January 19th, 2024
The Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg Institute. (Source: Facebook)
This workshop was spearheaded by Postdoctoral Researcher at Universität Bremen, and current Associate Junior Fellow at the Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg Institute for Advanced Study (HWS-IAS) in Delmenhorst, Germany, Dr. Ekaterina Paustyan. For more information on Dr. Paustyan, click here.
"Regional resilience has become a key factor underpinning Ukraine’s survival and resilience in the face of Russia’s full‑scale war started in February 2022. As such resilience shown by local and regional actors makes a compelling case for decentralization, scholars call for its further deepening as a part of the post‑war reconstruction plan. Another question that is hotly debated among experts discussing post‑war reconstruction plans for Ukraine is how the status of the contested territories in Ukraine will evolve as Ukraine aims to challenge the current status‑quo and to de-occupy its territories previously annexed by Russia. Finally, since the way how Russia develops after the war will have important implications for Ukraine, scenarios of Russia’s post‑war territorial arrangement similarly attract scholarly attention. This workshop aims to take stock of these scholarly debates. It will bring together Ukrainian, (independent) Russian, and international scholars with expertise in political science, economics, law, and international
relations to explore, analyze, and discuss regional dimension of Ukraine’s survival and resilience and its post‑war reconstruction. By bringing together a diverse pool of speakers, the workshop will facilitate a constructive dialogue among them serving as a platform for scholarly exchange."
Profs. Maria Popova & Oxana Shevel spoke during the closing session of the conference regarding the root of the current Russia-Ukraine war. Focusing on three key divergences — identity, regime type, and geopolitical orientation — Popova & Shevel expanded on the increasing angle taken by Ukraine towards the West, and its resilience in the face of imbalance of power between its much larger rival. The pair discuss these key differentiating factors between the two aforementioned states and more in their recent joint publication, Russia And Ukraine: Entangled Histories, Diverging States (Polity Press).
