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1. WEER 2023 | Ukraine at War: Why did it happen, when will it end? (Full Issue)

Author:
Henryk Litwin, Yevgeniya Gaber, Mykola Riabchuk, Ola Hnatiuk, and Aliaksei Kazharski
Publication Date:
01-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Warsaw East European Review (WEER)
Institution:
Centre for East European Studies, University of Warsaw
Abstract:
From June 28th to June 30th, 2023, the nineteenth Warsaw East European Conference “Ukraine at War” took place. It was attended by a diverse group of scholars from Belarus, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, the United States, Finland, and Estonia. The conference opened with an inaugural lecture titled “Why a Ukrainian Victory Matters?” delivered by Professor Marius Janukonis, Director of the Strategic Management and Analysis Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania. The closing presentation, titled “Russia’s War on Ukraine: Where Are We Now and What Next?”, was prepared by Professor Yevgeniya Gaber from Ukraine, representing the Atlantic Council in Turkey. The highlight of the conference was three round table discussions. On the first day, Professor David Sacko moderated a discussion on “Ukraine at War. Security in the Region.” On the second day, there was an exchange of views on “Rebuilding Ukraine. Key Challenges for the War and Post-War Period,” led by Dr. Ernest Wyciszkiewicz. Finally, on the closing day of WEEC, Professor Mykola Riabchuk chaired a round table titled “The Toxic Spell of ‘Imperial Knowledge’ and Challenges of Decolonization.” Throughout the event, there were 13 panel discussions during which 41 papers were presented. The titles of the panels reflect the breadth of thematic discussions during the conference, listed in the order they occurred: 1. Around Ukraine. Post-Soviet Space Before and During the War 2. Challenges and Diagnoses of the Future 3. Consequences of the War 4. Public Diplomacy 5. Russia towards the War 6. Ukraine – Sources of Resistance 7. Ukraine and Security Problems in the Continental Dimension 8. Ukraine in the Eyes of Russia. Ukraine in the Eyes of Europe 9. War Migrants 10. Belarusian Memory Policy. Report on “European Network for Belarus” project 11. Migration from Post-Soviet countries in Poland: trends, challenges, and prospects 12. War Narratives in the Media. Unfortunately, only a portion of the conference participants submitted their article texts to the organizers based on their presentations. Therefore, only partial materials from WEEC 2023 are published here. Readers will find the concluding lecture by Prof. Yevgeniya Gaber and a report on the round table discussions “The Toxic Spell of ‘Imperial Knowledge’ and Challenges of Decolonization,” comprising texts from the participants, containing the main theses of their presentations. Additionally, 10 articles from panel participants are included. While this compilation may not provide a comprehensive account of the conference, it serves as evidence of its thematic diversity and provides a glimpse into this significant event for Eastern European studies.
Topic:
History, Geopolitics, Colonialism, Ideology, Decolonization, Totalitarianism, Vladimir Putin, Armed Conflict, Identity, Soviet Union, Public Diplomacy, Forced Migration, and Russia-Ukraine War
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Ukraine, Middle East, and Eastern Europe

2. Free to choose: A new plan for peace in Western Sahara

Author:
Hugh Lovatt and Jacob Mundy
Publication Date:
05-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR)
Abstract:
The recent violent end of the ceasefire in Western Sahara means the EU and the UN should pay renewed attention to resolving the longstanding conflict between the native Sahrawis and Morocco. Various peace-making efforts over the years have led the Sahrawis’ representative organisation, Polisario, to make concessions to Morocco. However, Morocco remains insistent on an autonomy option for the Sahrawis – not independence. The UN should pursue a “free association” option for Western Sahara – a third way that offers a realistic means of fulfilling Sahrawi self-determination. France, along with the US, should encourage this by removing their diplomatic protection for Morocco both within the EU and at the UN. Correctly aligning the EU’s political and trade relations will be vital to bringing this conflict to a close. It is in EU member states’ interest to ensure a stable southern neighbourhood.
Topic:
Territorial Disputes, European Union, Decolonization, Peace, and Trade
Political Geography:
Africa, Europe, Morocco, and Western Sahara

3. In the Shadow of the British Empire: International Law and the State of Decolonization

Author:
Quentin Levin
Publication Date:
03-2020
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Abstract:
The sun may have set on the British Empire, but its shadow lingers over modern Britain’s foreign policy. Britain retains fourteen minor overseas territories worldwide, though its global ambitions lie beyond these vestiges of its empire. Today, the United Kingdom is a nation on the move—it is just not yet sure where. Its people resolved in a 2016 referendum to reverse European integration, rekindle economic ties with the Commonwealth, and strengthen the “Special Relationship” with the United States. Yet, as Britain attempts to reassert its national sovereignty, it is haunted by the specter of its imperialist past and the constraints imposed by international institutions it helped strengthen.
Topic:
International Law, History, Decolonization, and Empire
Political Geography:
Britain and Europe

4. Decolonizing Leadership Studies: Overcoming Obstacles Toward an Intercultural Dialogue Between Knowledges

Author:
Toni Jimenez-Luque
Publication Date:
03-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Studies of Changing Societies Journal (SCS)
Institution:
Studies of Changing Societies Journal (SCS)
Abstract:
The academic discipline of leadership has developed in Western countries over the past decades with a US/Western Europe-centered perspective, implying that leadership theory is universal regardless of different cultural perspectives that go beyond the Western canon. In fact, current mainstream leadership theories are rather ethnocentric and local, and many of them still reflect a Eurocentric colonial mentality of dominance and power. Therefore, the purpose with this paper is to explore the effects of Modernity and colonialism on society’s relationships to identify the causes that hinder an effective intercultural dialogue in postcolonial contexts. This paper considers Decolonial Leadership as a new model that goes beyond Eurocentric approaches in the field and points to further research that is needed to fully develop a broader and more inclusive paradigm of leadership.
Topic:
Post Colonialism, Leadership, Decolonization, Academia, and Intercultural Dialogue
Political Geography:
Europe and United States of America

5. IR THEORY, DIFFERENCE AND SUBJECTIVITY: ON CONDITIONS OF THE POSSIBILITY OF POST-WESTERN IR THEORY

Author:
Muhammed A. Ağcan
Publication Date:
04-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Alternative Politics
Institution:
Department of International Relations, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Turkey
Abstract:
The question of difference and multiplicity in IR has been conventionally defined by the particularistic ontology of the sovereign-state based on a certain understanding of the relationship between humanity and socio-political community. In the last three decades by bringing gender, race, class, post-sovereign socio-political communities, cultural-civilizational identities etc. into IR, critical international relations theories have sought to rethink the international as being conscious of its historico-cultural settings and recognizing multiple ethico-political worlds and international imaginations in contemporary human societies. The recent debate on post-Western IR theory emerging within this conceptual-historical context seeks to problematize Eurocentrism in IR and to find ways to include non / post-western historico-cultural worlds, socio-political forms and international imaginations. Postcolonial account of this scholarly debate focuses on the colonial relations of international politics originated in the world historicity of European modernity / capitalism defending the co-constitution of self and other and accordingly develops the postcolonial subjectivity. This article critically engages with this debate on post-Western IR theory and specifically postcolonial standpoint by asking whether, how or to what extent we could conceptualize differences of non / post-Western subjectivities. Keywords: Post-Western IR, Eurocentrism, Postcolonialism, Non-Western Subjectivity.
Topic:
Post Colonialism, Capitalism, Decolonization, and Modernization
Political Geography:
Europe and United States of America