Conference reports

The Russian Industrial Legacy: The blind faith in big science and technocratic solutions and the absence of a vibrant civil society

“Inheriting the Pandora Box: Environmental Impacts of the Soviet Industrial Legacy”, was a Roundtable arranged May 26, 2021, at the Centre for Baltic and East European Studies at Södertörn University. Here follows a brief summary of the event from the social studies' perspectives, while a longer report from the environmental studies' perspectives also can be found at this website.

By Vasileios Kitsos June 14, 2021

Legislating Memory: From Memory Laws to Transitional Justice

Two panels on memory laws were arranged the same day as part of the annual series of on USSR 30 years after (1991-2021). The panel “Dealing with the totalitarian past: Laws on memory and legislation” took up how different countries have approached the Soviet past in legislation and by “memory laws”. The panel “Memory laws: an interregional perspective on commemoration and legislation” followed this theme up. An aspect discussed throughout the whole event was the Western vs. Eastern models of memory laws.

By Cagla Demirel and Martin Englund June 13, 2021

Roundtable USSR 30 years: Post-Soviet Economies: From the Myth of Transition to State Capitalism and Beyond

The economic development in four Post-Soviet countries; Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan were compared and discussed during this Roundtable. From the late 1990s new opportunities for growth emerged, but this growth was both temporarily and unstable is here argued. The role of the state is also elaborated.

By Alexandra Allard April 15, 2021

Far-right Memory Politics in the Internet Era: Snapshots from a Workshop

The International Workshop Far-right Memory Politics in the Internet Era held at the Centre for Baltic and East European Studies from 15–16 January 2020 investigated the nexus between far-right activism, memory politics and the internet.

By Francesco Zavatti February 5, 2021

The Nordic Belarusian History Dialogue: A forum for networking and discussions between academics

The Nordic Belarusian History Dialogue took place in Lund, Sweden, in January 2020. The gathering brought together colleagues from Tromsø on the northern coast of Norway to Polesia in southern Belarus with the aim of engaging Nordic and Belarusian historians in dialogue.

By Per A. Rudling & Erkki Tuomioja July 6, 2020

Talking about the past and future of the Baltic states

The theme of this year’s conference, the 13th Conference on Baltic Studies in Europe (CBSE) was “Baltic Solidarity” — and most appropriate, no one less than Lech Wałęsa was there to open the event.

By Joakim Ekman February 25, 2020

The case of Tadeusz Kulisiewicz Exploring the role and life of artists during Cold War

Around 20 researchers met in the Polish city of Kalisz for two days in mid-October, to present their on-going projects exploring issues related to artists in the political systems of the countries of Central Europe after 1945.

By Camilla Larsson February 25, 2020

Rethinking Colonialism(s) in Eastern Europe

The WeberWorldCafé-event “Legacies of Colonialism in East Central Europe”, took place in October 15, 2019 in the Museum am Rothenbaum – Kulturen und Künste der Welt, Hamburg.

By Margaret Tali February 25, 2020

Beyond spatial and cultural boundaries in Riga

Expressions such as “geographical imaginaries” and “utopic worlds” are used to lead people to dream about distant lands, very different from Latvian society and its cultural scene. Based on these premises, the role of the Survival Kit Festival is to bring these imaginaries close to contemporary society in Riga, leading to a transformation of the conception of geographical and mental borders.

By Michela Romano December 30, 2019

international relations in the age of anxiety

In June 2019, scholars came together in Belgrade for the CEEISA-ISA Joint Conference to discuss international relations in the age of anxiety. The current increase in international populist discourse and far-right movements and the democratic regression in Central and Eastern Europe were the focal point of the discussion. Questions that arose revolved around whether there are any prospects for reconciliation as a way to de-escalate the violence in the world.

By Cagla Demirel December 30, 2019