Conferences and events

Webinar: Facts, myths, contemporary historical discourses and disputes over interpretation and preperation of crimes and the National Armed Forces.

On June 12th 2023 at 12:00 AM the online seminar will take place, titled: Facts, myths, contemporary historical discourses and disputes over interpretation and preperation of crimes and the National Armed Forces. Discussion on the book “Wierzchowiny 1945” by Mariusz Zajączkowski, PhD. The event will be held in Polish.

List of participants:

  • Mariusz Zajączkowski, Ph.D. – book’s author
  • Professor Igor Hałagida
  • Professor Jan Pisuliński
  • Professor Mariusz Mazur
  • Chair:

  • Bartłomiej Krzysztan, Ph.D.
  • Registration to the event via the ZOOM form.

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    Seminar: Global Governance: Fit for Purpose?

    The seminar titled: Global Governance: Fit for Purpose? will take place on May 23rd, 10:00-11:30 AM. The event is organized by the Faculty of Political Science and International Studies, University of Warsaw and Institute of Political Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences. It will take place at the Library of the Institute of Political Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences, Oleandrów 2/4, Warsaw.

    Speaker: Prof. Thomas Sommerer, Potsdam University

    Commentator: Dr Anna Grzywacz, Polish Academy of Sciences

    Chair: Prof. Agnieszka Cianciara, Polish Academy of Sciences

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    Webinar: Dangers of “Self-Determination”: the Chinese Communist Party and the Breakup of Yugoslavia as a Post-Cold War Cautionary Tale

    On May 29th the online seminar will take place, titled Dangers of “Self-Determination”: the Chinese Communist Party and the Breakup of Yugoslavia as a Post-Cold War Cautionary Tale. The event is organized by the Department of International Organizations and Global Security Studies of the Institute of Political Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences.

     

    Panelists:

    Federico Brusadelli
    (Università di Napoli L’Orientale)

     

    Sören Keil
    (University of Fribourg)

     

    Moderated by
    Katarzyna Golik
    (Institute of Political Studies PAS)

     

    Federico Brusadelli’s paper intends to explore how the élites of the People’s Republic of China have interpreted the breakup of Yugoslavia, from its prologue in the legitimacy crisis of the mid-1980s to its epilogue with the Kosovo war, in connection to their conceptualization of “self-determination” and “sovereignty”.
    Through a conceptual analysis of selected essays, historiographical texts and political speeches produced by intellectuals and historians close to the Chinese Communist Party (including prominent thinkers like Wang Shaoguang or Wang Huning, the latter currently a member of the CCP’s Politburo), a common understanding of the traumatic events taking place in the Western Balkans as global mirror of local concerns will be revealed.
    In other words, the author will try to demonstrate that the explosion of the “Balkan powder keg” has been used consistently as a “cautionary tale” to defend the conceptual and political agenda of the Party from the 1990s onward. Criticizing Tito’s federal project as a “deviation from Marxism”, emphasizing the pernicious effect of an “ethnic” arrangement of the State and of an excess of “self-determination”, or accusing the League of Communists of Yugoslavia of having lost the grip on the source of “sovereignty”, became instrumental to the justification of the post-Tiananmen centralist and nationalist turn as the only way to avoid the calamities already experienced in Moscow and Belgrade. In this framework, the connection – or the “sympathy” – between the Chinese leadership and Slobodan Milosevic, especially reinforced during the NATO operations of 1999, will be considered as a demonstration of a common post-cold war trajectory from socialism to nationalism, in which “sovereignty” has been rearticulated in a Schmittian sense as a defense from the perceived global and humanitarian encroachment of the post-cold war era.

     

    Federico Brusadelli – is Lecturer in Chinese History and International History of East Asia at the University of Naples “L’Orientale”, where he completed his PhD in Asian Studies in 2016. He is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society, a board member of the European Association for Chinese Philosophy (EACP), managing editor of the journal Ming Qing Yanjiu, and currently a visiting fellow at the Centre for Advanced Studies in Sofia. His monograph “Confucian Concord”, on the utopian political thought of Kang Youwei (1858-1927), was published in 2020 by Brill.

     

    Sören Keil – scholar in the areas of federalism and decentralisation, conflict resolution and democratization. He has worked as an expert for several international organisations, governments and civil society organisations. Trained political scientist with more than 15 years of experience. Sören has authored and edited 11 books. Currently, Academic Head of the Institute of International Research and Consulting Centre at the Institute of Federalism, University of Fribourg, Switzerland. Before that, Director of the Politics and International Relations programme at Canterbury Christ Church University in the United Kingdom.

     

    Reference
    Federico Brusadelli, Federal Failure: the Chinese Communist Party and the Breakup of Yugoslavia as a Post-Cold War Cautionary Tale, “Global Perspectives” (University of California Press) [forthcoming].

     

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    Webinar: “Chinese Investments in Maritime Ports – Poland in Global Perspective”

    On May 15th an online seminar will take place, titled Chinese Investments in Maritime Ports – Poland in Global Perspective. The event is organized by organized by Asia and Pacific Research Centre (IPS, PAS) and Asia Study Centre (War Studies University).

     

    Maritime ports are an important part of the bloodstream of global trade and logistics. Over the past decade, China has become a key global investor and port operator. Its growing interest in Poland’s ports included the participation of Chinese companies in a tender for the lease of land in the western part of the Port of Gdynia for a container transshipment terminal and offshore wind farm components. The Polish government is in turn progressing with new works on certain projects and issuing new strategic documents on directions of intermodal transport development are taking place, which will be in line with the EU’s guidelines (e.g. TEN-T).
    The series of expert discussions aim to bring to experts and public opinion a wider context of China’s investment activity in Poland’s and international ports, with its significance for economic cooperation and security. The analysis of the outcome for different ports can accelerate discussion about the possible scenarios for Poland, especially in the context of the forthcoming new ports strategy paper.

     

    I. part titled Chinese Investments in Maritime Ports – A Global Overview will begin at 9:30 AM CEST.

    This panel aims to outline international experience with Chinese investments in ports. It will provide insight into past and ongoing situations. Among the leading agents are state-owned enterprises China Merchants Port Holdings and COSCO Shipping, which operate 36 ports around the world. Apart from CMPH and COSCO, other companies operating worldwide include Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG), which invested in Haifa. The case studies can align into a review of the results for the investor and the port, therefore combining the experience from various countries.

    Experts:
    Shin Kawashima (University of Tokyo)
    Richard Griffiths (University of Leiden)
    Ehud Gonen (University of Haifa)

    Moderator:
    Katarzyna Golik (IPS Polish Academy of Sciences)

     

    II. part titled China and the International Maritime Ports – Cooperation and Security Challenges will begin at 1:00 PM CEST.

    The tension between the economic reality and security challenges can be well observed in the context of port investments. The overlapping dimensions are economic cooperation and. security of the critical infrastructure, especially in the context of the rapid digital transformation of port logistics. The latter might become an issue in the context of NATO’s Host Nation Support and EU’s Military Mobility. The discussion will be focusing predominantly on the EU’s ports, like Rotterdam or Antwerp.

    Experts:
    Alicia García Herrero (Natixis/Bruegel)
    Frans-Paul van der Putten (ChinaGeopolitics)
    Tim Rühlig (German Council on Foreign Relations)
    Vincent De Saedeleer (Yoonly)
    Ehud Gonen (University of Haifa)

    Moderator:
    Katarzyna Golik (IPS Polish Academy of Sciences)

     

    Event registration via filling the form.

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    Seminar: Using Network Analysis to Investigate U.S. Influence on Poland’s Round Table Process

    The seminar titled: Using Network Analysis to Investigate U.S. Influence on Poland’s Round Table Process will take place on April 18th, 2023, at 15:00 CEST. The event is stationary and will be held in the Palace at Dworkowa 3 St. in Warsaw.

     

    Speakers:

    Gregory F. Domber, PhD (Senior U.S. Fulbright Fellow 2022-2023)

    Kelly Bodwin, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor of Statistics, California Polytechnic State University)

     

    To register to the event please contact Institute’s main office at politic@isppan.waw.pl as numbers of participants is limited.

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    Webinar: Norm Diffusion Beyond the West. Agents and Sources of Leverage

    The online seminar titled: Norm Diffusion Beyond the West. Agents and Sources of Leverage will take place on April 24th, 15:30 CEST. It is organized by the Department of International Organizations and Global Security Studies IPS, PAS.

    Numerous studies suggest that norm diffusion is a one-way process, in which weaker actors comply with or contest norms promoted by powerful entities, primatily by Western actors. However, during the seminar, the speakers will challenge this idea by exploring the role of regional powers in promoting and shaping global norms in areas such as human rights, democracy and environmental protection, based on the insights from the book Norm Diffusion Beyond the West (Springer 2023). Drawing on case studies from Latin America, Africa and Asia, the contributors examine strategies employed by regional and small powers aimed at promoting norms and the factors that enable or constrain their success. By highlighting the agency of non-Western actors in norm diffusion, the seminar hopes to offer a more nuanced and comprehensive understanding of how global norms are created and spread.

    Speakers:
    Šárka Kolmašová (Metropolitan University Prague)
    Laura Trajber Waisbich (University of Oxford)
    Dorota Heidrich (Uniwersytet Warszawski)

    Moderator:
    Anna Grzywacz (ISP PAN)

     

    Registration via the Google Form link.

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    Online debate: Security in South-East Asia Emerging Challenges amid Geostrategic Competition

    On March 28th an online debate titled Security in South-East Asia Emerging Challenges amid Geostrategic Competition took place. The debate was organized by Asia and Pacific Research Centre (IPS, PAS) and Asia Study Centre (War Studies University).

    The region of South-East Asia is one of the strategic areas of global economy and geopolitics, which importance exceeds the Malacca Strait. Overshadowed by the current military conflict in Eastern Europe, the region still faces conflicts and territorial disputes. Their security is also threatened by the  China-US rivalry. Despite that, they face internal and transborder threats of terrorism, guerrilla crime, separatism, or cybercrime. During the debate, the experts will draw prospects of ongoing issues.

    Experts:
    Joel Ng (RSIS Nanyang Technological University)
    Jerzy Bayer (Jagiellonian University)
    Dominika Janus (independent researcher)
    Łukasz Stach (Jagiellonian University)

    Moderator:
    Katarzyna Golik (Polish Academy of Sciences)

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    Seminar: Presidential summits and the role of the host states: lessons from the Three Seas Initiative

    The seminar titled “Presidential summits and the role of the host states: lessons from the Three Seas Initiative” will take place on March 22nd, 2023. If you are interested in online participation please visit the registration form at: https://forms.gle/hAQKjDv6C83cwBVH9 .

    The aim of the seminar, organized by the Three Seas Initiative Research Center, affiliated with the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Science, is to review the results of the Three Seas Initiative Summits, the importance of the declarations adopted there, the role of the host states, as well as the challenges facing this model of cooperation. The seminar discussion will also focus on the upcoming summit, which will be held in Bucharest. It is worth noting that Romania is the first state to host the Three Seas Initiative presidential summit for the second time.

    The topics discussed will also include Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, political, economic and financial support given to Ukraine by the states of the Three Seas Initiative, as well as the consequences of the war for the energy and economic security of the region. The seminar will be organized in the roundtable discussion formula. It will be attended by researchers and scholars from Central European states. The keynote speech at the seminar will be delivered by His Excellency Mr. Theodor Cosmin Onisii, Ambassador of Romania to Poland.

     

    Program:

    11:00 – 11:10 Opening remarks by Prof. Agnieszka Orzelska-Stączek, Project Leader of the Three Seas Initiative Research Center, the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences

    11:10 – 11:25 Keynote speech by Ambassador of Romania, HE Mr Theodor Cosmin Onisii

    11:25 – 12:30 Discussion: Presidential summits and the role of the host states: lessons from the Three Seas Initiative

    Among the discussion participants:

    • Prof. Magdalena Bainczyk, Chief Analyst, Institute for Western Affairs in Poznań
    • Prof. Piotr Bajda, Associate Professor at the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw (UKSW)
    • Dr. Hristo Berov, Associate Professor at Sofia University
    • Dr. Vít Dostál, Executive Director, Association for International Affairs (AMO)
    • Prof. Octavian-Dragomir Jora, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Founder of The Market for Ideas magazine
    • Dr. Paul Latawski, Senior Lecturer in War Studies, Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst
    • Prof. Karina Marczuk, Associate Professor at the University of Warsaw, Faculty of Political Science and International Relations, Diplomacy and International Institutions Chair
    • Prof. Beata Piskorska, Vice-rector for students, doctoral students and development at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin (KUL)
    • Prof. Michal Vašečka, Program Director, Bratislava Policy Institute
    • Prof. Przemysław Żurawski vel Grajewski, Associate Professor at Łódź University
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