Call for Abstracts: 6th Annual Conference on Contemporary Political Processes
6th Annual Conference on Contemporary Political Processes
CONTEMPORARY POLITICAL PROCESSES: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
24 April, 2020, Kaunas, Lithuania
Scholars and students working in various subfields of political science are invited to submit proposals for the Sixth Annual Conference on Contemporary Political Processes: challenges and opportunities.
The conference is organized by the Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy and hosted by Vytautas Magnus University.
The conference aims to enhance discussions in various subfields within the discipline of political science and provide scholars with an opportunity to share the results of their research.
The organizers welcome individual abstracts submissions as well as proposals for full panels and roundtables.
Scholars and students can submit their proposals within the following thematic fields:
– Lithuania in the Global World
– International and National Security
– Regional Studies;
– Challenges to Governance and Public Administration;
– News outlets, Social Media and Information Warfare;
– Comparative Politics;
– Other thematic fields are welcome.
Conference languages: Lithuanian and English
Please use this link to submit your abstract by 1 April 2020. Abstracts should not exceed 200 words.
Notifications of acceptance will be sent by email by 12 April. The conference programme will be announced on 13 April 2020.
There is no conference fee. Travel and living expenses are not covered by the organizers.
For further inquiry: gerda.jakstaite@vdu.lt
International project members’ meeting
On January 21-22, lecturers and researchers from the universities of Ukraine, Sweden, Poland and Estonia visited VMU – guests came here as participants of the Erasmus + project “Rethinking Regional Studies: The Baltic-Black Sea Connection”. VMU is represented in the project by the Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy and its aim is to Europeanize the Master’s degree programs in political science at the Universities of Odessa, Lviv, Mariupol and Kiev (Ukraine).
Project members’ meetings and trainings take place in the partner universities: Vytautas Magnus University, University of Tartu (Estonia), Poznan A. Mickiewicz University (Poland), Lund University (Sweden), Mariupol State University (Ukraine), I. Frank National University in Lviv (Ukraine), Odessa National II Mechikov University (Ukraine), T. Shevchenko National University Kiev (Ukraine).
On January 21 – 22, a meeting of all project partners took place at the VU Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy to review the project and prepare for the end of the project.
Reception of foreign partners at Vytautas Magnus University was coordinated by VMU Department of Regional Studies prof. Mindaugas Jurkynas and Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy Aistė Žemaitytė.
Debate: POLISH-AMERICAN BILATERAL RELATIONS AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON REGIONAL SECURITY
Ministry of Foreign Afffairs of the Republic of Lithuania
Vytautas Magnus University
Polish Institute in Vilnius
Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania
Place: Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania, Conference Hall (5 flour, Gedimino ave. 51, Vilnius)
Time: 12th November, 2019, 6 pm.
Language: English.
Panelists:
GIEDRIUS ČESNAKAS, ASSOC. PROF. (General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania);
IEVA KARPAVIČIŪTĖ, PhD (Vytautas Magnus University);
ŽYGIMANTAS PAVILIONIS, PhD (member of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania; former Ambassador of the Respublic of Lithuania to the U.S., 2010 – 2015)
TOMASZ SMURA, PhD, Director of Research Office, Foreign Policy Programme Director, The Casimir Pulaski Fundation in Warsaw;
Moderator:
ANDŽEJ PUKŠTO, Assoc. Prof. (Vytautas Magnus University)
Main questions of debate: How strong are Polish-American relations currently? What is their influence on security architecture of Eastern and Central-Eastern Europe including the Baltic states? Has the NATO‘s Eastern flank become stronger thanks to it? What is the current state of Eurotalantic relations today and what are the predictions for future? Can we imagine Poland as a main bridge between the US and the EU? Polish – American initiativies and European energy security.
Public Lecture The Changing Media Landscape in a Post-Truth World
Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy is inviting to public lecture The Changing Media Landscape in a Post-Truth World. The lecture will be given by Nicholas Kralev, Executive director of the Washington International Diplomatic Academy, an author and enterpreneur specializin in international diplomacy, media and global travel.
Information has become a commodity that more and more people, businesses, governments, terrorist networks and others are trying to control. The definitions of “fact” and “truth” have become questionable at best and irrelevant at worst, as citizens choose to believe stories that reflect their own agenda and way of thinking. Kralev will address the challenges this creates for both legitimate media organizations and the public, as well as its impact on such sacred journalistic values as objectivity, credibility and trust. He will also discuss the role of social media, information technology and innovation in the future of news-gathering, content-creation and disseminating information.
Public Discussion with VMU Alumni R. Kuncaitis: EU and me – what is in it for a citizen?
Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy is inviting to public discussion with the VMU alumni Dr. Ramūnas Kuncaitis about the EU and his insights from working for the European Commission: EU and me – what is in it for a citizen? During the meeting will be disscused issues concerning why the EU has been created, what it needs now. Dr. R. Kuncaitis will inroduce practical policy (programs, funded projects and procurement), all aspects of working in the EU (EC, Executive Agencies, civil servants, contract and temporary staff), internships, and all other realities including BREXIT.
Dr. R. Kuncaitis joined the European Commission more than 14 years ago. After being responsible for the adult education projects in Erasmus+ predecessor programme, for the last 5 years in the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises he is heading the sector which is managing COSME programme projects, namely, support for entrepreneurs exchanges (Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs), clusters, social entrepreneurship and other entrepreneurial topics. Being VMU alumni he has worked in University’s international office and department of education before moving to Brussels.
Head of European Parliament Information Office Public Lecture
Department of Political Science is inviting to public lecture „THE NEW EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: FACING THE FUTURE OF THE EU“. The lecture will be given by Daiva Jakaitė, Head of European Parliament Information Office in Vilnius, Lithuania. The public lecture will be held in English, on 7-th of October (Monday), at 1pm. (room 311, Putvinskio st. 23).
1997 to 2007 Daiva Jakaitė worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania and European Committee under the Government.
Professor’s Egdūnas Račius Latest Article in USA Media
The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs (Georgetown University, USA) seeks a more just and peaceful world by deepening knowledge and solving problems at the intersection of religion and global affairs through research, teaching, and engaging multiple publics and has published prof. Egdūnas Račius latest article How Turkish is Islam in Lithuania?
Egdūnas Račius is professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic studies at Vytautas Magnus University, Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy. He serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Muslims in Europe and the Yearbook of Muslims in Europe (both by Brill). His research interests encompass Eastern European Muslim communities and governance of religion (particularly Islam) in post-communist Europe. His most recent monograph is Muslims in Eastern Europe (Edinburgh University Press, 2018).
Counsellor of Embassy of China to Hold Lecture at VMU
On Tuesday 24 September, at 1 p.m., Mr. Chen Lin, Economic and Commercial Counsellor of Embassy of China in Lithuania, will hold a public lecture-seminar at VMU Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy (V. Putvinskio g. 23, Room 311, Kaunas).
The title of the lecture is “Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Sino-Lithuanian Cooperation”.
The lecture will be delivered in English.
Lecture about Israel National Security Strategy
Department of Political Science has a pleasure to invite prof. Dima Adamsky for public lecture titled „Change and Continuity in Israeli National Security Strategy“, which will take place on 2-nd of October, at 2 pm, in room 302, Gedimino st. 44.
Prof. D. Adamsky is working in The Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya , private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian research college in Herzliya, in Israel. He is famous scholar in the area of international security.
Prof. Dima Adamsky is a Head of the BA Honors Track in Strategy and Decision Making. Prior to joining the school in 2010, he has been a pre- and post-doctoral fellow at Harvard University, a visiting fellow at the Institute of War and Peace Studies, Columbia University and at the Norwegian Institute for Defense Studies. His research interests include international security, strategic studies, cultural approach to IR, modern military thought, nuclear strategy, American, Russian and Israeli national security policy. He has published on these topics in Foreign Affairs, Journal of Strategic Studies, Intelligence and National Security, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, Journal of Cold War History, Defense and Security Studies and has contributed chapters to edited volumes and encyclopedias on modern military and international history. His books Operation Kavkaz (Hebrew) and The Culture of Military Innovation (English/Hebrew) earned the annual (2006 and 2012) prizes for the best academic works on Israeli security. In addition to his academic career, in his positions in the Israeli Ministry of Defense, Dr. Adamsky has carried out intelligence analysis and strategic policy planning. In the latter capacity, he served as assistant secretary of the committee charged with formulating Israel’s national security concept.
Discussions: Crimean Crime: Consequences For The International Law & Politics
Nowadays, when we refer to Russian actions against Ukraine we can separate the responsibility of a state and the responsibility of individuals, but even though we are able to divide these questions quite distinctly, the question arises about effective application of present-day regulations of international law to this particular inter-state conflict.
The majority of UN member states supported Ukraine’s independence, numerous actors – including the US, the EU, Canada, Japan and Australia – imposed sanctions against Russia as a means of disapproval of blatant violation of international law and in response to Russian threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Crimea`s annexation has caused a serious concern in Central and Eastern Europe. The Russian position towards international law and territorial integrity of its neighbours has become an urgent political, legal and research problem. Crimea is now occupied by Russia – what are the legal ways out of this situation? What can and cannot be expected from international law? Is an international order possible without international law?
We would like to start a discussion with the book “The Case of Crime’s Annexation Under International Law”, a publication issued by the Centre for Polish-Russian Dialogue and Understanding in Warsaw, The Institute of Law Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences and Scholar Publishing House. It is a result of a conference that took place in Warsaw on the anniversary of annexation of Crimea. It assesses legal complexities of what happened in Ukraine as well as possible legal responses. More: http://cprdip.pl/en,publications,others,455,the_case_of_crimea.html
Guest from Lithuania, Poland and Germany will discuss these questions during seminar in Kaunas on 12th of April.
Speakers:
prof. Władysław Czapliński, Institute of Political Studies Polish Academy of Sciences
Professor of International Law; Director (2004-2016), Institute of Law Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences and Professor of International and European Law, University of Warsaw Centre for Europe. Visiting research fellow, A. von Humboldt-Foundation (1988-1990, 1995, 2014), at the universities of Tübingen, Berlin, Köln, Hamburg (Germany). Visiting Professor: University of Paris XI, University of Paris II (2004), University of Nice (2001, 2007, 2010); Viadrina University (Frankfurt/Oder) (2009), Catania (2013), Rome (LUMSA) 2014. Editor in Chief, „Polish Yearbook of International Law”. Arbitrator, Court of Conciliation and Arbitration within the OSCE (since 2013).
prof. Šarūnas Liekis, Vytautas Magnus University
Graduated from Vilnius University and continued degree studies at the University of Oxford. In 1995–1996 he worked as visiting researcher at Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel. He pursued doctoral studies and earned a PhD in social sciences at Brandeis University (USA) in 1997. In 2005, Prof. Liekis earned the Habilitation at Vilnius University in 2005. He has been working at Vytautas Magnus University since 2010: he is the Dean of the Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy, member of the faculty Council, Professor at the Dept. of Political Science, and member of VMU Senate.
prof. Dagmar Richter, University of Saarbruecken
Junior researcher at the German University for Administrative Sciences in Speyer; scholarship at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in Heidelberg. Senior Assistant at the University of Heidelberg; Margarete von Wrangell-Scholarship by the Land of Baden-Württemberg. Research Fellow at the Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law. Temporary Professor at the Universities of Heidelberg, Frankfurt/Main, Bielefeld, Bremen, FU Berlin and St. Gallen (CH). Full Professor at the Institute for Legal Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences (Warsaw) and member of the Scientific Board. Freelance researcher, academic teacher and publicist.
dr Ernest Wyciszkiewicz, Director of the Centre for Polish-Russian Dialogue and Understanding in Warsaw (in Vilnius)
Political scientist. Director of the Centre for Polish-Russian Dialogue and Understanding since 2016. Formerly Deputy Director of the Centre, Head of International Economy and Energy Security Programme and Senior Research Fellow at the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM), Managing Editor of “Evropa” Russian-language quarterly on European affairs (2003-2009). Editor-in-Chief of the “Intersection Project”.
dr Łukasz Adamski, Deputy Director of the Centre for Polish-Russian Dialogue and Understanding in Warsaw (in Kaunas)
Historian and political scientist, specialist in Central and Eastern European history as well as in current political situation of Ukraine and Russia. Deputy Director of the Centre for Polish-Russian Dialogue and Understanding since 2016. In 2006-2011 he worked at the Polish Institute of International Affairs as an analyst and then as Programme Coordinator for Bilateral Relations in Europe. In 2014 he was Reporting Officer in OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine.
prof. Andrzej Pukszto, Vytautas Magnus University (chairman)
Historian and political scientist. PhD in Humanities (History), Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw. Associate professor, head of Department of Political Science, Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy, Vytautas Magnus University. Author of dozens of scientific articles, member of editorial boards of academic journals.
Date: 12 April 2019 (Friday) at 14:00
Venue: Faculty of Political Science and Diplomacy of Vytautas Magnus University,
Putvinskio g. 23, Kaunas / room 311
Language: ENGLISH with no translation provided
No registration needed.
Organisers:
Centre for Polish-Russian Dialogue and Understanding (Warsaw), http://cprdip.pl/en,the_centre,about_us.html
Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas
Partners:
Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Vilnius
Polish Institute in Vilnius
Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania
Vilnius Institute for Policy Analysis (VPAI)
