Programme

The Leibniz ScienceCampus EEGA opens its side event with a keynote lecture that introduces participants to the conference theme „Unfinished Statebuilding and Contested Democracies“ and opens the discussions. First, the speaker of the German network, Prof. Dr. Judith Miggelbrink from the Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography, will say a word of welcome. The guest speaker, Prof. Dr. Jelena Dzankic, will then be introduced by the moderator of the session, Dr. Christian Costamagna, historian and EEGA Postdoc Fellow. Dzankic’s lecture will be followed by Q & A with the audience. All guests of the RSA CEE Conference are cordially invited to get to know the ScienceCampus EEGA and its topics, meet familiar and new colleagues and learn more about Dzankic’s exciting research.

Lecture Abstract

“Democratic struggles in contested states”

The twenty-first century has deeply disappointed the promise of democracy for the Western Balkan states. Despite the hopes that the ‘democratic moment’ of the early 2000s would bring about more open, inclusive, and democratic societies, over the past two decades, the political reality of these countries has been the one of the rule of law backsliding, competitive authoritarianism, and low transformative capacity at the level of society. Why has this been the case? This talk explores the ways in which the contested nation- and state-building projects have curbed the democratic capacity in the Western Balkans. It highlights different mechanisms through which these contestations of borders, identities, and institutions have cemented political power strongholds, and opened up spaces for the rise of dependencies on non-democratic actors, such as China, the Gulf States, or Russia. The talk differentiates among democratic struggles of the different countries in the Western Balkans, reflecting on the broader European and global trends of democratic decline.

Time: 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM

Room: E-1 Large Auditorium (Block B – Ground Floor)

Chair:

• Christian Costamagna, Leibniz ScienceCampus „Eastern Europe – Global Area“ (EEGA), Leipzig University, Germany

Speaker:

• Judith Miggelbrink, Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography, Leipzig, Germany
• Jelena Dzankic, Robert Schuman Centre of the European University Institute, Florence, Italy

The Welcome Reception takes place on the Terrace of the Department of Economics and Business, University of Dubrovnik. Separate registration is required.

Time: 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Venue: Terrace of the Department of Economics and Business, University of Dubrovnik.

For more information see RSA conference programme online.

Time: 9:00 AM – 10:45 AM

Room: E-1 Large Auditorium (Block B – Ground Floor)

Chair:

• Marijana Sumpor, Euro Ekspertiza, Member of the City of Zagreb Assembly, Zagreb, Croatia

Speaker:

• Anna Wagner, Head of Unit, European Commission
• Ida Musiałkowska, Poznań University of Economics and Business, Poland
• Šime Erlić, Ministry of Regional Development and EU funds

The panel offers a comprehensive reflection on the Kosovo War, examining its historical significance and enduring impact a quarter-century after the conflict. Through diverse perspectives, the panel addresses the broader implications of the Kosovo War, including its socio-political ramifications, regional dynamics and international interventions.

Time: 11:15 AM – 12:45 AM

Room: B-4 (Block A – 1st Floor)

Chair:

• Lena Dallywater, Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography, Leipzig, Germany

Speaker:

• Arbër Hadri, Institute of Historiy „Ali Hadri“, Pristina, Kosovo
• David Kanin, Johns Hopkins University, Washington DC, United States
• Christian Costamagna, Leibniz ScienceCampus „Eastern Europe – Global Area“ (EEGA), Leipzig University, Germany

This panel explores challenges and opportunities with archival materials from conflict-marked regions, focusing on former Yugoslavia. It discusses identifying and preserving documents in Kosovo, emphasizing safeguarding dispersed materials for cultural heritage. The policies of the Clinton Administration regarding the former Yugoslavia are explored through the examination of Presidential Records. This includes accessing unreleased records via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Mandatory Declassification Review process. It also examines archives’ role in justice, legal reforms, and memory initiatives and advocating for digital preservation. Emotional dimensions in war-torn archives are discussed, along with challenges of trauma among families and their communities. Moreover, it covers preservation and accessibility of tribunal archives managed by the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, that is a part of the Unite Nations system, emphasizing their importance in global discussions on peace, justice, and accountability.

Time: 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM

Room: B-4 (Block A – 1st Floor)

Chair:

• Christian Costamagna, Leibniz ScienceCampus „Eastern Europe – Global Area“ (EEGA), Leipzig University, Germany

Speaker:

• Nevenka Tromp-Vrkic, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
• Kara Ellis, William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States
• Suzanne Scott, Mechanism Archives and Records Section, United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, The Hague, The Netherlands
• Robert Parnica, Senior Reference Archivist, Vera and Donald Blinken Open Society Archives, Budapest, Hungary

With its focus on geographies of identity and discontent, this panel turns its attention to the social and political consequences of spatial inequalities. The contributions will examine experiences of migration, stigmatization and marginalization as well as the role of architecture and urban structures in the creation of identity. Discussed are processes of urban planning and urban change in cities of Central and Eastern Europe, the intended and unintended effects as well as the creative reactions of citizens to their living spaces.

Time: 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM

Room: B-4 (Block A – 1st Floor)

Chair:

• Gregory Gan, Leibniz ScienceCampus „Eastern Europe – Global Area“ (EEGA), University of Halle, Germany

Speaker:

• Anna Grzelak, Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences (IGSO PAS), Warsaw, Poland / Marc Ferch, Thünen-Institute of Rural Studies, Braunschweig, Germany / Frederik Beinvogl, Thünen Institute of Rural Studies, Braunschweig, Germany / Andreas Klärner, Thünen-Institute of Rural Studies, Braunschweig, Germany
• Jan Szczepański, University of Warsaw, Poland
• Gregory Gan, Leibniz ScienceCampus „Eastern Europe – Global Area“ (EEGA), University of Halle, GermanyAna Aceska, Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands

Two years after the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, there is an increasing number of offers that provide basic knowledge about the attacked country and its history, as well as articles which offer interpretations and analyses. In this special session, the editors of a new anthology present their endeavour to add a publication that is devoted to two so far less discussed issues: firstly, the consequences of the war for global interrelation relation and world order, and secondly insights into reflection on the global consequences from around the world. When starting the project, the aim was to compile a collection of texts by international authors who, since the beginning of the war of aggression (2022 ff), have analysed the war as a caesura for world-wide interdependencies, and the interrelation of Eastern Europe with other regions of the world. The focus is on the global embeddedness of the war, the global effects and the possible consequences for the emergence of a new world order. Together with guests and a critical commentator, the editors discuss central claims, lay out what they have developed so far and engage in a discussion with the audience.

Time: 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM

Room: B-4 (Block A – 1st Floor)

Chair:

• Dennis Dierks, Leipzig University, Germany

Guests:

• Steffi Marung, Leipzig University, Germany
• Lena Dallywater, Leibniz ScienceCampus „Eastern Europe – Global Area“ (EEGA), Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography, Leipzig, Germany

Discussant:

• Bohdan Novoshytskyi, Leibniz Institute for Regional Geography, Leipzig, Germany

The volume „Off white – Central and Eastern Europe and the global history of race“ (2024) foregrounds racial difference as a key to an alternative history of the Central and Eastern European region, which revolves around the role of whiteness as the unacknowledged foundation of semi-peripheral nation-states and national identities, and of the region’s current status as a global stronghold of unapologetic white, Christian nationalisms. Contributions address the pivotal role of whiteness in international diplomacy, geographical exploration, media cultures, music, intellectual discourses, academic theories, everyday language and banal nationalism’s many avenues of expressions. In the round table, editors and authors together with guests discuss the new paradigms for understanding the relationships among racial capitalism, populism, economic peripherality and race that the book offers.

Time: 11:00 AM – 12:30 AM

Room: B-4 (Block A – 1st Floor)

Chair:

• Dana McKelvey, Central European University, Hungary

Panelists:

• James Mark, University of Exeter, United Kingdom
• Ivan Kalmar, University of Toronto, Canada
• Monika Bobako, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland

For more information see RSA conference programme online.

Time: 01:30 PM – 03:15 PM

Room: E-1 Large Auditorium (Block B – 1st Floor)

Chair:

• Jozsef Benedek, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; University of Miskolc, Miskolc-Egyetemváros, Faculty of Economics, Hungary

Speaker:

• Maria Giovanna Brandano, Gran Sasso Science Institute, L’Aquila, Italy
• Tamás Sebestyén, University of Pécs, Hungary
• Ron Boschma, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
• Marija Raznatovic, Directorate for Innovation and Smart Specialisation, Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation, Montenegro