Report 2019 - 2020 Eastern Europe - Global Area - IAMO
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Report 2019 – 2020 Eastern Europe – Global Area
Report 2019 – 2020 | Eastern Europe – Global Area
Table of Contents 3
01 EEGA Members 04
02 Preface 06
03 EEGA within the Leibniz Association 08
04 The Research Areas 10
05 Promotion of Young Researchers 22
06 Internationalisation and Partnerships 24
07 Knowledge Transfer and Interaction with the Media 26
08 Publications 30
09 EEGA in Times of Covid-19 34
Contact 38
Imprint 39
Report 2019 – 2020 | Eastern Europe – Global Area
01 EEGA Members 5
Leibniz Institute for Institute of Geography at
Regional Geography (IfL), Leipzig Friedrich Schiller University Jena (IfG)
Prof Dr Sebastian Lentz Prof Dr Sebastian Henn
(s_lentz@leibniz-ifl.de) (sebastian.henn@uni-jena.de)
www.leibniz-ifl.de http://www.geographie.uni-jena.de
Centre for Area Studies (CAS) at Leipzig Leibniz Institute for the History and
University (new from January 2020: Culture of Eastern Europe (GWZO), Leipzig
Research Centre Global Dynamics Prof Dr Christian Lübke
(ReCentGlobe)) (christian.luebke@leibniz-gwzo.de)
Prof Dr Matthias Middell https://www.leibniz-gwzo.de/de
(middell@uni-leipzig.de)
https://www.recentglobe.uni-leipzig.de/ Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development
in Transition Economies (IAMO), Halle
Aleksander Brückner Center for Polish Prof Dr Thomas Glauben
Studies (ABZ) at Martin Luther University (glauben@iamo.de)
Halle-Wittenberg and Friedrich Schiller https://www.iamo.de
University Jena
Prof Dr Yvonne Kleinmann Max Planck Institute for
(yvonne.kleinmann@geschichte.uni-halle.de) Social Anthropology (MPI), Halle
http://www.aleksander-brueckner-zentrum.org Prof Marie-Claire Foblets PhD
Prof Dr Chris Hann
Fraunhofer Center for International (foblets@eth.mpg.de)
Management and Knowledge Economy (hann@eth.mpg.de)
(IMW), Leipzig http://www.eth.mpg.de
Prof Dr Thorsten Posselt
(thorsten.posselt@imw.fraunhofer.de)
https://www.imw.fraunhofer.de
Report 2019 – 2020 | Eastern Europe – Global Area
02 Preface 7
In 2020, the Leibniz ScienceCampus »Eastern Europe – innovative teaching in this new field of inquiry. Combin-
Global Area« (EEGA) finds itself in a unique situation: ing expertise from all five EEGA research areas, the
After four years of constant development, intensified in- volume comprises findings and outcomes from more
ternational cooperation across the Atlantic, networking than three years of fruitful EEGA research activities. It
activities and a calendar full of events, trainings, work- stresses and demonstrates the importance of transre-
shops, and grants for PostDocs, the global Covid-19 pan- gional perspectives on Eastern Europe, with regards to
demic has changed the way in which we are doing and its global and regional entanglements and (self-)posi-
conceptualising research. It has also changed the focus tioning in current and historical globalisation processes.
of research agendas and questions, with new dynamics Adopting an interdisciplinary perspective, the textbook
of responses and positionings of societies towards the covers varied accounts of Eastern Europe’s interaction
challenges posed by the pandemic, and a renewed with and influence on the global sphere, as well as of re-
awareness of local, national, regional, and global entan- verse processes, with individual actors at the centre of
glements and connections. This shift in research agen- the analysis, as they preconfigure, articulate, delimit, po-
das and methodologies comes in a crucial moment for sition and transcend what has become a globally con-
EEGA in a second regard. In the reporting period, the nected Eastern Europe. Each chapter is supported by
eight cooperation partners, i.e. three universities, three maps and illustrations as part of a visual language that
Leibniz institutes, and two research institutions in the guides readers through Eastern Europe and its global en-
science region Leipzig – Halle – Jena, submitted an appli- tanglements.
cation to the Leibniz Association for a second funding In the years to come, the researchers working to-
phase for the ScienceCampus and, amongst Covid-19 gether in the ScienceCampus will continue asking how
turbulences, the Joint Science Conference (GWK) ap- societies of Eastern Europe position themselves in global
proved. In this second funding phase 2020–2024, EEGA processes and conflicts. EEGA’s aim to communicate new
welcomes new Research Area Coordinators, many of research results in the media and to the broader public
them PostDocs who have been integrated into EEGA’s remains, and is probably more important than ever. Yet,
activities in the first four years, and the Leibniz Institute conditions have changed and we are looking forward to
for Jewish History and Culture – Simon Dubnow (Leipzig) an inspiring new year and second funding phase of EEGA.
as a new institutional partner. Finally, the foundation of Conversations will hopefully be deepened at the up
the ReCentGlobe at Leipzig University in 2020 marks a coming regional conference of the British Association for
start into a new consolidation of research efforts, focus- Slavonic and East European Studies (BASEES) in April
ing on the study of globalisation processes, in the region. 2021 in Leipzig, organised in cooperation with three Ger-
We are particularly happy that the joint efforts of man partners, namely EEGA, ZOiS and DGO.
the first funding phase have yielded a text book for Please stay in contact with us, online and in-
higher academic education on »Global Eastern Europe«, person, and enjoy browsing through the pages of our
to be published in early 2021, which will facilitate annual report.
Yours Sincerely,
Prof Dr Sebastian Lentz Prof Dr Matthias Middell
(Spokesperson of the Steering Committee) (Spokesperson of the Steering Committee)
Report 2019 – 2020 | Eastern Europe – Global Area
03 EEGA within the 9
Leibniz Association
The Leibniz ScienceCampus »Eastern Europe – Global research institutions, and individuals studying globali
Area« (EEGA) is dedicated to promoting research on East- sation and/or Eastern Europe, EEGA integrates strengths
ern Europe in current and historical globalisation pro- and competencies and builds bridges across disciplines
cesses. Striving to outgrow regionally compartmental- and institutions towards synergetic and complementary
ised approaches, EEGA collaborates with regional collaboration.
partners to develop an informed understanding of East- 2) The Leibniz ScienceCampus stimulates a re-
ern Europe’s changing, at times paradoxical role in a glo- search-led discourse on societies in Eastern Europe with
balised world. The ScienceCampus investigates this multi- explicitly reflexive approach on Area Studies. It pro-
faceted topic through the lens of five research areas: motes knowledge transfer between academia and the
1) Mobilities and Migration Regimes; 2) Self-Positioning public, researchers in Germany and abroad, particularly
in a New World Order; 3) Business Strategies and Frame- with scholars from Eastern Europe. Engagement and dis-
works of Political Economies; 4) Cultural and Intellectual semination projects with both the public and tailored
Perspectives and Identifications; 5) Eastern Europe in audiences (e.g. journalism, political consulting) promote
Times of Europeanisation and Diffusion. These research interaction between academia and society and enhance
activities all aim at understanding how Eastern Europe’s culture of debate. The exchange with partners (guest re-
diverse, rich, and incidentally conflicted societies posi- searchers, journalists, etc.) from Eastern Europe allows to
tion themselves in global processes and conflicts, en- deepen the understanding of the region by combining
gage in the dynamics of global integration, and cham- internal and external approaches.
pion these developments. 3) EEGA pursues the objective of contributing to
EEGA is part of the Leibniz ScienceCampus net- research capacity and network building within and out-
work, the Leibniz Association’s response to the often- side academia. By promoting young researchers devel-
criticised lack of cooperation between university and oping a career either within or outside academia, EEGA
non-university research institutions within the German generates both researchers and experts in related fields.
research system. Leibniz ScienceCampi thus promote It provides a subsequent line of education that starts
close collaboration between Leibniz institutions and uni- from Master’s courses and supports PhD-trainings. It
versities through thematically focused, complementary completes with promoting thematic networking for
regional partnerships. The resulting networks drive postdocs and for highly qualified young academics.
research activities and strengthen the research environ- EEGA supports sharing experiences in academic teach-
ment in the respective fields. ScienceCampi conduct ing of new perspectives with a close links between re-
strategic research, encourage interdisciplinary projects search and education.
and methods, enhance the visibility of the respective 4) Within the Leibniz Association, the Science-
locations, and refine their research profiles. Campus EEGA strengthens the focus area »Eastern Eu-
In this vein, EEGA pursues four strategic goals: rope« (see the establishment of the working group »East-
1) The Leipzig-Halle-Jena science region is dense ern Europe« in 2014) and Area Studies in general by
with higher education and research institutions, re- contributing its multi-disciplinary knowledge and exper-
nowned knowledge and expertise in the study of East- tise and sharing its broad range of experience regarding
ern Europe and globalisation. Providing an infrastructure research, network, and knowledge exchange activities
and serving as a catalyst connecting universities, within the Leibniz community.
Report 2019 – 2020 | Eastern Europe – Global Area
04 Research Areas 11
The Leibniz ScienceCampus »Eastern Europe –
Global Area« is organised in five research areas.
In the following, they are presented with regard
to their respective measures in 2019/20.
Research Area 1 Research Area 2 Research Area 3 Research Area 4 Research Area 5
Mobilities Self-Position- Business Cultural and Eastern
and Migration ing of Eastern Strategies Intellectual Europe in
Regimes Europe and Frame- Perspectives Times of
in Eastern in a New works of and Identifi- Europeani
Europe World Order Political cations sation and
Coordination: Prof Dr Helena Coordination: Prof Dr Frank Economies Coordination: Prof Dr Jürgen Diffusion
Flam (Leipzig University) Hadler (Leibniz Institute for the Heyde (Leibniz Institute for the
and Prof Dr Judith Miggel- History and Culture of Eastern Coordination: Prof Dr Sebastian History and Culture of Eastern Coordination: Prof Dr Gert
brink (TU Dresden) Europe) and Prof Dr Matthias Henn (University of Jena), Prof Europe / University of Halle- Pickel (Leipzig University) and
Middell (Leipzig University) Dr Thomas Glauben (Leibniz Wittenberg), Prof Dr Yvonne Prof Dr Holger Lengfeld
Institute of Agricultural Develop- Kleinmann (University of (Leipzig University)
ment in Transition Economies – Halle-Wittenberg/Aleksander
IAMO) and Prof Dr Thorsten Brückner Center for Polish
Posselt (Fraunhofer Center for Studies), and Prof Dr Stefan
International Management and Troebst (Leibniz Institute for
Knowledge Economy) the History and Culture of
Eastern Europe)
Research Areas Report 2019 – 2020 | Eastern Europe – Global Area
12 Research Area 1 Research Area 2 13
Mobilities and Self-Positioning of
Migration Regimes in Eastern Europe in a New
Eastern Europe World Order
Coordination: Prof Dr Helena Flam (Leipzig University) Coordination: Prof Dr Frank Hadler (Leibniz Institute for
Arokkiaraj Heller © private
and Prof Dr Judith Miggelbrink (TU Dresden) the History and Culture of Eastern Europe) and Prof Dr
Matthias Middell (Leipzig University)
The transformation of Eastern Europe has resulted in
high levels of subnational territorial inequality, displace- The end of the Cold War has been widely perceived as
ments, and expulsions, as well as complex patterns of Dr Arokkiaraj Heller: six-months stay; re- the starting point of changes to and within world order.
ethnic, cultural, religious, and political identities and ori- search topic: Indian medical students’ mobil- The Research Area conceptualises »world order« as the
entations. Stark contrasts of vibrant and dynamic places ity choices to Eastern Europe and non-East- result of multiple interventions by many actors that can
on the one hand and marginalised places on the other ern European countries: A comparative study. be explored only by including various spatial scales and
characterise the region. These trends have resulted in formats. It aims to stimulate the debate on the self-posi-
complex patterns of mobility, mobile and immobile »The benefit of EEGA lies in providing me to tioning of Eastern European states and societies by invit-
groups, as well as forms of control and flows. Research undertake a fresh project on students migra- ing area experts studying both Eastern Europe and other
approaches take into account intersecting social, eco- tion. During my stay, due to mentors, I ad- world regions. The focus is on positioning strategies of
nomic, cultural, political, and infrastructural compo- vanced my knowledge of qualitative research Eastern European collective actors within this changing
nents. Five interdependent mobilities are distinguished techniques.« (Arokkiaraj Heller) world (order), new spatial formats of political organisa-
Bálint Varga © private
here: corporeal travel of people, physical movements of tion emerging within Eastern Europe, and the region’s
objects, imaginative travel, virtual travel, and commu- engagement with other world regions.
nicative travel.
In 2019/20, Research Area 2 welcomed three guest Dr Bálint Varga: six-months stay; research
In 2019/20, Research Area 1 welcomed two guest researchers: topic: A Transnational History of the Late
researchers: Dr Dorin Lozovanu: six-months stay; re- Habsburg Monarchy.
search topic: Geography of Migration and
Diaspora from Eastern Europe (case study of During his stay at EEGA he published an arti-
Moldova and Romania). cle on ›America‹ in Rural Hungary around
1900: Migration Networks and Rural
During his EEGA fellowship Dorin Lozovanu Press in Creating Transnational Know
developed an application for a Georg Forster ledge at EEGA’s cooperating e-journal Con-
Research Fellowship for Postdoctoral Re- nections – A Journal for Historians and
searchers of the Alexander von Humboldt Area Specialists.
Foundation with the project The Ethnic and
Migration Diaspora: Case Study of Roma-
nians and Moldovans in Europe. The out-
come of the application is expected in spring
2021. If successful, Dorin Lozovanu’s new re-
search project will be hosted by the Leibniz
Institute for Regional Geography.
Research Areas Report 2019 – 2020 | Eastern Europe – Global Area
14 Lecture Series in Global Art History – »Global or Alter ism and its Neoliberal Aftermaths‹, ›Nation, Othering, ship Eastern European scholars might need to ›reclaim‹ 15
Dr Elkhan Nuriyev: six-month stay; re- Global? Contemporary East-Central European Art and Populism‹, ›Gender, Sexuality, and Social Reproduc- and how this could be pursued collectively. The series of
search topic: Competing Regionalisms in Histories« (Winter term 2019/20): Organisers: Karolina tion‹, ›Civil Society and Social Movements‹ and ›Informal virtual discussions resulted in a short commentary that
Post-Soviet Territory: Global Trends, Re- Majewska-Güde (Catholic Private University Linz) and Urbanism and Mobility Practices‹. In the end, almost all outlines the state of Eastern European debates and opin-
gional Implications for the EU’s Eastern Part- Beáta Hock. The concept of the guest lecture series the initially committed participants took part in the ions around these questions and offers suggestions to-
nership Countries. »Global Art History« at KU Linz, Austria, was inspired by workshop and the reflection session showed a high level wards a more organised approach in engaging with and
the question of what we can learn from the experiences of satisfaction with the workshop. The positive response contributing to the relevant debates worldwide. The
of recent art historiography in Central and Eastern Eu- to the workshop led to the decision to publish a joint commentary is designed to serve as a future roadmap for
»The benefit of EEGA lies in offering great op- rope (CEE) about the practice of so-called »global art his- publication and to hold a further meeting, which will be Eastern European scholars working in Global Colonisa-
portunities for research fellows to broaden tory«. Against the background that »global art history« accompanied by the keynote speech by Nivedita Menon, tion Debates and Decolonial Struggles. Following the
their horizons and to acquire new impres- often deals with the question of the decolonisation of art which will serve as a closure and summary of the project. workshop, a mail list was set up on JISC to continue the
sions. It is a transformative international ex- historical perspectives, Piotr Piotrowski's proposal of an The goal is to publish free access, short pieces that will conversations. The list aims to a) build a community of
perience to generate innovative ideas and alter-globalist art history that not only opposes the dom- reflect overall discussions of the workshop and present scholars grounded in Eastern European studies, from
boost professional network which is essen- inant canons of universal art history but is also highly the audience on the state of art on current research within or outside the region, b) to facilitate conversa-
tial when launching new collaboration.« critical of economic, civilisational, and cultural globalisa- mostly focusing on Eastern Europe but drawing compar- tions around issues of (de)colonisation, and c) to pro-
(Elkhan Nuriyev) tion processes, was considered the starting point for the isons with post-colonial/ global south contexts and en- mote a more organised regional approach in engaging
critical approaches of our guest speakers. The series gaging with southern and post-/decolonial theory. The with decolonial struggles worldwide. With these aims in
During his stay at EEGA he published an arti- problematised both the global perspective in art history key goal of the publication will be to outline how en- mind, the list has been set up as a private discussion
cle on The European Union, Russia and from a regional perspective and the positioning of re- gagement with East-to-South comparisons and mutual group to make communication and partnerships build-
China: Competing Regionalisms in the gional art histories in a global context. The lectures and learning sheds a new light on academic analysis of ing more effective and manageable. Those who wish to
Eastern Partnership Region and a book re- the subsequent discussions provided an insight into the- post-socialism: a task advocated for last three decades be subscribed are welcome to reach the list owners (the
view at EEGA’s cooperating e-journal Con- oretical and methodological questions but also intro- but only emerging with the engagement of promising workshop organisers) with a short justification why they
nections. duced more recent art histories of individual Central and young scholars, activists and artists. wish to be subscribed. A workshop summary to serve as
Eastern European countries such as the spatial shift and a roadmap for issues of (de)colonisation in the region will
the globalisation of Central and Eastern European art his- Workshop »The Return of the Colonial: Understand- be released soon.
tory (Beáta Hock), CEE relations (Katarzyna Cytlak), the ing the Role of Eastern Europe in Global Colonisation
relationship to decolonisation (Bojana Piškur), new meth- Debates and Decolonial Struggles« (September
odological concepts (Pavlína Morganová), rewriting art 2020): The Workshop organised by our Postdoc Fellow
Zoltán Ginelli: six-months stay; research history (Kathleen Reinhardt), and local and global inter- Zoltán Ginelli together with Romina Istratii and Márton
topic: Postcolonial Hungary: Eastern Euro- weaving (Irena Lagator). The programme of the meet- Demeter was supported by Decolonial Subversions and
pean Semiperipheral Positioning in Global ings also gave an insight into the infrastructure of re- EEGA and built on previous initiatives of the Science-
Colonialism. gional research – the speakers presented key publications, Campus and the Dialoguing Posts Network. In the event,
research centres, museums, networks, conferences and invited scholars of Eastern European and Global or Trans-
»The benefit of EEGA is providing the aca exhibitions related to recent art history in CEE. regional Studies from various fields debated how to or-
demic freedom to fulfil your research dreams ganise and vocalise engagement from Eastern European
with wonderful assistance from learned Workshop »Conjunctural Geographies of Postsocial- scholars with colonialism, post-colonial theory and de-
colleagues in globalization studies.«
ist and Postcolonial Conditions: Theory Thirty Years colonial critiques better. Efforts to contextualise Eastern
(Zoltán Ginelli) after 1989« (May 2020): Organisers: Mithilesh Kumar European histories of colonisation and decolonisation in
(Christ University, Bangalore) Wladimir Sgibnev and Lela relation to Western European colonialism are not new
During his stay in Leipzig he organised the Rekhviashvili (both Leibniz Institute for Regional Geogra- and there is emerging scholarship in this field. Yet it ap-
EEGA supported workshop »The Return of phy). In the light of Covid-19 the conjunctural geogra- pears to have only little influence on mainstream
the Colonial: Understanding the Role of East- phies workshop was held online, and stretched over post-colonial, decolonial and ›whiteness‹ studies that
ern Europe in Global Colonisation Debates three days to accommodate time differences between currently shape discourses in the West and in many parts
and Decolonial Struggles«. different participants. The workshop hosted six panels of the post-colonial Global South. The workshop’s aim
on, ›Postcolonial and Postsocialist Conditions: Space, was to understand better what particular historical ac-
Time, and Subjectivities‹, ›Labour, State, Capital: Capital- counts and existing representations in western scholar-
Research Areas Report 2019 – 2020 | Eastern Europe – Global Area
16 Research Area 3 17
Dr Liudmyla Yefimenko: one-month stay;
Business Strategies and research topic: Legitimacy problems and
CSR strategies of Ukrainian agroholdings.
Frameworks of Political
During her fellowship Liudmila Yefimenko
Economies worked on the joint publication Agrohold-
ings and Agricultural Science in Ukraine:
Coordination: Prof Dr Sebastian Henn (University of Uneasy Bedfellows with Taras Gagalyuk
Jena), Prof Dr Thomas Glauben (Leibniz Institute of Agri- and Vladislav Valentinov (both Leibniz Insti-
cultural Development in Transition Economies – IAMO) tute of Agricultural Development in Transi-
Kinga Xénia Havadi-Nagy
and Prof Dr Thorsten Posselt (Fraunhofer Center for tion Economies) that was published after-
Golib Sanaev © private
International Management and Knowledge Economy) wards online at VoxUkraine.
© IAMO
This Research Area aims to further explore economic is-
sues by addressing the following research fields and
questions: corporate coping strategies and state inter- Dr Kinga Xénia Havadi-Nagy: two-weeks
vention, trade patterns and regional specialisations, in- Dr Golib Sanaev: six-months stay; research stay; research topic: Short supply chains of
and outward-bound foreign direct investments, translo- topic: Uzbekistan’s integration into global agricultural products: tool of economic, so-
cal knowledge flows, evolution of new economic and cotton markets: The role of technological cial and environmental recovery of rural ar-
patterns of urban and regional resilience. and institutional change. eas.
»The benefit of the EEGA is that it has ena- »The benefits of EEGA are various. First of all
In 2019/20, Research Area 3 welcomed four guest bled me to establish a network with re- it provides research possibilities in a profes-
researchers: searchers from various disciplines studying sional environment. Besides the research
Tetiana Galetska
the ongoing processes of agricultural devel- conducted in well endowed facilities, the
© private
opment in Central Asia. Participation in the fruitful exchange of ideas and experiences
workshop at IAMO provided a platform for with international colleagues supports the
knowledge exchange, discussion, and net- fellows in their professional carrier. The
working and brought together over 40 par- gathered impulses can refresh the subjects
ticipants from various research institutes Dr Tetiana Galetska: six-months stay; re- of interest and publications. Finding com-
and universities in Germany.« (Golib Sanaev) search topic: Economic and Welfare Impacts mon research topics for further coopera-
of an Ukraine-EU Partnership: The Case of tions with collaborators of the host institu-
During his stay at EEGA he organised the Agri-food Sectors. tions adds significant value to a short term
workshop »Agricultural Innovations, Rural research stay.« (Kinga Xénia Havadi-Nagy)
Development and Globalization Processes »The benefit of EEGA is an invaluable experi-
in Central Asia« together with his IAMO col- ence of international communication, which
league Nodir Djanibekov. leads to new ideas, plans, concepts. On the
whole, over the time, this experience will al-
low us all to change this world in a new and
progressive direction.« (Tetiana Galetska)
Research Areas Report 2019 – 2020 | Eastern Europe – Global Area
18 Workshop on »The IT industry as a driver for transfor- ticipants of the workshop arrived from universities and Research Area 4 19
mation in Central and Eastern Europe« (November research institutions of Ukraine, Germany, United King-
2019): The two-day workshop in Lviv, Ukraine, was or- dom, Hungary, Netherlands, Norway and Georgia. Cultural and Intellectual
ganised by Susann Schäfer (Friedrich Schiller University
Jena, Germany), Nataliia Cherkas (Kyiv National Economic Workshop on »Agricultural Innovations, Rural Devel- Perspectives and
University named by Vadym Hetman) and Nicolai Teufel opment and Globalization Processes in Central Asia« Dr Nataša Jagdhuhn: six-months stay; re-
(University of Bayreuth, Germany). The participants of (February 2020): The event was organised by EEGA fel- Identifications search topic: Collecting and Exhibiting Non-
the event first visited Futura Hub with a detailed lecture low Golib Sanaev in the framework of a PostDoc research alignment: The Gallery of Art of the Non-
from Nicolai Teufel, the director of Learnopolis and Tech supported by EEGA and Nodir Djanibekov (IAMO). The Coordination: Prof Dr Jürgen Heyde (Leibniz Institute Aligned Countries »Josip Broz Tito«.
StartUp School. The first keynote speaker Nataly full day workshop in Halle (Saale) brought together re- for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe / University
Veremeeva (Director of TechUkraine, Kyiv IT Cluster) ana- searchers from different disciplines. Its aim was to better of Halle-Wittenberg), Prof Dr Yvonne Kleinmann (Uni- »The biggest benefit of EEGA ScienceCam-
lysed in her lecture »Development of Tech Ecosystem in understand processes of globalisation and agricultural versity of Halle-Wittenberg/Aleksander Brückner Center pus for me was that it provided me with a
Ukraine: Findings, Challenges and Way Forward« the IT innovations towards agricultural and rural development for Polish Studies), and Prof Dr Stefan Troebst (Leibniz period of 6 months to work exclusively on
ecosystem of Ukraine as a whole as well as in the regional in Central Asian countries. In order to exploit agricultural Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe) my project. The chance to cooperate with
context, and focused on the necessity of IT Export Strat- potential in a sustainable way, innovations as well as re- EEGA fellows and colleges at the GWZO was
egy implementation, which should be the result of joint forms of the current institutional environment are re- As processes of globalisation in and for Eastern Europe very helpful, both on the level of academic
efforts of the state and business. The lecture was fol- quired. Challenges relate to non-transparent and poorly have shaped the region for a long time, the EEGA re- counselling as well as on the level of sharing
lowed by a panel discussion on the impact of IT industry defined land ownership and tenure relations, a high dis- search approaches reach back into the first era of globali- practical information related to different
on regional transformations with professional experts, cretionary involvement of governments in input and sation around 1900 and to the emergence of Eastern Eu- forms of postdoc applications. I also used
who were invited from diverse fields: University council output markets, high transaction costs, inadequate ac- rope on the political map after World War I. The research my time as a fellow to build up my profile as
members and academics teaching future IT specialists, cess to credit for farmers and a limited provision of public area shifts the focus onto important but yet little re- a scholar and to improve my academic net-
CEO of IT company, head of TTO, Members of IT cluster, goods and services. However, innovations and integra- searched questions by conceiving historical actors in work.« (Nataša Jagdhuhn)
CEO of Platform of Innovative partnership, city adminis- tion into global markets will have implications for struc- Eastern Europe as active global players instead of just im-
tration sector responsible for IT development. On the tural changes, rural labour markets, rural socio-economy, agining the region as a mostly passive object of global
second day of the workshop Dr. Magdolna Sass (Institute as well as farmers’ behaviour. The important role of these developments. Exploring the cultural and intellectual
for Economics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences) processes has attracted attention of social scientists manifestations of globalisation in and for the region,
held the second keynote on the topic »Participation in from various related fields, including agricultural econo- Eastern Europe will be conceptualised »on a global
IT-related international value chains: a catching-up op- mists. The workshop included presentations on eleven scale«. Based on this approach, the research area aims at
portunity for CEE«. The presentations of the participants topics related to agriculture, innovation, rural develop- overcoming perspectives on Eastern Europe that repro- Dr Laura Demeter: six-months stay; re-
were organised in three sessions: Digitalisation, Skills ment, and globalisation in Central Asia. duce exceptionalism from within and »orientalisation« search topic: Authoritarian Regimes and
and Education, Local and Global perspectives. The par- from the outside.l. their Involvement in the Global Heritage
Project during the Cold War.
In 2019/20, Research Area 4 welcomed four guest
researchers:Research Areas Report 2019 – 2020 | Eastern Europe – Global Area
20 Conference on »Eastern European Emigrants and the Research Area 5 21
Internationalisation of 20th Century Music Con-
cepts« (January 2020): Intercultural transfers have al- Eastern Europe in Times
ways played a crucial role in music history. However, the
20th century in particular was one characterised by the of Europeanisation and
Dr Anna Calori: six-months stay; research global exchange of musical concepts and techniques.
topic: Bringing the global back home: Devel- Emigration was a strong catalyst for these processes, es- Diffusion
oping »socialist entrepreneurialism« and (re) pecially with regard to artists from Eastern Europe, be-
making the workplace in a global perspec- ginning with and even before the Russian October Revo- Coordination: Prof Dr Gert Pickel (Leipzig University)
tive (1961–2008). lution. The international conference at the Musicological and Prof Dr Holger Lengfeld (Leipzig University)
Institute of Leipzig University, organised by Anna Fortu-
Anna Calori is co-editor and co-author of the nova and Stefan Keym, brought together 17 musicolo- Around 1989/91, the transition paradigm that forecasted
edited volume Between East and South: gists and other researchers from Russia, Lithuania, Po- Western models of state and economy becoming glob-
Spaces of Interaction in the Globalizing land, Hungary, Slovenia, France, and Germany to rethink ally universal proved to be mainstream among research,
Economy of the Cold War (by Anna Calori, the relationship between the emigration of artists and government, and policy-making communities. Roughly
Anne-Kristin Hartmetz, Bence Kocsev, James scholars from Eastern Europe and the globalisation of 25 years later and under the impact of the Ukraine Crisis,
Mark, and Jan Zofka) published at the end of ideas. In his keynote lecture, Christoph Flamm (Lübeck/ the relevance of the once powerful paradigm has been
Micha Fiedlschuster
2019. Heidelberg) highlighted not only the negative aspects of contested. The spreading of new ideas, institutions, poli-
© private
(mostly forced) emigration but also its positive results as cies, models or repertoires of behaviour, attitudes, and
an enrichment for the host culture. In the final discussion, values from their point of origin to new sites and Europe-
Stefan Keym highlighted some results of the conference: anisation as derivatives of broader processes of globali-
Firstly, there was great diversity in the aesthetics as well sation have impacted Eastern Europe – but not in the
as in the careers of the émigrés. Secondly, geographical same manner, form, and with the same outcomes every- Dr Micha Fiedlschuster: six-months stay;
mappings should always be questioned, since the very where. This research area will explore actors in Eastern research topic: The Eastern Partnership Civil
Dr Jacqueline Nießer: three-months stay; terms »Eastern« and »Western Europe« depend on the Europe between »uniqueness« and »normality« within Society Forum: A transnational school of
research topic: The Non-aligned Body. A point of view and cannot be clearly defined. Thirdly, the Europe and the globalised world. democracy or school of management’?
Transnational History of Nude Tourism dur- different perspectives and narratives from which the life
ing the Cold War. and creative paths of the emigrated composers were ex- »The benefit of EEGA for me is that I can dedi
perienced and portrayed should be taken into account. In 2019/20, Research Area 5 welcomed one guest cate time to write a proposal for a new re-
Finally, the success of an émigré’s integration into and in- researcher: search project, which will help me to secure
teraction with his or her host culture depended largely long-term funding. Second, I can discuss my
on the needs of the latter, as the theory of intercultural research project with the colleagues at the
transfer has pointed out. member institutions of the EEGA Science-
Campus. I benefit a lot from the interdiscipli-
narity of the EEGA ScienceCampus and the
intellectual environment at its member insti-
tutions. The expertise on Eastern Europe at
the GWZO and the IfL is in particular helpful
to develop my research ideas further. Last
but not least, the other guest researchers
contribute to the accommodating atmos-
phere at the work place.« (Micha Fiedl
schuster)
Participants of the conference
study textbooks on the topic
© Felicitas FörsterPromotion of Young Researchers Report 2019 – 2020 | Eastern Europe – Global Area
05 Promotion of Young Researchers Workshop »Zukunft Osteuropa« with EEGA Meet & 23
Greet (October 2019): The Young German Association
for East European Studies (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Os-
teuropakunde, DGO) organised a day for career orienta-
tion and networking for young people interested in East-
ern Europe for the second time. More than 60 young
EEGA provides a fully-fledged line of education on re- At the end of 2019 EEGA welcomed three talented post- people from all parts of Germany took part in the event.
flexive knowledge about societies in Eastern Europe graduate students, who developed their PhD proposals The participants took the opportunity to talk to experts
for highly qualified young academics. It starts from in the research field of EEGA: from different fields who are academically and profes-
Mashkura Babadjanova
Master’s courses, comprises PhD-research and training, sionally involved with Eastern Europe. The main aim was
© private
and completes with promoting research by and further to gather ideas for their own professional future. In four
qualification for PostDocs. Anna Zheltoukhova: two-months fellow- workshops, representatives from the fields of interna-
ship; research topic: New origins of national- tional cooperation, media, business and academia pre-
In 2019, EEGA welcomed its second three-year ism in the context of Eastern European polit- sented their own professional careers and current fields
PhD-fellow, Alexander Dontsow (in cooperation with ical history. Mashkura Babadjanova: three-months fel- of work. The subsequent »Market of Opportunities« with
the Leipzig University). He is working on the effects of in- lowship; research topic: Analysing the impact about 20 booths offered the participants the opportu-
tensification and expansion of the Belt and Road Initia- of Climate change on wheat productivity in nity to inform themselves about other professional fields
tive in Central-Eastern Europe on Russia’s foreign policy, Central Asia. and institutions with a connection to Eastern Europe.
with supervision of Professor Dr Matthias Middell. During the breaks, at the final discussion and at the
»Meet & Greet« organised by EEGA, it became clear how
Luka Ekhvaia: three-months fellowship; re- informative and important the discussions among the
search topic: The Patriot Camps as experi- participants were.
mental Spaces for Exercising the Memory EEGA offers trainings and courses for successful career de-
Politics of the Post-Rose Revolution Regime velopment in neighbouring academic fields. The work-
Concentrated work of the workshop participants © EEGA
and for Mass Mobilization of the Youth. shops are designed for small groups of PostDocs. Topics
for trainings and workshops can range from expertise in
developing funding applications, specific skill-sets for
writing essays for publication in newspapers, to forms of
writing a research blog or newsletter.
»The benefit of EEGA resides in creating a Coaching Workshop »Project Management for third-
platform of opportunity that provides schol- party funded projects: application, execution and con-
ars with communication, interaction, and trolling« (August 2019): The tailor-made workshop of-
improvement of their professional networks. fered targeted coaching on visualisation, planning and
Collaborative effort of EEGA’s members monitoring tools in the context of third-party funded pro-
bring new solutions into rapidly evolving jects and was aimed in particular at junior researchers ap-
global communities, and has proven to be plying for or directing third-party funded projects. All
essential for academic research.« (Alexander three phases: application, implementation and controlling,
Dontsow) were dealt with. Christian van den Kerckhoff from the Edu-
cation Centre of Wissenschaftsladen Bonn e. V. developed
the two-day programme. The workshop was the result of a
cooperation of EEGA with the CRC 1199 at the University of
Alexander Dontsow © private
Leipzig and the GWZO Leipzig.Report 2019 – 2020 | Eastern Europe – Global Area
06 Internationalisation 25
and Partnerships this often neglected region when it comes to the search tion in a globalised world. The event opened up a space
of Russia and East Central Europe for an adequate posi- for exchange between European and US communities,
tion in today’s world order. In a first panel specific reac- connecting public and academic discussions on both
tions to environmental problems and new geopolitical sides of the Atlantic. Benedikt Brisch (Director DWIH New
ambitions as well as specific reactions to migration were York), David Gill (German Consul General in New York)
discussed both from an historical and contemporary per- and Matthias Kleiner (President of the Leibniz Associa-
spective but also attempts to integrate the vast post-So- tion) gave welcoming remarks. Together with the audi-
viet space economically in times of the rise of China. A ence, Corey Johnson (Department Head at University of
second panel of the event was devoted to historical roots North Carolina at Greensboro), Beth Mitchneck (Profes-
of these current geopolitical ambitions. sor Emerita at the University of Arizona) and Sebastian
Lentz (Director of the Leibniz Institute for Regional Ge-
The Science Lounge »Riding the backlash ography, Leipzig) then challenged existing presump-
against globalization – US positioning towards Rus- tions and empty words. In an open conversation the ex-
sia's role in the world« in January 2020 organised by the perts offered insights into the mechanisms and
Leibniz Association, the German Consulate General New structures of Eastern European societies and tried to un-
Next to the many personal contacts and existing net- E uropean and International Studies (ZOiS) and the Ger- York, the German Center for Research and Innovation derstand the plethora of perceptions of seemingly over-
works at individual level, EEGA strives for a further inter- man Association for East European Studies (DGO). The New York and EEGA provided a platform for public de- powering processes of globalisation, as well as the kalei-
nationalisation of the ScienceCampus and promotes es- conference was to take place in Leipzig in September but bate. It brought together researchers from both sides of doscope of individual reactions to them. James M.
tablishing international partnerships. To this end, the was postponed to April 2021 due to the Covid-19 pan- the Atlantic, media representatives, NGOs, and policy ad- Lindsay (Senior Vice President, Director of Studies, and
following activities were launched in the last reporting demic. With the theme »Globalising Eastern Europe – visors to discuss different perspectives on how to under- Maurice R. Greenberg Chair at the Council on Foreign Re-
period: New Perspectives on Transregional Entanglements«, stand and react to geopolitics, migration, and regional lations) moderated the discussion.
the conference seeks to stimulate and discuss research development in Russia and Eastern Europe, and its posi-
An application for an EEGA panel at the ENIUGH Confer- on these border-crossing encounters in a comparative
ence 2020 in Turku, Finland was approved. Due to perspective. Aiming to stimulate a debate about inter-
Covid-19 the congress was postponed to 2021. pretations across historical periods and geographical
spaces, the conference brings together perspectives and
First contacts have been established and conversations case studies from a variety of disciplines.
with representatives from research centres and institu-
tions from Prague, Budapest, Glasgow, and Helsinki The close cooperation between EEGA and BASEES is also
began in December 2019. There, amongst others, the ex- reflected in the recently approved institutional mem-
pansion of the EEGA partnership network for the train- bership of the Leibniz Institute for Regional Geogra-
ing of young academics have been discussed. phy at BASEES.
The application for a booth at the Research Forum of Two events in New York City, USA, have received special
the Congress of Historical Sciences in Poznan this year attention from EEGA partners, colleagues and the public:
was accepted. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the con- The academic colloquium »Globalizing Eastern
gress was unfortunately postponed to 2021, so EEGA will Europe – New Perspectives on Transregional Entan-
hopefully participate next year. glements of an often Neglected Region« took place on
13 September, 2019, at the Jordan Center, NYU, in New
Following the first successful Regional Conference in York City. It was organised by EEGA in cooperation with
Uppsala, Sweden, the British Association for Slavonic Jane Burbank (NYU) and the Jordan Center for the Ad-
and East European Studies (BASEES) organises its sec- vanced Study of Russia at NYU. The event presented re- The discussants on the podium (from left to right):
Sebastian Lentz, Corey Johnson, Beth Mitchneck and
ond Regional Conference in cooperation with EEGA. cent findings of this network and aimed to engage in a
James M. Lindsay (moderator) © Nathalie Schueller
Further collaboration partners are the Centre for East debate with colleagues from the US on how to look atReport 2019 – 2020 | Eastern Europe – Global Area
07 Knowledge Transfer and 27
Interaction with the Media
Krisztian Simon, Farhan Janjua and
Tamina Kutscher (from left) discuss
about the freedom of the media in
different countries © Swen Reichhold
After a successful first edition in 2018, EEGA’s second experience with balanced reporting in his work at the
Summer School with Journalists was held in Septem- private radio station Antenne Düsseldorf. The panel
ber 2019, in Leipzig. The four-day event with the topic ended with an interactive workshop by Marius Dragomir,
»Populism in European Societies – Repercussions in who spoke about research and practise in science com-
the Media«, moderated by freelance journalist Gemma munication at his former job at Open Society Founda-
As a platform, EEGA promotes knowledge trans- Pörzgen, featured panels, workshops, media-trainings tions and in his current position as director of the Center
fer between academia and the public. Events for and lectures, and targeted a diverse audience of aca- for Media, Data and Society (CEU) in Budapest.
specific audiences, particularly disseminators demics, journalists and the interested public. The third day started with a panel on the »Free-
such as journalists or consultants, ensure this The event started off with a lecture by Gert Pickel dom of the Media«. First, Hungarian journalist Krisztian
mutually beneficial collaboration. (Leipzig University) on populist tendencies in Eastern Eu- Simon talked about foreign grants in independent Rus-
rope. Pickel explained radical populism as a global phe- sian and Hungarian newsrooms. He was then followed
nomenon and described its current forms in Eastern Eu- by Farhan Janjua, who gave an account of his journalistic
rope. Pickel was followed by Jan-Hinrik Schmidt (Hans work on human and digital rights as well as queer issues
Bredow-Institute Hamburg) with a lecture on the effects in Pakistan. These reports were commented on in a fruit-
of digital media on public opinion. ful round table on »Comparative Perspectives on Reper-
The second day started with a panel on »Commu- cussions of Populism in the Media«, comparing the Ger-
nicating Science,« opened with a paper presentation by man, Hungarian and Ukrainian media landscapes. A
Svetluša Surova (Gnarum). Surova claimed that »greater discussion on »Right Wing Populism and Islamophobia
transparency and ethics« in communicating academic in East and West« completed this outlook. Psychologist
output, i.e. an alliance of academia and journalism, was Oliver Decker concluded the third day with a presenta-
»neither possible nor needed« because of the methodo- tion of the work of the Centre for the Study of Democ-
logical differences between the trades. Parallel to the racy and Right-Wing Extremism and their contribution to
panel, Volker Hahn (iDiv Leipzig) offered a media work- documenting the alarming rise of anti-Semitism and the
shop for all those who wanted to improve their media polarisation of society in Eastern Germany.
communication skills. Later that day, Tamina Kutscher On the last day of the Summer School, Insa van den
presented her online project Dekoder, which features Berg (freelance journalist) offered a workshop for the
annotated articles and videos from independent Russian preparation of press releases and conferences. She high-
media outlets in German. The second panel, »Reaching lighted the differences between journalistic and academic
diverse audiences«, started with a presentation on »Pop- »languages« and methods, pointing out the prevalence of
ulism on Television Political Talkshows« in the Ukraine, falsification in the former and verification in the latter.
by Kostiantyn Yanchenko (MA student at Hamburg Uni- The Summer School ended with a positive sum-
Gert Pickel in conversation with
versity). Yanchenko was followed by Christine Gölz mary and outlook. Here, participants and organisers clearly
moderator Gemma Pörzgen
(GWZO), who spoke about new formats of scientific com- expressed their satisfaction with the Summer School and
© Swen Reichhold
munication at GWZO. Dennis Grollmann then added his its fruitful and engaging debates and presentations.Knowledge Transfer and Interaction with the Media Report 2019 – 2020 | Eastern Europe – Global Area
28 Book Launch »A History of Modern Political Thought Film Screening (November 2019): In November 2019 29
in East Central Europe« (October 2019): In cooperation the film Godovščina Revoljucii/Anniversary of the
with the Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Revolution (1918) – Dziga Vertov's film debut recon-
Eastern Europe (GWZO), EEGA organised a book pres- structed was presented with an introductory lecture
entation of the two-volume History of Modern Political and discussion at UT Connewitz, Leipzig. On the occa-
Thought in East Central Europe in Leipzig. The first Vol- sion of the revolution and civil war in Soviet Russia, a
ume Negotiating Modernity in the ›Long Nineteenth long documentary film, »Anniversary of the Revolution«,
Century‹ was published in 2016. The two-part second was made between 1917 and 1918 directed by the then
volume followed in 2018 and consists of Part I: Nego 22-year-old David Abelevič Kaufman, later world-famous
tiating Modernity in the ›Short Twentieth Century‹ as Dziga Vertov. It shows scenes of ordinary citizens but
(1918–1968) and Negotiating Modernity in the ›Short also of the revolutionaries Lenin and Trotsky on celluloid.
Twentieth Century‹ and Beyond, Part II: 1968–2018. After the Civil War, Trotsky's images disappeared from
Part I and II of the second volume were presented by two the archives and the film was lost in its entirety. Under
of the editors, Maria Falina and Michal Kopeček. Friedrich the direction of the film historian Nikolai Izvolov, the film
Cain (Junior Fellow at the Max-Weber-Kolleg for Ad- was successfully reconstructed at the Russian State Ar-
Lively interaction with
vanced Cultural and Social Studies of Erfurt University) chive for Film and Photo Documents in Krasnogorsk. The
international guests
moderated the event. Joachim von Puttkamer (chair of introductory lecture was held by Barbara Wurm (HU Ber-
© Swen Reichhold
Eastern European History at Friedrich Schiller University lin). The film was accompanied live with music by Richard
Jena und Director of the Imre Kertész Kolleg Jena) com- Siedhoff.
mented on the two-volume project. The synthetic work, Panel Discussion »Research under the Covid-19
authored by an international team of researchers, covers condition – Eastern Europe as a Global Area (Septem- had to be postponed to 21 – 24 April 2021, keeping as
twenty national cultures and 250 years and offers the ber 2020): Due to the current travel restrictions and much of its current programme set-up as possible. On 16
first-ever synthetic overview of the history of modern health requirements worldwide, the second Regional September 2020, a small-scale event was organised in its
political thought in East Central Europe. After the book Conference of the British Association for Slavonic and place, discussing topical issues in a panel discussion, and
Historian Stefan Rohdewald elaborating on new research horizons
presentation, a thought-provoking discussion arose. East European Studies (BASEES) on »Globalising Eastern celebrating the approval and start of a second funding
© Swen Reichhold
Viewers were encouraged to rethink some of the basic Europe – New Perspectives on Transregional Entangle- phase of EEGA with members, colleagues and coopera-
assumptions about the history of modern political ments«, originally planned for September 2020, in Leip- tion partners.
thought and modernity as such. zig, Germany in cooperation with EEGA, ZOiS and DGO, The evening featured a two-part discussion with
two rounds, 45 minutes each. For this event, a roundta-
ble discussion in Leipzig with representatives from all or-
ganising institutions, moderated by the free journalist
Gemma Pörzgen (Berlin), and with a small audience of
EEGA fellows, Research Area Coordinators, and inter-
ested colleagues from partner institutions was organ-
ised. The roundtables featured Gwendolyn Sasse (ZOiS),
Judith Pallot (BASEES), Matthias Middell (EEGA), Gabriele
Freitag (DGO), Réka Krizmanics (Leipzig University), and
Stefan Rohdewald (Leipzig University) who discussed,
firstly, research questions that arise because of the
Covid-19 pandemic, and secondly, impacts of the Covid-19
pandemic on practicalities of empirical research. In the
conversation they tackled broader questions regarding
Maria Falina (on the right: the global entanglements the pandemic has demon-
Michal Kopeček) talking about
strated, and ruptures that have shown themselves more
the difficulties in composing
brazenly than before, and they also addressed the practi-
the book © EEGA
cal effects on teaching and empirical research.Report 2019 – 2020 | Eastern Europe – Global Area
31
Publications
Textbook Project »Eastern Europe: A Global Area« The editorial board consists of Katja Nauman and
08 As one of the main EEGA activities in the first funding Gilad Ben-Nun. Naumann, specialist for transregional
phase, an editorial board has started working on the text and transnational entanglements of Eastern Europe, has
book project »Eastern Europe: A Global Area« in Novem- been researcher at the Leibniz Institute for the History
ber 2019. Combining expertise from all five EEGA re- and Culture of Eastern Europe (GWZO) since 2008. Ben-
search areas, the volume comprises findings and out- Nun, former EEGA research fellow and lecturer for Global
comes from more than three years of fruitful EEGA and Migration Studies at Leipzig University, is a historian
research activities. It stresses and demonstrates the im- of international law and an expert on the history of refu-
portance of transregional perspectives on Eastern Eu- gee law.
rope, with regards to its global and regional entangle- Together with the authors, students and EEGA
ments and (self-)positioning in current and historical postdoc fellows, the editors critically discussed the con-
globalisation processes. ceptual rationale of the textbook and the chapters’ set-
The textbook aims to provide MA and PhD stu- ups, complemented by a virtual seminar (see EEGA in
dents, in study programmes at EEGA’s partner institu- Times of Covid-19).
tions in Halle, Jena and Leipzig, as well as abroad, with an The textbook is to be published in early 2021.
authoritative and simply written learning tool. Each
chapter and case study can be used individually or as an
overall guide for structure and content in seminars, lec-
tures and other academic settings. Adopting an interdis-
ciplinary perspective, the textbook comprises varied ac-
counts of Eastern Europe’s interaction with and influence
on the global sphere, as well as of reverse processes, with
a focus on the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. The book’s
didactic approach puts individual actors at the centre of Draft Layout of the cover of the text book
the analysis, as they preconfigure, articulate, delimit, po- project »Eastern Europe: A Global Area«
sition and transcend what has become a globally con-
nected Eastern Europe.
The chapters cover a variety of disciplines, with
topics ranging from geopolitical visions of Eastern Eu-
rope and their impact on international relations over nat-
ural resources, environmental policies and climate
change, as well as transnational and global aspects of
Eastern European music history to Eastern European le-
gal systems and their integration in international legal
frameworks.
Each chapter is supported by maps and illustra-
tions as part of a visual language that guides readers
through Eastern Europe and its global entanglements.You can also read
