Events / Ivan Vejvoda

	Title	Date	Type	Speakers
	What is the outlook for EU enlargement in the Western Balkans?	Mon, 14.06.2021	Panels and Discussions	Ioannis Armakolas Ivan Vejvoda Srdjan Cvijic	What is the outlook for EU enlargement in the Western Balkans? Mon, 14.06.2021 Speakers: Ioannis Armakolas Ivan Vejvoda Srdjan Cvijic Series: Panels and Discussions The state of play in the Western Balkans shows signs of political deterioration. There is uncertainty over opening accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia, whilst those already open with Serbia and Montenegro progress sluggishly. Implementation of the Prespa Agreement is slow and the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia is at a standstill. Overall, it is not a very promising picture even without the growth of popular frustration. Is the European Union awakening to the need for a more robust engagement in the Western Balkans? Read more
What is the outlook for EU enlargement in the Western Balkans? Mon, 14.06.2021 Speakers: Ioannis Armakolas Ivan Vejvoda Srdjan Cvijic Series: Panels and Discussions The state of play in the Western Balkans shows signs of political deterioration. There is uncertainty over opening accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia, whilst those already open with Serbia and Montenegro progress sluggishly. Implementation of the Prespa Agreement is slow and the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia is at a standstill. Overall, it is not a very promising picture even without the growth of popular frustration. Is the European Union awakening to the need for a more robust engagement in the Western Balkans? Read more
	Religious Fundamentalism and the Decline of Women’s Reproductive Rights in Central Europe	Mon, 17.05.2021	Seminars and Colloquia	Amanda Coakley Dennis Patterson Ivan Vejvoda	Religious Fundamentalism and the Decline of Women’s Reproductive Rights in Central Europe Mon, 17.05.2021 Speakers: Amanda Coakley Dennis Patterson Ivan Vejvoda Series: Seminars and Colloquia In the shadow of population decline some Central European states have turned their attention to curtailing women’s access to abortion and in the case of Poland, effectively outlawing it. These policy moves are not only the work of illiberal governments. They are also heavily linked to religious institutions who for decades have labelled women’s reproductive rights as enemy number one on the battlefield of moral values. Calling for a “return to traditional family values” is not the path to economic and social prosperity. Yet it is a clarion call sounded from Warsaw to Budapest. Furthermore, these moves are indicative of the Church’s desire to maintain its political as well as religious influence as a growing number of people in the region chose a more secular life. Read more
Religious Fundamentalism and the Decline of Women’s Reproductive Rights in Central Europe Mon, 17.05.2021 Speakers: Amanda Coakley Dennis Patterson Ivan Vejvoda Series: Seminars and Colloquia In the shadow of population decline some Central European states have turned their attention to curtailing women’s access to abortion and in the case of Poland, effectively outlawing it. These policy moves are not only the work of illiberal governments. They are also heavily linked to religious institutions who for decades have labelled women’s reproductive rights as enemy number one on the battlefield of moral values. Calling for a “return to traditional family values” is not the path to economic and social prosperity. Yet it is a clarion call sounded from Warsaw to Budapest. Furthermore, these moves are indicative of the Church’s desire to maintain its political as well as religious influence as a growing number of people in the region chose a more secular life. 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
	Missing Pages of European History	Wed, 11.11.2020	Seminars and Colloquia	Ivan Vejvoda Teresa Reiter	Missing Pages of European History Wed, 11.11.2020 Speakers: Ivan Vejvoda Teresa Reiter Series: Seminars and Colloquia Many people agree that the European Union’s enlargement process is flawed. As a consequence, none of the aspiring EU members meet their targets on the path to membership on time and some do not meet them at all. While Europeans spent a lot of money, time and energy to improve life the region for decades, it is equally true that Europeans made decisions that affected the Western Balkans negatively, too. However, when European history is discussed in the context of the European Union, it is usually mainly about how the treaties were negotiated, how the European institutions developed, and about the vision of the leaders who envisaged the European Union. There are pages missing from the European history book. Arguably, this approach of not dealing with its own role, interests and past with the Western Balkans could be seen as having a negative impact on the enlargement policy the European Union is pursuing today. Read more
Missing Pages of European History Wed, 11.11.2020 Speakers: Ivan Vejvoda Teresa Reiter Series: Seminars and Colloquia Many people agree that the European Union’s enlargement process is flawed. As a consequence, none of the aspiring EU members meet their targets on the path to membership on time and some do not meet them at all. While Europeans spent a lot of money, time and energy to improve life the region for decades, it is equally true that Europeans made decisions that affected the Western Balkans negatively, too. However, when European history is discussed in the context of the European Union, it is usually mainly about how the treaties were negotiated, how the European institutions developed, and about the vision of the leaders who envisaged the European Union. There are pages missing from the European history book. Arguably, this approach of not dealing with its own role, interests and past with the Western Balkans could be seen as having a negative impact on the enlargement policy the European Union is pursuing today. 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
	People of the Mountain	Wed, 28.10.2020	Seminars and Colloquia	Ivan Vejvoda Kapka Kassabova	People of the Mountain Wed, 28.10.2020 Speakers: Ivan Vejvoda Kapka Kassabova Series: Seminars and Colloquia For millennia, the people of the Mesta Valley have lived in an intimate relationship with their environment. Kapka Kassabova's enquiry is into the nature of this relationship as it survives today, after a succession of mass traumas in the 20th century have made their mark. They include political persecution during Communism, economic upheaval in the wake of the collapse of the planned economy, environmental degradation during and after Communism, migration, endemic state corruption, climate change, and a generational shift from a traditional, agricultural way of life towards a globalised, digitalised, uprooted way of life. His focus is on the Pomak (indigenous Muslim) and mixed villages here. An interesting phenomenon can be observed: permanent emigration is rare. These communities are held together by invisible factors that cannot be accounted for by pure economics. The villages of the Mesta Valley are remarkable for several things: their exceptionally rich biosphere where some of Europe’s cleanest foods, animals, and medicinal herbs thrive; their rich tradition of cultural syncretism; their existential endurance in the face of trauma, and the fact that they export the greatest amount of cheap seasonal labour to Western Europe – the fruit pickers, planters, and builders on whom the wealthier European economies depend. Read more
People of the Mountain Wed, 28.10.2020 Speakers: Ivan Vejvoda Kapka Kassabova Series: Seminars and Colloquia For millennia, the people of the Mesta Valley have lived in an intimate relationship with their environment. Kapka Kassabova's enquiry is into the nature of this relationship as it survives today, after a succession of mass traumas in the 20th century have made their mark. They include political persecution during Communism, economic upheaval in the wake of the collapse of the planned economy, environmental degradation during and after Communism, migration, endemic state corruption, climate change, and a generational shift from a traditional, agricultural way of life towards a globalised, digitalised, uprooted way of life. His focus is on the Pomak (indigenous Muslim) and mixed villages here. An interesting phenomenon can be observed: permanent emigration is rare. These communities are held together by invisible factors that cannot be accounted for by pure economics. The villages of the Mesta Valley are remarkable for several things: their exceptionally rich biosphere where some of Europe’s cleanest foods, animals, and medicinal herbs thrive; their rich tradition of cultural syncretism; their existential endurance in the face of trauma, and the fact that they export the greatest amount of cheap seasonal labour to Western Europe – the fruit pickers, planters, and builders on whom the wealthier European economies depend. Read more
	Learning From the Prespa Agreement	Wed, 21.10.2020	Seminars and Colloquia	Ioannis Armakolas Ivan Vejvoda	Learning From the Prespa Agreement Wed, 21.10.2020 Speakers: Ioannis Armakolas Ivan Vejvoda Series: Seminars and Colloquia The Macedonia name dispute, one of the very first disputes of the post-Cold War era in Southeast Europe, was finally settled in June 2018 with the signing of the Prespa Agreement. The deal between Greece and North Macedonia was hailed as historic and an important breakthrough for the entire region’s integration to Western institutions. However, because the name dispute was broadly seen internationally as an incomprehensible spat, without fully grasping the high emotional load and the significant political stakes in both countries, not enough attention has been paid to the complex process leading to the settling of the dispute and to the challenges of a demanding implementation process. Read more
Learning From the Prespa Agreement Wed, 21.10.2020 Speakers: Ioannis Armakolas Ivan Vejvoda Series: Seminars and Colloquia The Macedonia name dispute, one of the very first disputes of the post-Cold War era in Southeast Europe, was finally settled in June 2018 with the signing of the Prespa Agreement. The deal between Greece and North Macedonia was hailed as historic and an important breakthrough for the entire region’s integration to Western institutions. However, because the name dispute was broadly seen internationally as an incomprehensible spat, without fully grasping the high emotional load and the significant political stakes in both countries, not enough attention has been paid to the complex process leading to the settling of the dispute and to the challenges of a demanding implementation process. Read more
	US Elections 2020	Sun, 18.10.2020	Panels and Discussions	Ivan VejvodaSteven Erlanger, Eva Nowotny, Raimund Löw	US Elections 2020 Sun, 18.10.2020 Speakers: Ivan VejvodaSteven Erlanger, Eva Nowotny, Raimund Löw Series: Panels and Discussions The election of Donald Trump as 45th president of the US four years ago was a sea change in many ways, but above all a sign of rising populism and a changing world order. His tenure has unsettled the transatlantic relationship, questioned the nature of multilateralism by insisting on transactional relations, doubted the need for NATO. In recent months, not only the fight against the coronavirus, but also the newly inflamed debate on structural racism have dominated the country’s domestic political discourse, which has generated global resonance far beyond the borders of the US. Read more
US Elections 2020 Sun, 18.10.2020 Speakers: Ivan VejvodaSteven Erlanger, Eva Nowotny, Raimund Löw Series: Panels and Discussions The election of Donald Trump as 45th president of the US four years ago was a sea change in many ways, but above all a sign of rising populism and a changing world order. His tenure has unsettled the transatlantic relationship, questioned the nature of multilateralism by insisting on transactional relations, doubted the need for NATO. In recent months, not only the fight against the coronavirus, but also the newly inflamed debate on structural racism have dominated the country’s domestic political discourse, which has generated global resonance far beyond the borders of the US. Read more
	US Elections 2020	Sun, 18.10.2020	Panels and Discussions	Ivan Vejvoda	US Elections 2020 Sun, 18.10.2020 Speakers: Ivan Vejvoda Series: Panels and Discussions The election of Donald Trump as 45th president of the US four years ago was a sea change in many ways, but above all a sign of rising populism and a changing world order. His tenure has unsettled the transatlantic relationship, questioned the nature of multilateralism by insisting on transactional relations, doubted the need for NATO. In recent months, not only the fight against the coronavirus, but also the newly inflamed debate on structural racism have dominated the country’s domestic political discourse, which has generated global resonance far beyond the borders of the US. Read more
US Elections 2020 Sun, 18.10.2020 Speakers: Ivan Vejvoda Series: Panels and Discussions The election of Donald Trump as 45th president of the US four years ago was a sea change in many ways, but above all a sign of rising populism and a changing world order. His tenure has unsettled the transatlantic relationship, questioned the nature of multilateralism by insisting on transactional relations, doubted the need for NATO. In recent months, not only the fight against the coronavirus, but also the newly inflamed debate on structural racism have dominated the country’s domestic political discourse, which has generated global resonance far beyond the borders of the US. 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