Events / Program: Europe’s Futures

	Title	Date	Type Sort ascending	Speakers	Register
	Europe's Futures Colloquium	Tue, 28.09.2021	Seminars and Colloquia	Ivan Vejvoda Soli Özel Valbona Zeneli		Europe's Futures Colloquium Tue, 28.09.2021 Speakers: Ivan Vejvoda Soli Özel Valbona Zeneli Series: Seminars and Colloquia The Transatlantic relationship between Europe and the United States is being challenged in a variety of ways. The situation in Southeastern Europe and Turkey adds to this complexity but also opens alleys for cooperation. Foreign malign influence is growing in the candidate-countries of the Western Balkans, highlighting the vacuum and the economic, security and environmental risks created after the recent “deepening-before-widening [of the European Union]” policy shift that has put the accession processes on hold. In the immediate vicinity, Turkey has been going through cycles of internal and external conflicts that have further strained relations with the European Union already damaged by the effective removal of Turkey’s accession prospects. This session offered detailed insight and expert views from two of 2021-22 Europe’s Futures Fellows, Valbona Zeneli and Soli Özel. In a conversation facilitated by Ivan Vejvoda, they examined the routes for the Western Balkans’ candidate-countries to be drawn closer – and in - to the European Union, as well as the likely scenarios for future political developments in Turkey. Read more
Europe's Futures Colloquium Tue, 28.09.2021 Speakers: Ivan Vejvoda Soli Özel Valbona Zeneli Series: Seminars and Colloquia The Transatlantic relationship between Europe and the United States is being challenged in a variety of ways. The situation in Southeastern Europe and Turkey adds to this complexity but also opens alleys for cooperation. Foreign malign influence is growing in the candidate-countries of the Western Balkans, highlighting the vacuum and the economic, security and environmental risks created after the recent “deepening-before-widening [of the European Union]” policy shift that has put the accession processes on hold. In the immediate vicinity, Turkey has been going through cycles of internal and external conflicts that have further strained relations with the European Union already damaged by the effective removal of Turkey’s accession prospects. This session offered detailed insight and expert views from two of 2021-22 Europe’s Futures Fellows, Valbona Zeneli and Soli Özel. In a conversation facilitated by Ivan Vejvoda, they examined the routes for the Western Balkans’ candidate-countries to be drawn closer – and in - to the European Union, as well as the likely scenarios for future political developments in Turkey. Read more
	Narrative Making in the European Capital	Tue, 17.11.2020	Seminars and Colloquia	Ivan Vejvoda Julia De Clerck-Sachsse		Narrative Making in the European Capital Tue, 17.11.2020 Speakers: Ivan Vejvoda Julia De Clerck-Sachsse Series: Seminars and Colloquia As great power competition increasingly spills over into the information space, a compelling European narrative has become a geopolitical imperative. Europe finds itself in a battle of narratives between democracies and authoritarian regimes that cannot be decided on the basis of facts alone. To resist populist and autocratic forces, the European Union needs to communicate in a more personal and empathetic way demonstrating that its policies can deliver for its citizens. Just as the old adage has it that the personal is always political, the political will need to become more personal if Europe wants to hold its ground in the battle of narratives. Read more
Narrative Making in the European Capital Tue, 17.11.2020 Speakers: Ivan Vejvoda Julia De Clerck-Sachsse Series: Seminars and Colloquia As great power competition increasingly spills over into the information space, a compelling European narrative has become a geopolitical imperative. Europe finds itself in a battle of narratives between democracies and authoritarian regimes that cannot be decided on the basis of facts alone. To resist populist and autocratic forces, the European Union needs to communicate in a more personal and empathetic way demonstrating that its policies can deliver for its citizens. Just as the old adage has it that the personal is always political, the political will need to become more personal if Europe wants to hold its ground in the battle of narratives. Read more
	Leben im – und Wege aus dem – „Corona-Camp“	Mon, 11.05.2020	Seminars and Colloquia	Bernd Marin Ludger HagedornAugust Ruhs		Leben im – und Wege aus dem – „Corona-Camp“ Mon, 11.05.2020 Speakers: Bernd Marin Ludger HagedornAugust Ruhs Series: Seminars and Colloquia Der renommierte österreichische Sozialwissenschaftler Bernd Marin hat in zwei Interviews (beide in voller Länge nachzulesen im Corona Blog des IWM) das Leben im „Corona-Camp” (6. April; eine vielbeachtete Kurzfassung erschien am 12. April in der Ostersonntagsausgabe des KURIER) sowie Post-Quarantimes: Wege aus dem „Corona-Camp“ (29. April) kritisch reflektiert. Im Rahmen des virtuellen IWM-Kolloquiums stellte sich Bernd Marin öffentlich den Fragen zu seinen beiden Interviews (hier eine mögliche Auswahl) und diskutierte mit dem bekannten Psychiater August Ruhs. Read more
Leben im – und Wege aus dem – „Corona-Camp“ Mon, 11.05.2020 Speakers: Bernd Marin Ludger HagedornAugust Ruhs Series: Seminars and Colloquia Der renommierte österreichische Sozialwissenschaftler Bernd Marin hat in zwei Interviews (beide in voller Länge nachzulesen im Corona Blog des IWM) das Leben im „Corona-Camp” (6. April; eine vielbeachtete Kurzfassung erschien am 12. April in der Ostersonntagsausgabe des KURIER) sowie Post-Quarantimes: Wege aus dem „Corona-Camp“ (29. April) kritisch reflektiert. Im Rahmen des virtuellen IWM-Kolloquiums stellte sich Bernd Marin öffentlich den Fragen zu seinen beiden Interviews (hier eine mögliche Auswahl) und diskutierte mit dem bekannten Psychiater August Ruhs. Read more
	Europe’s Futures Colloquium with Katy Hayward and Ieva Česnulaitytė	Thu, 21.09.2023	Seminars and Colloquia	Ivan Vejvoda Katy Hayward Ieva Česnulaitytė		Europe’s Futures Colloquium with Katy Hayward and Ieva Česnulaitytė Thu, 21.09.2023 Speakers: Ivan Vejvoda Katy Hayward Ieva Česnulaitytė Series: Seminars and Colloquia Functioning institutions are crucial to upholding liberal democracy. Europe’s Futures Fellows Katy Hayward and Ieva Česnulaitytė were hosted by Ivan Vejvoda for an in-depth conversation on the role that the two fundamentally democratic institutions, Universities and citizen assemblies, (should) have in equipping citizens and policymakers with capacities necessary for upholding liberal democracies. Read more
Europe’s Futures Colloquium with Katy Hayward and Ieva Česnulaitytė Thu, 21.09.2023 Speakers: Ivan Vejvoda Katy Hayward Ieva Česnulaitytė Series: Seminars and Colloquia Functioning institutions are crucial to upholding liberal democracy. Europe’s Futures Fellows Katy Hayward and Ieva Česnulaitytė were hosted by Ivan Vejvoda for an in-depth conversation on the role that the two fundamentally democratic institutions, Universities and citizen assemblies, (should) have in equipping citizens and policymakers with capacities necessary for upholding liberal democracies. Read more
	Who is Telling Us What? Why? And How?	Wed, 14.10.2020	Seminars and Colloquia	Alison Smale Ivan Vejvoda		Who is Telling Us What? Why? And How? Wed, 14.10.2020 Speakers: Alison Smale Ivan Vejvoda Series: Seminars and Colloquia With technological change so rapid, and global concerns rivaling the traditionally local focus of most human beings, media assume an ever more important role in our societies. That is particularly true in central and eastern Europe, where journalists and their audience mostly have had a mere three decades to establish and mold independent media that suit or reflect their societies. Just in the weeks since Alison Smale was writing to Ivan on her chosen subject, developments in the former Soviet space – in this case, Belarus, and its Baltic and Polish neighbors, and Russia and Germany over Alexei Navalny – have shown their power to surprise most outside observers, and thus to influence the world. Who is telling this tale, and how? Read more
Who is Telling Us What? Why? And How? Wed, 14.10.2020 Speakers: Alison Smale Ivan Vejvoda Series: Seminars and Colloquia With technological change so rapid, and global concerns rivaling the traditionally local focus of most human beings, media assume an ever more important role in our societies. That is particularly true in central and eastern Europe, where journalists and their audience mostly have had a mere three decades to establish and mold independent media that suit or reflect their societies. Just in the weeks since Alison Smale was writing to Ivan on her chosen subject, developments in the former Soviet space – in this case, Belarus, and its Baltic and Polish neighbors, and Russia and Germany over Alexei Navalny – have shown their power to surprise most outside observers, and thus to influence the world. Who is telling this tale, and how? Read more
	Europe's Futures Colloquium	Tue, 14.09.2021	Seminars and Colloquia	Amanda Coakley Zoran Nechev	Register Here	Europe's Futures Colloquium Tue, 14.09.2021 Speakers: Amanda Coakley Zoran Nechev Series: Seminars and Colloquia The second Europe’s Futures Fellows Colloquium explored the impact of growing ultraconservatism and pro-natalist policies in Central Europe on women's reproductive rights. Furthermore, it scoped different perceptions of what strategic action by the European Union should or should not encompass and mapped different national understandings of EU’s actions in North Macedonia, Serbia and Albania in order to find out how these aspiring members can best position themselves vis-à-vis the EU. Read more
Europe's Futures Colloquium Tue, 14.09.2021 Speakers: Amanda Coakley Zoran Nechev Series: Seminars and Colloquia The second Europe’s Futures Fellows Colloquium explored the impact of growing ultraconservatism and pro-natalist policies in Central Europe on women's reproductive rights. Furthermore, it scoped different perceptions of what strategic action by the European Union should or should not encompass and mapped different national understandings of EU’s actions in North Macedonia, Serbia and Albania in order to find out how these aspiring members can best position themselves vis-à-vis the EU. Read more
	Judges Under Pressure	Wed, 04.11.2020	Seminars and Colloquia	Ivan Vejvoda Judy Dempsey		Judges Under Pressure Wed, 04.11.2020 Speakers: Ivan Vejvoda Judy Dempsey Series: Seminars and Colloquia Two members of the European Union. Two members of NATO. They couldn't be more different. Poland and Romania are undergoing transformations that could have a profound effect on the rule of law, particularly on the role of independent judges. Romania has been consistently criticized by reformers, by human rights activists and by organizations trying to combat the rampant corruption for the weak rule of law and for the constant interference by the political elites in the judiciary. Since 1989, the country's transformation has been long, complicated and delayed by vested interests and indeed the old guard. Its history and culture do play a role in delaying the transformation. But the past cannot be used as an excuse to postpone a long overdue institutionalization of the rule of law and make the judiciary genuinely independent. As for Poland, it was supposed to be a kind of model for other countries making the transformation from communism to democracy. But since 2005, a year after Poland joined the European Union, Law and Justice, a nationalist, conservative party, has been doing everything possible to overturn the gains of the post-1989 period. Its first stint in power was too short-lived for the party to achieve its goal: adapting the law to implement its agenda. But since 2015, it has chiseled away at the fundamental aspects of the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary. There are a lot of "whys" with regard to what is happening in Poland and Romania. This will be the topic of my presentation on 4 November. Read more
Judges Under Pressure Wed, 04.11.2020 Speakers: Ivan Vejvoda Judy Dempsey Series: Seminars and Colloquia Two members of the European Union. Two members of NATO. They couldn't be more different. Poland and Romania are undergoing transformations that could have a profound effect on the rule of law, particularly on the role of independent judges. Romania has been consistently criticized by reformers, by human rights activists and by organizations trying to combat the rampant corruption for the weak rule of law and for the constant interference by the political elites in the judiciary. Since 1989, the country's transformation has been long, complicated and delayed by vested interests and indeed the old guard. Its history and culture do play a role in delaying the transformation. But the past cannot be used as an excuse to postpone a long overdue institutionalization of the rule of law and make the judiciary genuinely independent. As for Poland, it was supposed to be a kind of model for other countries making the transformation from communism to democracy. But since 2005, a year after Poland joined the European Union, Law and Justice, a nationalist, conservative party, has been doing everything possible to overturn the gains of the post-1989 period. Its first stint in power was too short-lived for the party to achieve its goal: adapting the law to implement its agenda. But since 2015, it has chiseled away at the fundamental aspects of the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary. There are a lot of "whys" with regard to what is happening in Poland and Romania. This will be the topic of my presentation on 4 November. Read more
	Europe’s Futures Colloquium II	Mon, 16.09.2019	Seminars and Colloquia	Alida Vracic Péter Krekó		Europe’s Futures Colloquium II Mon, 16.09.2019 Speakers: Alida Vracic Péter Krekó Series: Seminars and Colloquia How can record highs in the emigration of qualified people from the Western Balkans be beneficial for the region and its prosperity and future growth? Tapping into 6 million strong diaspora may offer some answers. Engaging with diaspora is critical not only to help consolidate the regional economic outlook, bring the latest cutting- edge technologies into the region and deepen know-how, but, even more importantly it can profoundly challenge current political narratives and help bring about much- needed energy and change. Questions like “What are the experiences of the emigrants?” “Under which conditions would they consider returning to the region?” and, ultimately, “What policies could bring a meaningful change in the medium term?” are just some to address. Read more
Europe’s Futures Colloquium II Mon, 16.09.2019 Speakers: Alida Vracic Péter Krekó Series: Seminars and Colloquia How can record highs in the emigration of qualified people from the Western Balkans be beneficial for the region and its prosperity and future growth? Tapping into 6 million strong diaspora may offer some answers. Engaging with diaspora is critical not only to help consolidate the regional economic outlook, bring the latest cutting- edge technologies into the region and deepen know-how, but, even more importantly it can profoundly challenge current political narratives and help bring about much- needed energy and change. Questions like “What are the experiences of the emigrants?” “Under which conditions would they consider returning to the region?” and, ultimately, “What policies could bring a meaningful change in the medium term?” are just some to address. Read more
	Europe’s Futures Colloquium with Hanna Shelest	Thu, 14.09.2023	Seminars and Colloquia	Hanna Shelest Ivan Vejvoda		Europe’s Futures Colloquium with Hanna Shelest Thu, 14.09.2023 Speakers: Hanna Shelest Ivan Vejvoda Series: Seminars and Colloquia Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has prompted the need to wholly rethink and revise European strategies and policies. A broad spectrum of aspects playing into today’s situation were assessed, with an emphasis on contextualizing reactions of politicians in Europe to the unprompted Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 with respect to their position on the political spectrum. Read more
Europe’s Futures Colloquium with Hanna Shelest Thu, 14.09.2023 Speakers: Hanna Shelest Ivan Vejvoda Series: Seminars and Colloquia Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has prompted the need to wholly rethink and revise European strategies and policies. A broad spectrum of aspects playing into today’s situation were assessed, with an emphasis on contextualizing reactions of politicians in Europe to the unprompted Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 with respect to their position on the political spectrum. Read more
	The EU Periphery and Revisionist Powers	Wed, 23.09.2020	Seminars and Colloquia	Dimitar Bechev Ivan Vejvoda		The EU Periphery and Revisionist Powers Wed, 23.09.2020 Speakers: Dimitar Bechev Ivan Vejvoda Series: Seminars and Colloquia Starting with the annexation of Crimea in the spring of 2014, scholars and analysts have been debating the standoff between the West and competitors such as Russia, Erdogan’s Turkey, and lately China on Europe’s periphery. “The return of geopolitics” has become a standard phrase to describe the new moment in the international politics of Eastern and Southeast Europe. A contrast is drawn with the 2000s, the highmark of the European Union’s “transformative power” and NATO’s eastward expansion. But the top-down view highlighting the preferences and actions of big players, including core EU member states like Germany and France, Russia, Turkey etc. overlooks the critical role played by peripheral countries and their elites. Rather than being the object of great powers’ decisions, they manipulate rivalries in pursuit of political advantage. Though the domestic arena provides entry points for external actors’ influence it also empowers incumbent elites in the target countries. The talk drew on examples from Southeast Europe (the Western Balkans, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece) but drew parallels to the post-Soviet space. Read more
The EU Periphery and Revisionist Powers Wed, 23.09.2020 Speakers: Dimitar Bechev Ivan Vejvoda Series: Seminars and Colloquia Starting with the annexation of Crimea in the spring of 2014, scholars and analysts have been debating the standoff between the West and competitors such as Russia, Erdogan’s Turkey, and lately China on Europe’s periphery. “The return of geopolitics” has become a standard phrase to describe the new moment in the international politics of Eastern and Southeast Europe. A contrast is drawn with the 2000s, the highmark of the European Union’s “transformative power” and NATO’s eastward expansion. But the top-down view highlighting the preferences and actions of big players, including core EU member states like Germany and France, Russia, Turkey etc. overlooks the critical role played by peripheral countries and their elites. Rather than being the object of great powers’ decisions, they manipulate rivalries in pursuit of political advantage. Though the domestic arena provides entry points for external actors’ influence it also empowers incumbent elites in the target countries. The talk drew on examples from Southeast Europe (the Western Balkans, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece) but drew parallels to the post-Soviet space. Read more