Dr. Francesco Giumelli (Deputy Head of Department, Associate Professor in International Relations and International Organization at the University of Groningen). Expertise: International sanctions, EU Foreign Policy, Illicit Trade

Our guest is Dr. Eric Cezne is postdoctoral fellow at the Centre for Global Cooperation Research (GCR21), Duisburg, Germany & the Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Utrecht University, the Netherlands. 

Our guest: Dr. Donya Ahmadi is an Iranian-Dutch intersectional feminist and Assistant Professor of International Relations at the University of Groningen. Her current research project concerns the (re)-gendering of contemporary Iranian historiography, through documenting and highlighting the crucial role played by women activists in the political developments of 20th and 21st century Iran.

Our guest is Rusif Huseynov, who is the Co-founder and Director of Topchubashov Center, a Baku-based think tank.

His main interests are socio-political developments, frozen conflicts, and ethnic minorities, in post-Soviet countries, while his focus areas mainly cover Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Caucasus and Central Asia.

Mr. Huseynov obtained his bachelor’s degree from Baku State University and master’s degree from the University of Tartu.

He is a ReThink.CEE (2021) fellow with the German Marshall Fund of the United States and Local Focal Point within the EU4Dialogue project.

Mr. Huseynov also taught as an adjunct lecturer at ADA University.

He pens articles for international media outlets such as The National Interest, The Jamestown Foundation, the New Eastern Europe.

Our guest is Dr. Mustafa Ali Sezal, lecturer in the Department of International Relations at the University of Groningen. 

We thank our partner Globalization Studies Groningen 

In this episode, we discuss the Russian elite, and public and opposition parties'  discourses about the war in Ukraine. What is the elite discourse behind this war? What is the public discourse, and is it different from the elite discourse? To what extent do the opposition parties in Russia share the problematic elite discourse on Ukraine?

Our guest is Dr. Lisa Gaufman, Assistant.Prof of Russian Discourse and Politics at the University of Groningen. After completing her PhD at the University of Tübingen, Germany, in 2016, she spent 3 years as a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Intercultural and International Studies at the University of Bremen. She is the author of "Security Threats and Public Perception: Digital Russia and the Ukraine Crisis" (Palgrave, 2017). Her other publications include peer-reviewed articles on nationalism, sexuality, and social networks, as well as regular blog posts at “The Duck of Minerva”. Lisa's research is situated on the intersection of political theory, international relations, media and cultural studies.

We also thank our partner Globalization Studies Groningen for supporting us. 

Our guests: Michal Jacunski, Professor in Political Communication at the University of Wroclaw, and Artur Gruszczak, Professor of Social Science, chair of National Security at the Faculty of International and Political Studies, Jagiellonian University in Krakow. 

Our guest speaker is Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. He served as Secretary-General of NATO from 5 January 2004 until 1 August 2009.

Mr De Hoop Scheffer was elected to the House of Representatives of the States General for the Christian Democratic Alliance (CDA) in June 1986. He became the party’s spokesperson on foreign policy (as well as asylum and refugee policy and European justice matters) in the House and served on the Permanent Committees on Justice, European Affairs and Defence. From 1989 to 1994 he chaired the Permanent Committee on Development Cooperation.

After his term as Secretary General of NATO ended, De Hoop Scheffer became a professor at the Leiden University sitting in the Pieter Kooijmans Chair. He also teaches at Leiden University College. (Source: European Leadership Network: https://www.europeanleadershipnetwork.org/person/jaap-de-hoop-scheffer/) 

We also want to thank our partner Globalization Studies Groningen

Our topic: Considering the current war between Russia and Ukraine and its energy security implications, we discuss the role of the Caspian Sea countries (South Caucasus and Central Asia) for EU Energy Security. 

Our guest is Dr. Morena Skalamera, Assistant Professor of Russian and International Studies at Leiden University. Her research interests include the political economy of Eurasia, Russian and post-Soviet Politics, and the Geopolitics of Energy in Eurasia. Dr. Skalamera has spent extensive time conducting field research in post-Soviet Eurasia, especially in Russia and Central Asia, and in Turkey. She is currently working on a book manuscript that examines how energy firms have shaped the energy relationship between Russia and Europe and the energy strategies of the former Soviet states.

We also would like to thank our partner Globalization Studies Groningen (https://www.rug.nl/research/globalisation-studies-groningen/?lang=en) (GSG) or their support.  

The current conflict in Ukraine has created the most severe crisis between Russia and the West since the end of the Cold War. Ukraine’s fate hangs in the balance. Renewed international diplomacy strengthens hopes for a negotiated settlement, but the spectre of all-out war still looms large. This roundtable will bring together experts to discuss the current tension from different perspectives. Our speakers will cover the Russian and Ukraine position, as well as the role West in the conflict

Speakers:

We also would like to thank our partner Globalization Studies Groningen (GSG) for organizing this roundtable! 

GSG: https://www.rug.nl/research/globalisation-studies-groningen/