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1. The Other Europe

Author:
Vaclav Havel Library
Publication Date:
05-2021
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Vaclav Havel Library
Abstract:
One half of this year’s theme - The Other Europe - refers back to the epoch when Europe was divided into East and West. The first part of the conference - The Other Europe in the 1980s - refers to a six-part series produced by the British Channel Four television in 1987–1988 about the situation in the communist-dominated countries of Central Europe, based on interviews with the leading opposition figures of the era. The Václav Havel Library is in possession of the complete raw footage of the series. One panel of the conference is dedicated to four interviewees from 1987/88 and their “Facing the younger me” responses. The second half of the conference - The Other Europe Today - will address the current situation: Is there an Other Europe today? Is it drifting apart again from its Western neighbours? What impact has the pandemic had on the EU’s geopolitical standing and internal cohesion? Has the pandemic affected the perceptions of liberal democracy and the opinions of the younger generation? In this second part we aim to explore the possible links between the past and present concepts of the Central European “otherness” and the perspectives of overcoming such divisions. The conference is aimed primarily at secondary and college-level students, as well as scholars, experts, and members of the public interested in European issues. Albeit at a distance, we look forward to a vivid online interaction between the speakers and our international audience.
Topic:
International Cooperation, Regional Cooperation, European Union, Democracy, Conflict, and Peace
Political Geography:
Europe

2. Europe At The Crossroads: Democracy, Neighborhoods, Migrations

Author:
Jacques Rupnik and Pavel Seifter
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Vaclav Havel Library
Abstract:
or the last two decades two issues have dominated the European agenda: the launch of the euro (deepening) and the Eastern enlargement of the EU (widening). The latter had been largely been considered a success in overcoming of the post-war East-West divide. The for- mer has over the last decade revealed its flaws and opened up another divide inside the EU, between North and South. Both aspects are relevant to understanding the EU’s capacity to respond to the exter- nal crisis it faces: the simultaneous implosion of its Eastern and Southern neighbours. The Ukrainian ‘Euromaidan’ crisis and the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 as well as the emergence of “Islamic State” (ISIS) in the aftermath of the Arab Spring have caught the EU unawares. Both have shattered the EU’s Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and confronted Europe with new security issues as well as an unprecedented migration wave. The starting point of the Vaclav Havel European Dialogues, was that the interdependence of our fates as Europeans in the context of the above-mentioned crisis was not just a matter for states and EU institutions but also for all citizens living within the Union. Hence the proposal to meet annually in Prague, under the auspices of the Vaclav Havel Library, to discuss with lead- ing European voices on the subject, our present predicament, the interaction of the internal and external crisis, and the ways in which they transform our national and European politics. Three main related themes regarding the crises, their interpretations and our capacity to respond were addressed in successive conferences of the Vaclav Havel European Dialogues be- tween 2014 and 2016: European democracy in times of crisis, the implosion of the EU’s neigh- bourhoods and the related security issues and finally migrations and its impact on our politics.
Topic:
Migration, Regional Cooperation, European Union, and Democracy
Political Geography:
Europe

3. Where Does Europe Begin and End?

Author:
Vaclav Havel Library
Publication Date:
05-2017
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Vaclav Havel Library
Abstract:
The Václav Havel European Dialogues raise and discuss Eu- rope-wide issues with a view to the political, philosophical and spiritual legacy of Václav Havel. The conference’s one- day format creates a forum where major European thinkers, analysts, politicians and other experts can come together and discuss topical issues facing Europe, not only among themselves but also with the public.
Topic:
Regional Cooperation, European Union, Geopolitics, Integration, and Identity
Political Geography:
Europe

4. Europe Facing its Migration and Refugee Challenges: EU, Nation States and Civic Society

Author:
Vaclav Havel Library
Publication Date:
05-2016
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Vaclav Havel Library
Abstract:
The Václav Havel European Dialogues is an internation- al project that aims to initiate and stimulate a discussion about issues determining the direction of contemporary Europe while referring to the European spiritual legacy of Václav Havel. This idea takes its main inspiration from Václav Havel’s essay “Power of the Powerless”. More than other similarly focused projects, the Václav Havel Euro- pean Dialogues aims to offer the “powerless” a platform to express themselves and in so doing to boost their posi- tion within Europe. The Václav Havel European Dialogues is planned as a long-term project and involves cooperation with other organisations in various European cities. Indi- vidual meetings, which take the form of a conference, are targeted primarily at secondary and third-level students, as well as specialists and members of the public interested in European issues.
Topic:
Migration, Regional Cooperation, Immigration, Border Control, European Union, and Humanitarian Crisis
Political Geography:
Europe

5. Time for European Politics

Author:
Vaclav Havel Library
Publication Date:
05-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Vaclav Havel Library
Abstract:
The return of geopolitics to Europe from the East together with the publics‘ reaction to the spectre of immigration from the South has finally dawned on EU’s politicians. It is no longer possible to pretend that the „outside“ and the „inside“ can be kept apart. Europe‘s identity is being questioned with surprising intensity and in unexpected ways. Reactionary East- West political and cultural alliances are being forged, feeding and fed by nationalism, populist radicalism and antiliberal conservatism with Eurasian flavour. At the same time European citizens volunteer to take part in wars abroad, mirrored by and linked to acts of terrorism and violence in European countries. With state, institutions, parties and democratic politics in decline, what are the chances for peace and European democracy? We have to understand what is going on. Europeans inside the Union have to know how they are seen by our neighbours East, Southeast and South. What are their expectations? What do they want to achieve by joining the EU? What are they ready to sacrifice to reach that goal? On the other hand, we need to be clear what defines Europe’s own attitude towards others. Is it trade, economic interests, security or moral values? Can Europe still define its own ways or has it lost the initiative to others? Who can and should take action? The Ukraine crisis is forcing Europe to recognise that its post-Cold War order has reached its limits and needs to contend with harsh facts. Europe has to acknowledge the real world beyond its borders while focusing its energies on consolidating its own political space, which now also includes Ukraine.
Topic:
Civil Society, Regional Cooperation, European Union, and Democracy
Political Geography:
Europe