Category: Events

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.

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 May 7 “Empire of Refugees: North Caucasian Muslims and the Late Ottoman State” with Dr Hamed-Troyansky

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RUCARR seminar with Dr. Vladimir Hamed-Troyansky, Ass. Prof. of Global Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara:

Empire of Refugees: North Caucasian Muslims and the Late Ottoman State

 

When: May 7, 17.00-18.15 CET

Where: zoom https://mau-se.zoom.us/j/62352627321

Between the 1850s and World War I, about one million Muslims from the Russian Empire’s North Caucasus region sought refuge in the Ottoman Empire. In his new book, Empire of Refugees: North Caucasian Muslims and the Late Ottoman State, Dr. Vladimir Hamed-Troyansky examines how Circassian, Chechen, Dagestani, and other refugees transformed the late Ottoman Empire and how the Ottoman government managed Muslim refugee resettlement. Empire of Refugees argues that, in response to Muslim migrations from Russia, the Ottoman government created a refugee regime, which predated refugee systems set up by the League of Nations and the United Nations. The book also revises our understanding of how Russia used migration policies to govern the Caucasus and its Muslim populations.

Bio

Dr. Vladimir Hamed-Troyansky is a historian of global migration and forced displacement and Assistant Professor of Global Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His research examines Muslim refugee migration and its role in shaping the modern world. He is the author of Empire of Refugees: North Caucasian Muslims and the Late Ottoman State (Stanford University Press, 2024). His articles appeared in Past & Present, Comparative Studies in Society and History, International Journal of Middle East Studies, Slavic Review, and Kritika. He received a Ph.D. in History from Stanford University and served as a postdoctoral fellow at Columbia University.

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/

 

 

RUCARR seminar with Doctoral Fellow Natalia Iost – March 12

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The Influence of Critical Junctures with Russian Involvement on its Standing in the Baltic States. The Analysis of Narratives and Public Perceptions

When: March 12, 2024, 15.15-16.30
Where: Niagara building, 9th floor, seminar room (zoom: https://mau-se.zoom.us/s/64204938730)

Natalia Iost studied political science and Jewish theology in the Universities of Heidelberg, Stuttgart, and the University of Jewish Studies. Today, she is a Doctoral Fellow in the University of Greifswald’s International Research Training Group: Baltic Peripeties – Narratives of Reformations, Revolutions, and Catastrophes.

Abstract

Critical junctures with Russian involvement have always affected the security situation in the Baltic states. The Russian-Georgia War (2008), the Annexation of Crimea (2014), as well as the beginning of the Russian-Ukraine War in 2022 caused a splash in security narratives, which increasingly depict Russia as the main threat. In my analysis, I apply securitization theory to show how critical junctures such as international crises and wars influenced the securitization of Russia in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania in the last 30 years. I will answer the questions of how exactly the depictions of Russia changed in the security narratives of the Baltic states in the aftermath of the international crises. Which Russia-related issues started to be perceived as a threat? And which strategies were discussed to combat the threats? In the next step, I will analyze the changes in public attitudes towards Russia in all BSR countries. I claim that critical junctures with Russian involvement considerably influenced security narratives and public attitudes in the Baltic states and the whole Baltic Sea region, shifting Russia to the very center of security concerns.

Seminar Febr 6 with Dr Lena Hercberga: Understanding difference and disagreement among young Russian speakers in Latvia

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Welcome to the first RUCARR seminar this spring semester. On Tuesday February 6, 15.15–16.30 Dr Lena Hercberga (Copenhagen Business School) will present her research:

How to be many: understanding difference and disagreement among young Russian speakers in Latvia

Lena Hercberga (Copenhagen Business School) holds a Doctoral degree from the University of Bristol, UK. Her current research interests include revisiting post-Soviet identity struggles, social cleavages, and democracy from alternative points of view, such as e.g., radical democracy and agonistic pluralism. Additionally, Lena is interested in self-reflexive forms of inquiry and non-conventional research methods

Abstract

This self-reflexive ethnographic study aims to contribute to the knowledge about minoritised young Russian speakers in Latvia by understanding how a group of young Russophone high-school students (aged 16-18) perceive and perform difference in the context of long-lasting exclusionary minority politics in the country. By applying the theoretical lens of Chantal Mouffe’s agonistic pluralism, the study was able to foreground moments of disagreement and conflict – as opposed to the conventional focus on the moments of consolidation and unity – with ‘the other’. The methodological approach to extend school ethnography to an urban walking experiment allowed to account for Mouffe’s emerging and nomadic conception of identity as well as to observe the group’s engagement with ‘the different’ in a less confined setting.
 
The study contributes to the pool of previous research in this field by unpacking complexity behind the relations of the research participants with ‘self’ and ‘the other’. The process of perceiving and performing difference by these young people can be described as a balancing act of two contradictory yet complementary behaviours: 1) displacement across various discursive fields in the process of self-making, and 2) fixation – when the research participants perform their difference according to the context and structures of power in place. By being able to navigate complex structures of power, social norms and expectations ‘on the surface’, these young people thus negotiate a ‘backstage’ space where they can be many, i.e., enact multiple, at times conflicting discursive fields in the process of self-making. By depicting the research participants as constituted through multiple subject positions, the study contributes to the critique of binary conception of Latvian society along ethnic lines, as well as to more global issues of democratising minority/majority relations in post-Soviet/post-colonial contexts.

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. 

RUCARR Seminar with Prof. Oleg Mazuryk, Dec 13

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Prof. Oleg Mazuryk, Social Structures and Social Relations Department at the Faculty of Sociology at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv:

Civic Engagement in the Context of the Russian War in Ukraine: Practice and Research

When: December 13, 15.15
Where: Niagra building, 9th floor, room 1029
Zoom: https://mau-se.zoom.us/j/67665494034

Abstract

Prof. Oleg Mazuryk will be speaking on the topic of ‘Civic Engagement in the Context of the Russian War in Ukraine: Practice and Research,’ focused of his ongoing research on the phenomenon of self-organization and social cohesion within Ukrainian society. His study is done in cooperation with the Ukrainian Evaluation Association. From the full-scale invasion in Feb 2024, there was an epicenter of social activities and hostilities in the Kyiv region, near the now globally renowned town of Bucha. The intention behind this initiative is to document the first-hand experience of Ukrainian resistance to Russian aggression, aiming at making this valuable information accessible for academic and professional scrutiny. The findings of the research into the self-organization and unification of Ukrainians are derived from a comprehensive analysis of 142 in-depth interviews. It is important to note that this is a work in progress, with further insights and data yet to be gathered and analyzed. This presentation will delve into the role that civic engagement played at the onset of the full-scale invasion and how it can contribute to the further development of a sustainable and democratic society in the post-war period.

Bio

Prof. Oleg Mazuryk is the Head of Social Structures and Social Relations Department at the Faculty of Sociology at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine. His research interests encompass social audit, social control, social responsibility, monitoring, and evaluation of social programs and projects. He serves as the head of the NGO Social Audit Centre and the chairman of the Ukrainian Evaluation Association. His primary efforts are directed toward the training of young evaluators, the promotion of an evaluation culture, and the development of professional and civic competencies.

RUCARR Seminar with Prof. Vladimir Gel’man, November 28

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Prof. Vladimir Gel’man: Why Russia Fails: Origins of the Ukrainian Catastrophe

You are welcome to attend a lecture by Vladimir Gelman, professor at Aleksanteriinstitutet, University of Helsiniki, and new member of RUCARR’s Advisory Board. He will talk about ‘Why Russia Fails: Origins of the Ukrainian Catastrophe’, which also is the subjet of his coming book. The event is a collaboration with Global Europe & International Cooperation (GEIC).

Vladimir Gelman’s areas of expertise include Russian and post-Soviet politics and governance. This knowledge is applied in a theoretical and comparative perspective with a special emphasis on political regime dynamics, political institutions, policy-making, electoral and party politics, regional, and local government.

His most recent book isThe Politics of Bad Governance in Contemporary Russia (University of Michigan Press, 2022). Previous works include Authoritarian Russia: Analyzing Post-Soviet Regime Changes (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2015) and Authoritarian Modernization in Russia: Ideas, Institutions, and Policies (Routledge, 2017). He also authored scholarly articles in Post-Soviet Affairs, International Political Science Review, East European Politics, and other journals.

When: November 28, 15-17

Where: Niagara, K3 Studio 5th floor, C0541

Please, sign up here by Nov 27