CEES Events 2019

Wednesday, September 25th  

5.15pm-7pm, Room 118, Hetherington bld., Bute Gardens

Title: Russian influence on the political processes outside its borders: The Case of Georgia

Speaker: Dr Sergi Kapanadze, Vice-speaker of the Parliament of Georgia and Professor at Ilia State University and the Caucasus University, Tbilisi

Abstract: Dr Sergi Kapanadze has been the Vice-speaker of the Parliament of Georgia since 2016. He is from the European Georgia opposition party. He is also a Professor of Peace Studies, International Relations and European Integration at Ilia State University (Tbilisi) and a Jean Monnet Professor at the Caucasus University (Tbilisi). Before joining politics, he served as the Director of the think tank - Georgia’s Reforms Associates (Tbilisi). In 2015-2016, he was a member of the OSCE Panel of Eminent Persons on European security. Dr Kapanadze has previously held the post of the Deputy Foreign Minister (2011-2012) and other senior posts at the Foreign Service of Georgia, during which he led Georgian delegations in various negotiations with Russia, the European Union and the United States. He holds a PhD in International Relations from Tbilisi State University (2011) and MA in International Relations and European Studies from the Central European University (2003, Budapest, Hungary). He was awarded a Presidential Order of Excellence in 2011 and holds the diplomatic rank of Envoy Plenipotentiary.

 

 

Monday, October 7th  

4pm-6pm, Room 118, Hetherington bld., Bute Gardens

Title: Authenticity, Interpretation and Ideology: The Case of Gulag Tourism in Kazakhstan

Speakers: Dr Guillaume Tiberghien, Lecturer in Tourism, University of Glasgow

Professor John. J Lennon Dean, Glasgow School for Business and Society, Glasgow Caledonian University

Abstract: Along with Russia and the Baltic States, Kazakhstan holds some of the most important Soviet penal institutions known as Gulags and recently has developed prison museums on several of its former Gulag sites. Using a qualitative case study research approach, the study explores how post-Soviet prison heritage in Kazakhstan is commodified and managed by stakeholders involved in the development of Gulag tourism. These stakeholders include: museum curators and guides, policy makers, tourism operators, local NGOs and experts in post-Soviet prison heritage. The main focus of this exploration is the issue of authenticity, interpretation and ideology in Kazakhstani Gulag tourism practices; in particular the role of historical narrative, visual imagery, and photography in respect of these Gulag museums as both heritage tourism and education sites. The research seeks to advance understandings of the roles authenticity and ideology play in the management of Gulag tourism and its impact for Kazakhstani tourism development.

 

Wednesday, October 23rd 

4pm-6pm, Room 915, Adam Smith bld.

Book Launch - Remigration to Post-Socialist Europe: Hopes and Realities of Return

Dr Caroline Hornstein Tomic, Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar, Zagreb

Dr Robert Pichler, Department for Balkan Studies, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna

Dr Sara Bernard, Central and Eastern European Studies (CEES), University of Glasgow

 

Abstract: Returning migrants have been involved in post-socialist transformation processes all across Eastern and South eastern Europe. Engaged in politics, the economy, science and education, arts and civil society, return migrants have often exerted crucial influence on state and nation-building processes and on social and cultural transformations. However, remigration not only comprises stories of achievements, but equally those of failed integration, marginalization, non-participation and lost potential – these are mostly stories untold. The contributions to this volume shed light on processes of return migration to various Eastern and Southeastern European countries from multidisciplinary perspectives. Particular attention is paid to anthropological approaches that aim to understand the complexities of return migration from individual perspectives.

 

Wednesday, November 6th 

4pm-6pm, Room 915, Adam Smith bld.

Title: The politics of uncertainty: the US, the Baltic question and the fall of the Soviet Union

Speaker: Dr Una Bergmane, London School of Economics

Abstract: What drives foreign policy at times of uncertainty and profound historical change? Did the US contribute to the collapse of the Soviet Union? What is the role that the periphery can play in the international dynamics surrounding an imperial collapse? How do separatist movements proceed to gain international support?  Based on extensive archival research, this study investigates the foreign policy of the US-facing one of the most profound changes of the 20th Century: the collapse of the Soviet Union. It offers the first comprehensive account of Western policies regarding the independence claims of three Soviet republics – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – and analyses how these policies affected the fate of the USSR.