Even their immediate future looks unpredictable, and longer-term development prospects are undermined by lack of vision, as well as by poor understanding of these regions by external actors.
The societies of Eastern Europe and South Caucasus are heavily subjected to big powers’ security discourses, their foreign policies are to a large extent limited by the balance of regional powers and their economies depend on bigger integration arrangements. Such a constellation of dependencies, together with these countries’ own identities and specific interests, require from their elites and foreign actors highly skillful governance and diplomatic navigation. Serious challenges are found on all levels of analysis, they are multiple and cross-dimensional. Therefore, policy responses also need to be identified on all policy levels and across thematic dimensions.
The conference will adopt a multi-disciplinary approach and have representative attendance. It will host specialists (academics and policy analysts) with security, foreign policy and business/economy backgrounds from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Germany, and Russia.
Conference Organisers
The conference is co-organised by the Minsk Dialogue Track-II Initiative (Belarus), Justus Liebig University (JLU) Giessen (Germany), and the Faculty of International Relations of the Belarusian State University (Belarus).
Conference Objectives
- To map national, regional and external perspectives on the current challenges in Eastern Europe and South Caucasus.
- To conduct in-depth SWOT analysis of Eastern Europe and South Caucasus in the system of international relations on the European continent.
Programme
1 November
|
9.00-9.20 |
Conference begins, welcoming remarks Andrea Gawrich Professor of International Integration, Justus Liebig University (JLU) Giessen; Associate Fellow, German Council on Foreign Relations, Germany Viktar Shadursky Dean, Faculty of International Relations, Belarusian State University, Belarus Wolfgang Sender Country Director Belarus, Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Germany Yauheni Preiherman Head, Minsk Dialogue Track-II Initiative, Belarus |
|
9.20-10.30 |
Opening panel discussion “Strategic Challenges in Eastern Europe and South Caucasus”. Andrey Greshnikov Third Secretary, Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Belarus, Russia Andrea Gawrich Professor of International Integration, Justus Liebig University (JLU) Giessen; Associate Fellow, German Council on Foreign Relations, Germany Viktar Shadursky Dean, Faculty of International Relations, Belarusian State University, Belarus Wolfgang Sender Country Director Belarus, Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Germany Aliaksandr Shpakouski Director, “Aktualnaya Kontseptsiya”, Belarus Moderator Yauheni Preiherman Head, Minsk Dialogue Track-II Initiative, Belarus |
|
10.30-11.00 |
Coffee break. |
|
11.00-13.00 |
Session 1. The Future of Security in Eastern Europe and South Caucasus. Sergey Minasyan Deputy Director, Caucasus Institute, Armenia Hanna Shelest Editor-in-Chief, UA: Ukraine Analytica, Ukraine Levan Kakhishvili Researcher and Administrator of Graduate Programmes, International Black Sea University; Research Fellow, Georgian Institute of Politics, Georgia Andrei Rusakovich Professor, Belarusian State University; Chairman of the Board, Foreign Policy and Security Research Centre, Belarus Igor Istomin Senior Lecturer, MGIMO University, Russia Alla Rosca Professor, Moldova State University, Moldova Kornely Kakachia Director, Georgian Institute of Politics; Professor, Ivane Javakhishvili State University, Georgia Moderator Roza Turarbekova Assistant Professor, Faculty of International Relations, Belarusian State University, Belarus |
|
13.00-14.30 |
Lunch. |
|
14.30-15.45 |
Session 2. Future Business Models and Networks in Eastern Europe and South Caucasus. Olga Popova Researcher, Institute for East and Southeast European Studies, Germany Arshak Tovmasyan Executive Director, Regional Post Caucasus, Armenia Anton Boltochko Economic Expert, Discussion and Analytical Society Liberal Club, Belarus Andrey Skryba Researcher, Higher School of Economics, Russia Igbal Abilov Researcher, Belarusian State University, Belarus-Azerbaijan Moderator Andrea Gawrich Professor of International Integration, Justus Liebig University (JLU) Giessen; Associate Fellow, German Council on Foreign Relations, Germany |
|
15.45-16.15 |
Coffee break. |
|
16.15-18.15 |
Session 3. Foreign Policy to Meet Future Challenges in Eastern Europe and South Caucasus. Mikayel Zolyan Analyst, Regional Studies Center, Armenia Victoria Bucataru Research and Programmes Director, Foreign Policy Association of Moldova, Moldova Daria Haidai Research Fellow, Institute of World Policy; PhD candidate, I.F. Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences, Ukraine Murad Nasibov Country Programme Director, The Caucasus Research Resources Centre, Azerbaijan Sergiy Gerasymchuk Director of International Programmes, Strategic and Security Studies Group; Deputy Chairman of the Board, Ukrainian Prism Foreign Policy Council, Ukraine Denis Cenușă Associate Expert, Expert Group, Moldova Moderator Andrey Skryba Researcher, Higher School of Economics, Russia |
2 November
|
9.30-11.00 |
Breakout Workshops “The SWOT Matrix of the Future of Eastern Europe and Eastern Europe and South Caucasus”. |
|
11.00-11.30 |
Coffee break. |
|
11.30-12.30 |
Breakout Workshops “The SWOT Matrix of the Future of Eastern Europe and Eastern Europe and South Caucasus” continued. |
|
12.30-13.30 |
Concluding plenary session. |
