with the NGO Poruch and her work with the “Schools of Peace”-project. The exhibition will feature some examples of children’s artworks – the result of creative writing workshops with three Ukrainian schools as well as an award-winning map of Ukraine made by the children which was displayed at the University of Tartu Art Museum. She will also discuss about the project’s future prospects, ideas of collaborative funding applications and a possibility to organize an exhibition showcasing children’s works.

RUCARR seminar with Prof. Irina Busygina, Oct 15

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Welcome to the seminar with Prof. Irina Busygina on October 15, the seminar room, 9th floor, Niagara:

Russia’s War against Ukraine: Implications on Russia’s Territorial Stability

Professor Irina Busygina is a Research Fellow at Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies at Harvard University and Researcher at the Center of Eastern European and International Studies (ZoiS) in Berlin. She previously worked as Professor of Comparative Politics at the Department of Political Science and International Relations (Higher School of Economics at Saint Petersburg, Russia) and headed the Center for Comparative Governance Studies. Her research interests include comparative federalism and decentralization, Russian domestic and foreign policy, Russia-EU relations.

Her latest publications include “Center-regional relations in Russia”. In: Routledge Handbook of Russian Politics and Society. Ed. by Graeme Gill. UK: Routledge, 2023 (with Mikhail Filippov); “Ready to Protest? Explaining Protest Potential in Russian Regional Capitals.” Regional and Federal Studies”, published online January 2023 (with Ekaterina Paustyan); “Pandemic Decentralization: COVID-19 and Principal–Agent Relations in Russia.” Problems of Post-Communism, Published online: 14 Sep 2022 (with Stanislav Klimovich). Her last book (coauthored by Mikhail Filippov) is “Non-Democratic Federalism and Decentralization in Post-Soviet States” (UK: Routledge 2024).

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Visit to RUCARR by the board of Friends of Georgia Society, SWEDEN

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Seminar and networking meeting at RUCARR with the Friends of Georgia Society

On August 30 RUCARR hosted a meeting with members of the board of the Friends of Georgia, Society, SWEDEN. The expertise and experience of the members of the board in various fields of business, culture, politics and other perspectives of the Georgian society is quite unique. Among them Chairman Sven Holmström with expertise in Georgian agriculture,  advisor to the board Per Eklund, former EU ambassador to Georgia and Armenia, professor Joakim Enwall (Uppsala University), one of the founding members and Georgian expert, Anuki Sturua, former secretary to the ambassador of Georgia to Sweden, Eric Jönsson, CEO to the Fulbright Commission in Stockholm and former honorary consul in Tbilisi, Bengt Carlström, chair of the Swedish-Georgian chamber of commerce, Ulrica Söderlind, Senior lecturer at Umeå University, gastronomic expert and the author of several books in the field, historian Ann Grönhammar and Suzanne Menzel Persson, with special inerest in travel in the Georgian highlands..

It was a pleasure for the RUCARR reseachers to present their research and activities with a focus on Georgia (see program below), and to have very lively and good discussions and networking among all participants. 

Prof. Derek Hutcheson, vice dean and RUCARR researcher, thanked chairman Sven Holmström and the Society on behalf of the Faculty Culture and Society nd RUCARR. (photo below).

Program

Prof. Karina Vamling, RUCARR och Sven Holmström, Chairman of  Friends of Georgia society: Welcome and introductory words
 
Karina Vamling, Prof: Presentation of Caucasus Studies and RUCARR
The online course in Georgian. “Swedish-Georigan contacts in the early years”
Dr. Manana Kock Kobaidze: “Literary translations Swedish-Georgian”
Dr. Revaz Tchantouria: “Two Georgian-Swedish art exhibitions”
Dr. Katrine Gotfredsen: “Everyday experiences and effects of occupation and borderization in Georgia: Displacement, precarity and social rupture”
PhD Candidate Nick Baigent: “Hydropower development and its political and social challenges in Georgia”
Dr. Michel Anderlini: ”EU and the Georgian dilemma”
Dr Tom Nilsson: ”Summer Academy for Young Professionals”
Dr Mariia Tyshchenko: “Empowering Civil Society in Eastern Partnership Countries”
Dr Svitlana Babenko: “Gender Studies and Russia’s War Challenges: Networking for Excellence in Teaching and Institutional Development”
Lecturer Teresa Tomasevic: “Teaching of Swedish at Tbilisi State University Exchange and cooperation”
 

Seminar May 21, 15:15-17:00: The inefficiency of EU leverage in Serbia during the Russia-Ukraine war

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The inefficiency of EU leverage in Serbia during the Russia-Ukraine war, Branislav Radeljić

When: May 21, 15.15-17:00 CET
Where: Zoom link https://mau-se.zoom.us/j/69865873540

The war in Ukraine has exposed a rift between Serbia and the Brussels administration. Serbia has been accused of aligning itself with Russia as opposed to the strictly pro-Ukrainian EU. In this talk, Prof. Radeljić will look at the nature of EU–Serbia relations, with a particular focus on (a) the relevance of EU norms and values as policy tools, (b) the foreign policy of Serbia under the Progressivists and the regime of Aleksandar Vučić, and (c) the rising influence of Russia and China in the Western Balkan region, which has been undermining the EU’s push for democratization and Europeanization.

Branislav Radeljić is Professor of International Relations in the Department of Government and Society, United Arab Emirates University. In addition, he serves as Visiting Professor of European Politics at Nebrija University. His scholarly interests focus on European and Middle Eastern political and socioeconomic developments. 

Seminar with Prof Stefan Hedlund, May 28

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Ukraine, Russia and the West

When Value Promotion Met Hard Power

Professor Stefan Hedlund, Uppsala University, Institue for Russian and Eurasian Studies

When: May 28, 15.15-16.30
Where: K3 Studio, C Area, 5th floor, Niagara building, Nordenskiöldsgatan 1
Zoom: https://mau-se.zoom.us/s/65067842259

Why did Russia’s all-out war against Ukraine come as such a surprise to the West? This is the key question considered in this broad-ranging book. It argues that Russia and the West had been playing different games: while Russia under Putin had become obsessed with using hard power to restore the Cold War security architecture in Europe, the major Western powers had become equally obsessed with value promotion that allegedly would ensure a global triumph for the values of the West, touted as “universal values.” While the Russian play for a sphere of interest was clearly defined and demarcated, the Western play for values was by definition without limits. Hence there could be no common ground and no common understanding. When push came to shove, Russian hard power trumped Western value promotion – and Ukraine was left to pay the price.

RUCARR and MIM seminar with Prof. Aadne Aasland, April 23

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The reception of Ukrainian refugees in Norway: Experiences of refugees and frontline workers

When: April 23, 11.00-12.50
Where: Niagara Building, room TBA

Prof. Aadne Aasland’s presentation will address the following:

1. How do Ukrainian refugees experience their settlement and integration in Norway? 

2. What are the frontline workers’ assessments of challenges and opportunities related to the settlement and integration of Ukrainian refugees? 

3. What similarities and disparities are there between the Ukrainian refugees and the frontline workers’ assessments and perspectives, and what are the main challenges and dilemmas? 

Bio

Aadne Aasland is a research professor at Oslo Metropolitan University, and conducts research on social welfare, migration and integration, ethnicity, and diversity, with a particular focus on Russia, Ukraine, and the Baltic countries. Currently, he is leading a project on Norwegian cooperation with Russia on health and welfare in the Barents region (RE:Barents) and participating in a project on how Russia promotes its interests in Norway and Western Europe (PRORUSS). Recently, Aadne completed a major project on addressing regional diversity in Ukraine (ARDU). Read more here: https://www.oslomet.no/en/about/employee/aadnea/

 

 

March 26th, 15:15-17:00 double seminar with Oguzhan Mutluer and Nino Javakhishvili & Nino Butsashvili

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Double seminar, March 26,  15.15–17.00

Where: Seminar room, 8th floor, C 0826, Niagara buidling (alternatelively, zoom https://mau-se.zoom.us/s/67806213523

15:15-16:00: Research on the Films of the Russian-Ukrainian War

Oğuzhan Mutluer holds a Doctoral degree from İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University, International Relations. Currently, he is a research assistant at Eskişehir Osmangazi University, Turkey. His research interests include films & politics, memory politics, the history of Soviet and post-Soviet Russian cinema, and contemporary Russian politics.

Abstract

The Russian-Ukrainian War has been one of the critical conflicts in world politics in the last decade and the latest invasion stage has been the most significant military conflict in Europe since the end of the Second World War. While the impact of the conflict on world politics is particular in terms of power politics, perceptions of the war also have a substantial part for both sides. Cultural mediums may affect perceptions to mobilize the masses and make them experience conflict throughout a narrative. The main topic of my research is to analyze the Russian-Ukrainian War-based films to understand the perceptions of each side. For this purpose, I will ask, “How has the crisis been represented in the national cinemas of Ukraine and Russia?” as a question. I claim that the visual discourse on the big screen may help us to understand perceptions and motivations about the war as films can represent, construct and modify reality. In the first step of the research, I will focus on Russian and Ukrainian film politics. Then, I will categorize the films through their genres. In the next stage, I will analyze the films using sociological, political-ideological and historical analysis, semiotics, auteur analysis and genre analysis. The main goal of the research is to find similar or contradicting patterns in both Ukrainian and Russian films depicting the conflict.

 

16:00:-17:00: Contestation but not Euroscepticism: economic and security concerns and the fear of losing national traditions in Georgia

 

Presenter – Nino Javakhishvili is a full professor of psychology at the School of Arts and Sciences and director of D. Uznadze Institute of Psychology at Ilia State University. She is widely published locally and internationally and her research and teaching focus are intergroup relations, identity formation and gender equality, among others.

Co-author – Nino Butsashvili, PhD in psychology, is a research assistant at D. Uznadze Institute of Psychology at Ilia State University. She is involved in several research projects, including studies which focus on intergroup relations and identity formations.

Abstract

This paper examines the role of utilitarian, political and cultural/identity-based factors of Euroscepticism on a nationwide representative sample of ethnic Georgians (dataset from the study of “Knowledge of and attitudes toward the EU in Georgia, 2021”). Hierarchical multiple logistic regression showed that for ethnic Georgians, utilitarian factors are the strongest predictors of support for the EU integration, followed by cultural/identity and political variables, supporting the rational choice theory. These predictors are, in turn, anteceded by popular perceptions of the EU in Georgia. Mediation analysis revealed that the perception of the EU as a source of peace and security precedes the hope for an increase in national security with its support (political predictor). Likewise, the perception of the EU as a champion of the economic development antecedes the hope for reduced poverty in Georgia (utilitarian predictor). These consequences, in turn, lead to decision to vote for the EU membership. On the other hand, the perception of the EU as a threat to national traditions does not predict Euroscepticism. We elaborate on this result through an examination of the current political atmosphere of Georgia, where we determine that fears of losing national traditions are outweighed by fears of economic and political insecurity.

 

RUCARR Thesis Award 2023 to Lara Sánchez Gil

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Lara Sanchez Gil received the RUCARR Thesis Award 2023 for her MA thesis Being together through ICTs
Transnational family practices in the context of Ukrainian forced migration. It was written as an MA thesis in the subject International Migration and Ethnic Relations, at the Department of Global Political Studies, Malmö University. Supervisor: Katarina Mozetič. The prize was awarded by Dean of the Faculty of Culture and Society, Annika Olsson, Our warm congratulations to Lara!

 

An Honorauble mention was awarded to Johan Richter for his BA Thesis The Russia and China Disinformation Nexus (below). Supervisor: Isobel Squire.

The RUCARR thesis competition for BA and Masters levels at Malmö University is organized by the research platform Russia, Ukraine and the Caucasus Regional Research (RUCARR). The aim of this competition is to promote interest among students in the current development in the region.