Events

BISA 44th Annual Conference 2019, 12th to 14th June 2019, Royal Society, Carleton House, London

@MYBISA #BISA2019 #BISARES

This year, the Russian and Eurasian Security Working Group is pleased to be sponsoring the following five panels and roundtables, and we look forward to seeing you there:

WB12: Wednesday 09:40 AM – 11:05 AM Roundtable

Understanding Russian Foreign & Security Policy (Room: Sir Kirby Laing)

Convenor: Natasha Kuhrt, King’s College London

Chair: Jenny Mathers, University of Aberystwyth

Natasha Kuhrt, King’s College London

Ruth Deyermond, King’s College London

Marcin Kaczmarski, University of Glasgow

David Lewis, University of Exeter

Paul Richardson, University of Birmingham

WC03: Wednesday 11:20 AM – 12:45 PM Panel

Counterhegemonic global media and security in Russia, Eurasia and beyond (Room: City of London 2)

Convenor: Precious Chatterje-Doody, University of Manchester

Chair: Carolijn Van Noort, University of the West of Scotland

War reporting and the divergence of histories: Marshaling, obstructing, and pre-mediating the conditions for global media events, Kenzie Burchell, University of Toronto

Seeing (in)security through spy stories: Conspiracy mirrors in the #Skripalcase, Precious Chatterje-Doody, University of Manchester

Counter-hegemonic news channels collaborating to challenge Western narratives. The case of TeleSUR with Almayadeen, RT and CGTN, Pablo Morales, University of Westminster

Beyond and between strategic narratives: Citizen accounts of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Joanna Szostek, University of Glasgow

TA11: Thursday 08:00 AM – 09:25 AM Panel

Interrogating Russia’s relations: partnership, cooperation and conflict (Room: National Grid Room)

Convenor: Natasha Kuhrt, King’s College London

Chair/Discussant: Ruth Deyermond, King’s College London

Russia and West: are there any chances for better relations? Konstantin Khudoley, St. Petersburg State University

Between the rhetoric of cooperation and the practice of antagonism: Russia in Antarctica, James Headley, University of Otago

The Russia-China strategic partnership: A bulwark against western hegemony? Vitor Ramon Fernandes, Lusíada University and CLIPIS

TB12: Thursday 09:40 AM – 11:05 AM Panel

Realism, hegemony and the post-Soviet region (Room: Wolfson Room One)

Convenor: Natasha Kuhrt, King’s College London

Chair/Discussant: Jenny Mathers, Aberystwyth University

Neoclassical Realist Model of Soft-Balancing concept: Azerbaijan’s resistance to hegemony-seeking Russia in the post-Soviet era, Kamran Ismayilov, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna di Pisa

Theory-Development and the Causes of Hegemonic Conflict: Military Disputes between Russia and its post-Soviet Neighbors since 1992, Jonas J. Driedger, European University Institute, Florence and Higher School of Economics, Moscow

Civilisational realism and the dilemma for Russian foreign policy, Iain Ferguson, Higher School of Economics, Moscow

TE05: Thursday 15:25 PM – 16:50 PM Panel

New Mahanism, Hybrid Mahanism, Failed Mahanism: New Geopolitical Realities for Russia in the Eastern Mediterranean (Room: Kohn Centre)

Convenor: Visne Korkmaz, Bahcesehir Cyprus University /CEMES

Chair: Nursin Guney, Bahcesehir Cyprus University /CEMES

New Reality for Russian Geopolitics: New Mahanism under Challenge, Nursin Guney, Bahcesehir Cyprus University /CEMES and Visne Korkmaz, Bahcesehir Cyprus University

Russia and Turkey Meet at The Time of Hybrid Mahanism: Syria and Beyond, Visne Korkmaz, Bahcesehir Cyprus University/CEMES and Nursin Guney, Bahcesehir Cyprus University /CEMES and Eda Guney, Sciences Po- Bordeaux

European Energy Security and Russian Challenge, Eda Guney, Sciences Po Bordeaux

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Past events

“Social movements and policy outcomes: How right-wing grassroots groups influence foreign policy”, 8 March, 2019, University of Manchester

The event was organized by Dr. Sofia Tipaldou and Prof. Vera Tolz at the University of Manchester, and was co-financed by the British International Studies Association, together with artsmethods@manchester, and Manchester Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence.

This event brought together scholars based in the UK, the EU and the US in order to produce ground-breaking research on the under-researched topic on the influence that right-wing social movements have on foreign policy. The progressive entrenchment of right-wing groups in their national political systems has raised a number of questions about their potential implications on the nature of democracy and policy-making. However, given the centrality of an extreme form of nationalism in the ideology and programmatic agendas of these groups, their impact on foreign policy- a domain which though closely connected to the ethno-centric and even expansionist ideology of far-right social movements, remains under-theorised. This workshop aimed to broaden the scope of the existing literature on the far right that focuses on their rise and causes of success, but largely ignores their outcomes and introduces a comparative analysis between Western, Central, and Eastern European countries in order to produce a solid theoretical base for the study of this phenomenon.

The event opened with an introduction by Prof. Vera Tolz from the University of Manchester. Sofia Tipaldou (University of Manchester) gave an overview of the state of the art regarding nationalism and foreign policy. It was followed by Dessie Zagorcheva’s (Columbia University) presentation on the first case study, Bulgaria. Lenka Bustikova (Arizona State University) presented her research on Czech Republic and Slovakia and Olga Onuch (University of Manchester) on Ukraine. Michelle William (W. Florida University) joined the panel through video-conference and presented her research on Germany and Mihai Varga (Free University Berlin) followed with a presentation on Poland and Hungary. Finally, Daphne Halikiopoulou delivered the closing lecture on current developments and future challenges of right-wing populism in contemporary Europe.

Russia and international law: politics, security and discourse, Monday 17th September, 2018, Kings College London

Organised jointly by the BISA working group on Russian and Eurasian Security and the BISA working group on International Law and Politics, this workshop seeks to bring together expertise on Russia and on international law/politics. We seek papers that address the application or interpretation of international law in the former Soviet space. Full details and call for paper here. (Call now closed).

Narrating Russian and Eurasian Security, closed workshop, 18-19 June, 2018, Kings College, London

Organised in collaboration with the Interpretivism in International Relations WG, this event brought together early career researchers and established scholars from across the globe to discuss the differing narratives of Russian and Eurasian security that have appeared in recent years and to analyse their component elements. Papers were presented on a wide variety of empirical topics, utilising a variety of approaches to the study of narrative. Our aims were to assess how such narratives can replicate prejudice, downplay contingency and over-emphasise the ability of policymakers to shape and control events, and to explore how to narrate critical issues in Russian and Eurasian security in ways that avoid the problems of a stage-managed script.

BISA 43rd Annual Conference, 13-15 June, 2018, Bath

Thank you for all of your abstract submissions. This year, our working group was delighted to sponsor 5 panels and 2 roundtables at the 2018 BISA annual conference in Bath:

WB03: Wednesday 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM Panel – Rethinking identity: interrogating the ‘other’ in Russia’s international relations 

WC04: Wednesday 11:45 AM – 13:15 PM Panel – Russia, China and regionalism in Central Asia

WE03: Wednesday 16:15 PM – 17:45 PM Panel – ‘How (not) to do research on development, peace and security in Central Asia: Reflections, lessons, and new ways forward’ 

TA08: Thursday 08:00 AM – 09:30 AM The Normative Triangle? Russia, China, and the US in the contemporary international system

TC07: Thursday 11:45 AM – 13:15 PM Panel International Norms and Values through a Russian/Eurasian lens

TD09: Thursday 14:45 PM – 16:15 PM ‘Understanding Peace in the Arctic’

FA07: Friday 08:00 AM – 09:30 AM Russian foreign policy towards its European neighbours

A declining Russia with Rising Ambitions? Challenges for Russia and the West, Monday 4th June, Kings College, London

Organised jointly with the Chatham House Russia and Eurasia Programme as an impact-focused workshop, this event brought together policymakers, academics and representatives of civil society to discuss the status of Russia’s economy and military-industrial affairs and the implications for international relations.

1917 to 2017: Russia’s unfinished revolution, Friday 17th November, 2017, King’s College, London

This workshop brought together presentations on a variety of revolutionary legacies in contemporary global politics. Over 60 delegates attended, and the full programme of the event is available here.