BEAR-PONARS EURASIA CONFERENCE, APRIL 29-30, 2022

BEAR-PONARS Eurasia Conference

“Between the EU and Russia: Domains of Diversity and Contestation” 

April 29-30, 2022, in Washington, DC

This is a joint conference between the BEAR Network (www.bearnetwork.ca) and PONARS Eurasia (www.ponarseurasia.org). Over two days, selected BEAR and PONARS Eurasia members, as well as other invited guests, will take part in joint roundtables to discuss key research themes and policy implications related to the theme of diversity and contestation on the EU’s eastern borders. Departing from the usual workshop or panel formats, we wish to provide a space for dynamic exchanges to assess and advance the state of the field in research, policy analysis, and teaching.

Conference Agenda

Friday, April 29, 2022

9:00-9:15 am   Welcome

9:15 am-10:45 am   Panel 1: Ukrainian Society and Russia’s Full-scale Invasion
Location: Lindner Commons, Room 602
Mikhail Alexseev, San Diego State University
“The Crucible of Freedom: War and Democracy Support in Ukraine”
Theodore Gerber, University of Wisconsin-Madison
“Childbearing, Marriage, and Daily Life in the NGCA: Insights from Focus Groups”
Uliana Movchan (virtual), Karazin Kharkiv National University
“Decentralization Reform in Ukraine and Its Consequences on Civil Response in the Face of War”
Olena Nikolayenko, Fordham University
“Gender Outcomes of the Revolution of Dignity and Russia’s War on Ukraine”

Chair: David Szakonyi, The George Washington University
Discussant: Juliet Johnson, McGill University

11:00 am-12:00 pm A Conversation with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Belarusian Politician

12:30 pm-2:00 pm   Lunch with Guest Speaker Jill Dougherty, CNN, in Conversation with Maria Lipman

2:00 pm-3:30 pm   Panel 2: Russian Society and the Invasion of Ukraine
Location: Lindner Commons, Room 602
Marat Shterin, King’s College London
“Religion and the Invasion of Ukraine from the Postcolonial Perspective”
Irina Busygina (virtual), Higher School of Economics, Saint Petersburg
“Russian Universities’ Position(s) on the War”
Henry Hale, The George Washington University
“Russian Public Opinion and Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine”

Chair: Magdalena Dembińska, Université de Montréal
Discussant: Samuel Greene, King’s College London

3:30 pm-3:45 pm Coffee Break

3:45 pm-5:15 pm   Panel 3: Challenges Facing Europe
Location: Lindner Commons, Room 602
Milada Anna Vachudova, UNC Chapel Hill
“Russia’s War against Ukraine and Ukraine’s Challenge to Europe”
Maria Koinova, Warwick University
“Russia’s Invasion in Ukraine and Polarization in Eastern Europe and the Balkans”
Jean-François Ratelle, University of Ottawa
“Interpol, Russia, and the Russian-speaking Migrants in the European Union”
Mark Kramer, Harvard University
“The Persecution of Gays in Chechnya and the Implications for the EU”

Chair: Magdalena Dembińska, Université de Montréal
Discussant: Viacheslav Morozov, University of Tartu

Saturday, April 30th, 2022

9:00 am-10:30 am   Panel 4: The Baltics and Moldova: Between the EU, Russia, and War
Location: Lindner Commons, Room 602
Zsuzsa Csergő, Queen’s University and Kristina Kallas, University of Tartu
“The Impact of Russia’s War on Ukraine on Russophone Minorities in the Baltics”
Joan DeBardeleben (virtual), Carleton University
“Russian Media Depictions of EU-Russia Cross-Border Initiatives in the Baltics”
Magdalena Dembińska, Université de Montréal
“Eurasian De Facto States and the War in Ukraine”

Chair: Juliet Johnson, McGill University
Discussant: Henry Hale, The George Washington University

10:30 am-10:45 am   Coffee Break

10:45 am-12:15 pm   Panel 5: Between the EU and Russia
Location: Lindner Commons, Room 602
Luca Anceschi (virtual), University of Glasgow
“Recent Developments in Kazakhstani Multi-Vectorism”
Anar Valiyev, ADA University
“EU Soft and Russian Hard Powers in Azerbaijan: The Struggle Has Begun”
Viacheslav Morozov, University of Tartu
“Europe’s Normative Appeal, De-Stalinization and Russian Peripheral Capitalism: Towards a Renewed Research Agenda?”

Chair: Juliet Johnson, McGill University
Discussant: Marlene Laruelle, The George Washington University