In this week's episode Ivan Vejvoda sits down with European Stability Initiative deputy chairman and Europe's Futures fellow Kristof Bender to discuss a policy that many point to as among the most successful peace projects in the history of the world: EU enlargement. As the Union decides whether and how quickly to extend EU membership to Ukraine and Molodova and formalize their move towards Europe in response to the full scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kristof and Ivan lead us through the history of the policy and its transformative effect on those countries who have joined the bloc, then ask why the policy seems to have stalled in recent years. Does it make sense to extend membership to new countries for geopolitical reasons? Or should the process be purely meritocratic? Is there a new approach that would offer a clear incentive to candidate countries to make necessary improvements that could sidestep internal EU politics?

As deputy chairman of the ESI Kristof Bender has lead various research projects on EU enlargement and on South Eastern Europe. He has worked in South East Europe in various capacities since 1997, including managing higher education projects in Bosnia for the World University Service, serving as Attaché for Humanitarian Affairs in the Austrian Embassy in Belgrade, and working as a researcher for the International Centre for Migration Policy Development . He has also worked as a consultant for various institutions, including the Austrian Federal Chancellery, DFID, and SIDA.

Find him on twitter @kristofbender

Ivan Vejvoda  is Head of the Europe's Futures program at IWM where, in cooperation with leading European organisations and think tanks IWM and ERSTE Foundation have joined forces to tackle some of the most crucial topics: nexus of borders and migration, deterioration in rule of law and democracy and European Union’s enlargement prospects.

The Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) is an independent institute for advanced study in the humanities and social sciences. Since its foundation in 1982, it has promoted intellectual exchange between East and West, between academia and society, and between a variety of disciplines and schools of thought. In this way, the IWM has become a vibrant center of intellectual life in Vienna.

The IWM is a community of scholars pursuing advanced research in the humanities and social sciences. For nearly four decades, the Institute has promoted intellectual exchange across disciplines, between academia and society, and among regions of the world. It hosts more than a hundred fellows each year, organizes public exchanges, and publishes books, articles, and digital fora. 

you can find IWM's website at:

https://www.iwm.at/

Ivan Vejvoda  is Head of the Europe's Futures program at the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM Vienna) implemented in partnership with ERSTE Foundation. The program is dedicated to the cultivation of knowledge and the generation of ideas addressing pivotal challenges confronting Europe and the European Union: nexus of borders and migration, deterioration in rule of law and democracy and European Union’s enlargement prospects.

The Institute for Human Sciences is an institute of advanced studies in the humanities and social sciences. Founded as a place of encounter in 1982 by a young Polish philosopher, Krzysztof Michalski, and two German colleagues in neutral Austria, its initial mission was to create a meeting place for dissenting thinkers of Eastern Europe and prominent scholars from the West.

Since then it has promoted intellectual exchange across disciplines, between academia and society, and among regions that now embrace the Global South and North. The IWM is an independent and non-partisan institution, and proudly so. All of our fellows, visiting and permanent, pursue their own research in an environment designed to enrich their work and to render it more accessible within and beyond academia.

For further information about the Institute:

https://www.iwm.at/