Seminar Series: Ukraine Research Talks

14/12 – Ukrainian Language Politics in Times of War

Dr. Thomas Rosén, a Senior Lecturer and researcher at the University of Gothenburg, examines how authorities in Sweden and the EU can support Ukraine in its recovery and reconstruction efforts through the lens of sustainable language and minority policies. 

Seminar Focus

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has caused extensive changes in the language habits of millions of Ukrainians. Many who have grown up with Russian as their mother tongue have completely abandoned Russian in favor of Ukrainian. Ukraine wishes to promote the Ukrainian language through institutions such as the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy, and the State Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language but must do so without curtailing the rights of the country’s minorities. 

Once Ukraine has liberated the areas currently under Russian occupation, a complicated reintegration effort awaits, beyond the country's goal of European integration.

How can authorities in Sweden and the EU support Ukraine in this effort through the lens of sustainable language and minority policies?

This talk shows how a range of government institutions, normally not thought of as part of the war effort (or post-war reconstruction), may play a role in rebuilding Ukraine.  

The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session and a joint discussion.

Welcome!

Title: Ukrainian Language Politics in Times of War 

​Date & Time:​​​December 14, 12:00-13:00 (CET)

Language: English

Zoom link or onsite attendance: Register for participation via email to researchunit@fba.se 

About the researcher 

Dr. Thomas Rosén, Senior Lecturer and researcher at the University of Gothenburg's Department of Languages and Literatures, specializes in Slavic languages. His work spans both modern and historical sociolinguistics, focusing on language's role in society. He studies the linguistic landscape of post-2022 invasion Ukraine and the evolution of modern Russian language, including Russo-Swedish linguistic interactions. Dr. Rosén also leads a Ukrainian-Swedish-Georgian online dictionary project.

14/11 - Rethinking Feminist Approaches to the Russian War against Ukraine 

Dr. Mila O’Sullivan, a researcher at the Institute of International Relations Prague (IIR) and a lecturer of Feminist Studies at Charles University, presents her findings from her research on the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda in Ukraine, Central and Eastern Europe, and NATO.

Seminar Focus​

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has caused a profound security crisis in Ukraine, Europe and beyond, with gender dynamics at its core. The centrality of gender is seen in Russia’s strategic use of conflict-related sexual violence against Ukrainians or intersecting vulnerabilities of refugee women in the EU, but also in the transformation of gender roles in Ukraine through women’s active civilian and military resistance. Less obvious but equally urgent is the fact that the war represents a continuation of Russia’s anti-feminist foreign policy​, which is linked to transnational anti-gender movements. Still, international actors like the EU, NATO, and countries with feminist foreign policies have been slow to adopt a gender-responsive approach to Ukraine, including through the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda.​​​

• Why has the WPS agenda been side-lined in international responses to Ukraine?
• What might intersectional feminist responses to Ukraine look like now and in the aftermath of the war?
• How can this gendered crisis help to rethink and reshape the WPS agenda towards a more post-Western direction? ​

The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session and a joint discussion.

Welcome!

Title: Rethinking Feminist Approaches to the Russian War against Ukraine

​Date & Time:​​​ November 14, 12:00-13:00 (CET)

Language: English

Zoom link: Register for participation via email to researchunit@fba.se 

About the researcher

​​Dr. Mila O'Sullivan is a researcher at the IRR and a lecturer of Feminist Studies at Charles University. She also seves as an adacdemic advisor on gender in Czech foreign policy in various government and non-government bodies including the Interdepartmenal Workig Group for the WPS agenda. Her research also addresses decolonial issues, the politics of knowledge production and East-West feminist dialogue. 

10/10 - How can Ukraine's resilience be explained?

Andreas Umland, analyst at the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies (SCEEUS) at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, discusses the resilience demonstrated by Ukraine since 2022.

Seminar Focus

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has failed to bring about a regime change in Kiev. Deficiencies in Russia's military operations and the extensive Western military support for Ukraine are often cited as explanations. In addition to the unexpectedly strong performance of Ukrainian armed forces, Ukraine's national and local governance system and civil society have been important but less recognized aspects of Ukraine's resilience.

In this research seminar, Umland will highlight and discuss two key factors behind Ukraine’s resilience:

• Euromaidan's victory and subsequent defense against Russia's covert war in the Donbas, which transformed the relationship between the national government and civil society from an adversarial to a cooperative one. 
• Decentralization - enabling newly empowered local governments to engage in territorial defence, host internally displaced people (IDPs), facilitate businesses relocation, and contribute in other ways to the war effort. As seen, Ukraine's public institutions and essential societal functions have partly continued functioning under Russian occupation.

The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session and a joint discussion. 

Welcome!

Title: Decentralization and Resilience in Ukraine

Date & Time: October 10, 12:00-13:00 (CET)

Language: English

Zoom Link: Register for participation via email at researchunit@fba.se

About the Researcher

Andreas Umland, analyst at the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies (SCEEUS) at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, is also an associate professor of political science at at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. He is based in Kiev and holds a PhD in Politics from University of Cambridge. He is the editor of the ibidem Press book series "Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics and Society" and "Ukrainian Voices." He is a member of the boards of the International Association for Comparative Fascist Studies, and Boris Nemtsov Academic Center for the Study of Russia at Charles University of Prague. 
 

14/9 - How has Russia’s war against Ukraine affected institution-building in Ukraine and the EU’s role in it? 

Ryhor Nizhnikau, Senior Research Fellow at the EU's Eastern Neighbourhood and Russia program at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, shares his latest research.

Since the Euromaidan Revolution in 2014 and Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, Western engagement in Ukraine's institution-building has steeply increased. Collaboration with civil society has been recognized as a key factor driving domestic reform efforts. However, progress in institutional reforms has been unsustainable and contradictory. This calls for a reassessment of the sources and drivers of change. 

Nizhnikau's research has examined how reforms in anti-corruption, public procurement and privatisation have led to new institutional approaches through strategic partnerships between the EU, the state and non-state actors. The research also highlights factors that counteract reform backlash and the effects of power centralisation after the Russian invasion. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session and a joint discussion. 

Welcome!

Titel: The War, the EU and the State: A Decade of Institution-Building in Ukraine 

Date and time: September 14, 12:00-01:00 PM (CET) 

English: English  

Zoom Link

To attend the seminar onsite or questions, please email: researchunit@fba.se

About the Researcher 

Ryhor Nizhnikau is Senior Research Fellow at the EU's Eastern Neighbourhood and Russia program at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. He works on Russian and EU policy towards Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus, studying the institutional transformations and political developments in the region.