Prof. Oliver Reisner, Ilia State University, Tbilisi, gave a seminar to staff and students during his visit to RUCARR, Malmö University on October 9-10. The topic of his presentation was Social Cohesion and Political Developments in Contemporary Georgia, which was followed by a lively discussion. Thank you so much for sharing your ideas and research on this timely topic!
On October 9 Michel Anderlini, PhD Student in Global Politics, presented his thesis work in the first 20% seminar in new the Global Politics PhD programme. The title of the presentation: “Who do I call if I want to speak to Europe?”: Role contestation of the EU Special Representative and Selective Compliance in Georgia. Discussant: Prof. Patrik Hall.
Dr. Kamal Makili-Aliyev, Researcher at Faculty of Law, Lund University and the Dept. of Global Political Studies, Malmö University: The evolution of the principle of self-determination: from Åland Islands to Nagorno-Karabakh and Catalonia.
When: September 10, 15.15-17.00.
Where: NIC0826, Niagara building (Nordenskiöldsgatan 1).
The seminar will introduce part of the research efforts of Kamal Makili-Aliyev in comparative international law and conflict resolution. The right of peoples to self-determination and its evolution from the international legal point of view is one of the key topics of his research. The full results of his research will feature in the upcoming monograph titled “Contested Territories and International Law” that is scheduled for the release in late October 2019 by Routledge and will introduce a comprehensive international legal analysis of the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict and the Åland Islands precedent.
Guranda Bursulaia, PhD Candidate at Free University in Tbilisi (Georgia) and Swedish Institute visiting researcher at Caucasus Studies, Malmö University, will give the presentation: “Silence as a Narrator: The Case of the Georgian History Textbooks” at the Caucasus Studies web & campus seminar on May 7.
Where: Glocal Classroom C0502 (http://bit.ly/2UKX1fg),
5th floor, Niagara Building. Please, write to caucasus.studies@mau.se
in case you are interested in following the seminar online.
When: 15.15–17.00, May 7.
The seminar is about the construction of collective memory about the 1992-1993 war in Abkhazia in the Georgian school history textbooks. Guranda will discuss the transformation of the textbooks throughout the last 25 years marked with major political and social changes in the country. Besides, silencing, as an instrument of major narrative formation, and masterminds behind it will be analyzed using the example of the Georgian textbooks.
The RUCARR seminar on March 26 will welcome three presenters from the Department of History, Lund University:
Klas-Göran Karlsson is Professor of History, working with genocide studies and several other areas within international contemporary history. Maria Småberg, PhD in History and Assistant Director of Studies at the National Graduate School of History, works with a project on the Swedish missionary and genocide eyewitness Alma Johansson. Maria Karlsson has written a PhD thesis on genocide denial, “Cultures of Denial: Comparing Holocaust and Armenian Genocide Denial”, and works within the research project “The Lessons of Communist and Nazi History”, conducted by Klas-Göran Karlsson. They all represent the Department of History, Lund University.
When: March 26, 15-17 (for external participants, please come to the reception at 14.45)
Where: Room C0929, Niagara building, Nordenskiöldsgatan 1, Malmö
Armenian Genocide Memorial complex of Tsitsernakaberd, Yerevan, Armenia
Photo: Flickr David Stanley
Dr. Mikhail Suslov: Fantasy and Politics in Contemporary Russian Science Fiction
When: February 14, 13.15
Where: Niagara Building, Nordenskiöldsgatan 1, Room: NIC:1029 
Abstract
This talk inquires into the ways in which utopian narratives interact with political discourses and facilitate identity-making in post-Soviet Russia. The paper brings together various academic perspectives, including literature studies, cultural studies, and studies of ideologies and politics in order to comprehensively analyze the syncretic genre of science fiction. Works of science fiction condense political myths, metaphors, concepts and emotions, thereby giving us a better understanding of Russian political culture. I argue that the study of sociopolitical science fiction and utopias exposes the ideational tracks on which Russian society in Putin’s third presidency glided smoothly into the annexation of Crimea, the war in Donbas, and confrontation with the West. At the same time, post-Soviet science fiction addresses such issues of international pertinence as the rise of nationalism, right-wing populism and imperial revanchism and attempts to strike a balance between modernization and cultural authenticity. 
Mikhail Suslov is Assistant Professor of Russian History and Politics at the University of Copenhagen. His research focuses on Russian intellectual history, conservative, right-wing and religiously-motivated political ideas, geopolitical ideologies and socio-political utopias. His most recent papers dealing with (geo)political imagination include “The “Russian World” Concept: ‘Spheres of influence’ in the post-Soviet geopolitical ideology,” Geopolitics 23, no. 2 (2018) and “The Production of ‘Novorossiya’: A Territorial Brand in Public Debates,” Europe-Asia Studies 69, no. 2 (2017). Recently he edited Digital Orthodoxy in the Post- Soviet World: The Russian Orthodox Church and Web 2.0 (Stuttgart: Ibidem Verlag, 2016) and co- edited (with Mark Bassin) Eurasia 2.0: Post-Soviet Geopolitics in the Age of New Media (Lanham: Lexington Books, 2016).
Thank you to all participants at the conference ‘Promoting International Dialogue and Protecting Cultural Heritage in the Caucasus’ December 5-6 at RUCARR, Malmö University. It has been two days of most interesting presentations and engaging discussions and comments with participants from all parts of the Caucasus! And many thanks to the Swedish Institute for making this event possible.
We were very glad to see one of our Caucasus Studies II students at the recent Third Annual RUCARR conference.
Joseph Schloesser came all the way from Arizona:
It was an honor to be invited to participate in this third RUCARR conference. To be alongside with passionate academics and to hear them share their knowledge was quite humbling and truly inspiring. Being able to hear from the several speakers expound upon the various issues concerning the Caucasus region allowed me to gain new perspectives on the issue that affect the region today. Having among those present and among the key speakers, representatives of the Caucasus region helped create an engaging atmosphere with a palpable dialogue.
Thank you very much to all participants at the Third Annual RUCARR Conference, Malmö University, for joining us on November 8-9, 2018, and for all great presentions and lively discussions!
Video Intro & Keynote 1, Prof Ghia Nodia — Video Keynote 2, Prof Madina Tlostanova
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Thank you to all presenters and participants for a very interesting and rewarding day with the whole Caucasus present – Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and the North Caucasus Mountain republic.
RUCARR seminar May 22: “Declarations of Independence in the Caucasus – 100 years Anniversary”-
Programme: http://wpmu.mah.se/rucarr/2018/05/15/preliminary-programme-100-years-anniversary-seminar/
Photos: Elnur Aliyev
