Unpacking the South Caucasus: Geopolitics, Neighbors and the EU's Role. Maia Panjikidze & Zaur Shiriyev

Poland has become an increasingly important actor within the European Union. After years of democratic backsliding, it`s democracy is consolidating again under Prime Minister Donald Tusk who took office in 2023. In 2025 Poland will face presidential elections and Poland will also be chairing the Council of the European Union. Poland is a stance supporter of Ukraine after it was invaded by Russia in February 2024. It hosts a large number of Ukrainian refugees and is rapidly building up its defense capabilities in order to deter a hostile Russia. What geopolitical role is Poland pursuing in an increasingly multipolar world? How will the election of Donald Trump shape the future of European Security and how does Poland perceive it`s role within the European Union? With Ukraine and Moldova having candidate status for EU accession, what can be expected from Poland in this context? How important is democracy and peace for Poland? Is Poland able to bridge different perceptions of EU countries about the future of the Union? These and other questions are discussed with the political analyst Wojciech Przybylski and the polish academic Maciej Kisilowksi in the 26th episode of the IIP Podcast “Peace Matters” moderated by Stephanie Fenkart. Guests: Wojciech Przybylski is a political analyst heading Visegrad Insight's policy foresight on European affairs. His expertise includes foreign policy and political culture. Editor-in-Chief of Visegrad Insight and President of the Res Publica Foundation. Europe's Future Fellow at IWM - Institute of Human Sciences in Vienna and Erste Foundation. Wojciech also co-authored a book 'Understanding Central Europe’, Routledge 2017. He has been published in Foreign Policy, Politico Europe, Journal of Democracy, EUObserver, Project Syndicate, VoxEurop, Hospodarske noviny, Internazionale, Zeit, Dziennik Gazeta Prawna, Onet, Gazeta Wyborcza and regularly appears in BBC, Al Jazeera Europe, Euronews, TRT World, TVN24, TOK FM, Swedish Radio and others. Prof. Maciej Kisilowksi's research interests focus on the application of innovation strategy to various nonmarket fields, including public law and regulation. He received his doctorate in law and master’s in law degrees from Yale Law School, M.P.A. in economics and public policy from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, and M.B.A. with distinction from INSEAD. He also holds another Ph.D. and M.A. in law from Warsaw University. Prof. Kisilowski designed and teaches a number of graduate and executive classes, for which he was awarded the CEU Distinguished Teaching including Award in 2016. Prof. Kisilowski is a frequent commentator on issues of political-economy of East-Central Europe, contributing (among others) to Los Angeles Times, Financial Times, Project Syndicate, Foreign Policy, Wall Street Journal, Politico and Haaretz. He is the author/editor of three books, including Administrategy, which was translated into five languages. His recent academic articles appeared in Law and Social Inquiry and International Business Review. Prof. Kisilowski is involved in a number of social change projects at the intersection of strategy and governance, including The Social Contract Incubator in his native Poland. He's a consultant to governmental organisations, progressive political parties, advocacy groups and businesses in Central Europe and beyond. Moderation: Stephanie Fenkart, Director of the IIP. The episode was recorded on 3 December 2024.

The clear victory of Donald Trump, which had been predicted to be a tight race, caught many in the EU by surprise. The first to congratulate him was Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, while on the same day, the German government collapsed. Why, despite his harsh and aggressive rhetoric, was Donald Trump still successful? In times of increasing polarization not only in the US but also in European countries, is the EU prepared for another Trump presidency? What does this mean for the state of US democracy, and how will the change of power in the US affect transatlantic relations? What are the implications for European security, and how will this reflect on the international stage, where two major wars are ongoing in Ukraine and the Middle East? These and other questions are explored in the 25th episode of the Peace Matters podcast by Prof. Vivien Schmidt and Dr. Hannes Swoboda. Guests: Vivien A. Schmidt is Jean Monnet Professor of European Integration, Professor Emerita of International Relations in the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies, and Professor Emerita of Political Science at Boston University, as well as Founding Director of the Center for the Study of Europe, all at Boston University where she taught from 1998 to 2023. Vivien A. Schmidt received her B.A. from Bryn Mawr and her Masters and PhD from the University of Chicago, and attended Sciences Po in Paris. Schmidt’s research focuses on European political economy and institutions, on democracy and the challenges of populism in the US and Europe, and on the importance of ideas and discourse in political analysis (discursive institutionalism). She has published thirteen books, over 300 scholarly journal articles or chapters in books, and numerous policy briefs and comments. She is also a board member of the International Institute for Peace Hannes Swoboda is the President of the International Institute for Peace. He started his career in urban politics in Vienna and was elected to the European Parliament in 1996. There, he served as an MEP for eighteen years, including as the Leader of the Social Democratic Group in the Parliament from 2012 until 2014. He was particularly engaged in foreign, enlargement, and neighborhood policies. He is now president of the International Institute for Peace, the Sir Peter Ustinov Institute and the Vienna Institute for Economic Studies. Moderation: Stephanie Fenkart, Director of the International Institute for Peace. The episode was recorded on 11 November 2024.

In this episode, we explore the intricate geopolitical dynamics of the South Caucasus, focusing on Georgia and Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan plays a crucial role as a key energy supplier and transit route, connecting Europe and Asia, and its relationship with Georgia is vital for both economic cooperation and security. The discussion highlights how Georgia’s pursuit of Western integration is perceived as a choice between Western alignment and Russian influence – an issue central to the upcoming parliamentary elections in the country. We also delve into the EU's role in the region, emphasizing the need for a cohesive strategy that prioritizes peace and stability amid diverse national ambitions. The conversation extends to other regional powers, including Iran, Turkey, and China, examining their influence and interests in the South Caucasus. Both regional actors and the EU must "unlearn" outdated perceptions and adapt to new realities, fostering constructive dialogue and economic cooperation. Guests: Maia Panjikidze is a Georgian diplomat and politician who served as the country's Foreign Minister from 2012 to 2014. She was Georgia's Ambassador to Germany from 2004 to 2007 and to the Netherlands from 2007 to 2010. A PhD in German Studies and a graduate of the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena and Tbilisi State University, she is also a freelance translator and author of works on German language and literature. Panjikidze translates between Georgian and German and has made significant contributions in both fields. Zaur Shiriyev is a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. His research focuses on security, conflict-resolution and foreign-policy issues relating to the South Caucasus; energy security and supply routes across that region, southeastern Europe and Central Asia; and on Azerbaijani and Turkish foreign policy. For two decades he has worked in academia and think tanks. He has also actively taken part in expert-level meetings on the Azerbaijan-Armenia peace process. Moderation: Marylia Hushcha, Researcher and Project Manager at the IIP. Recorded on 15 October 2024.

How do the concepts we use to discuss the climate crisis shape our thinking? In this episode, we explore different approaches to framing climate change in policy debates, such as viewing it as a national security issue or a tool for achieving peace. We also examine the EU's record in reducing its CO2 emissions and the upcoming UN climate conference, COP 29. Additionally, we discuss the inequalities in the environmental footprint of different nations: often, those who have contributed most to global warming are suffering the least from its consequences. Without overlooking the environmental impact of war and conflict, we turn our attention to Ukraine and Russia, particularly the latter's approach to environmental protection. Finally, we analyze climate policies from a geopolitical perspective, discovering that abandoning old dependencies often leads to the creation of new ones. Guests: Sophia Stanger is the Focal Point for Environmental Peacebuilding at the Austrian Centre for Peace. Her expertise lies in the intersection of environment/climate and conflict resolution approaches and she is managing capacity building projects. Sophia Stanger has many years of experience in NGO work, project management and team leadership, for example in the fields of education, humanitarian advocacy and volunteer missions. Sophia Stanger is also a qualified trainer and facilitator. She is a yoga practitioner, loves outdoor sports and hosts her own feminist book podcast. Sabrina Kaschowitz is a senior researcher at the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung’s Regional Office for Cooperation and Peace in Europe in Vienna. Her research focuses on the nexus between climate change and international security through a feminist and decolonial lens. She first joined the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) as a project officer in the Lebanon office in Beirut, where she focused on socio-economic justice. She also works with Women Without Borders on youth deradicalisation prevention projects with vulnerable communities. Before joining FES, she worked in civil-military cooperation, cultural diplomacy and trauma-focused psychotherapy for refugees. She is passionate about languages, as a key to cultural sensitivity and awareness, allowing her to explore different ways of thinking and perspectives that enrich her work. Moderation: Marylia Hushcha, researcher and project manager at the IIP. This episode was recorded on 25 September 2024.

What is PeaceTech? How can we use AI, virtual reality, open data, and other digital technologies in peacebuilding and mediation work? What can PeaceTech learn from CivicTech? Where is the EU’s place in the geopolitical competition in technological innovation and how can it capitalize on its strengths? We discuss these and other questions with Bernardo Venturi and Nathan Coyle. This episode is produced in partnership with the Agency for Peacebuilding (Bologna) and the Austrian Center for Peace with the kind support of the Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation. Guests: Nathan Coyle is the Senior Project Manager for PeaceTech at the Austrian Center for Peace. He is responsible for all our Peace Tech related activities and digital development. Nathan has partnered with governments across the globe to enhance their digital outreach efforts. He is a Fellow at The Royal Society of Arts in his native Britain and a writer, contributing to publications such as The Guardian. On his publication 'Open Data for Everybody: Using Open Data for Social Good' Nathan did a TEDx talk. Bernardo Venturi a co-founder and Head of Research and Policy at the Agency for Peacebuilding in Bologna, Italy. He has 20 years of experience in research, training, policy work and programme management mainly on peacebuilding, conflict resolution, EU external relations, good governance and international cooperation. Bernardo is also Adjunct Professor at the University of Bologna, an Associate Researcher for the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) and lectures in several MA courses and training programmes in different countries. Bernardo obtained his PhD in 2009 from the University of Bologna, where he also held a post-doctoral research fellowship. Bernardo consulted for several regional and international organizations including the European Commission, EEAS, European Parliament, IGAD, OSCE, the Italian MFA and several international NGOs and platforms. Bernardo is a frequent media commentator for different Italian media (e.g., Radio Tre, Il Sole 24 Ore, Repubblica, Avvenire, Quotidiano Nazionale, etc.) and international ones (e.g., BBC Radio, Le Soleil, El Confidencial, etc.). Moderation Marylia Hushcha, Researcher and Project Manager at the IIP The episode was recorded on 12 June 2024.

The horrific terror attack of Hamas on October 7th and the subsequent war of Israel against Gaza put the decades old conflict between Israel and Palestine back on the international stage. There is no doubt that the horrendous attack of Hamas against civilians (including the abduction of more than 250 Israelis) is a war crime and a crime against humanity. However, many – including the International Court of Justice (ICJ) - now claim that the way how Israel is waging the war against Gaza might amount to genocide – a term which has been highly politicized. Additionally to the ICJ the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court is seeking arrest warrants against the Hamas leadership and against the Prime Minister and Defence Minister of Israel. While the huge trauma of the holocaust will always be part of Jewish identity including the state of Israels identity, Palestinians are also traumatized with what they call the Nakba in 1948 and subsequent occupation and discrimination. While the Holocaust and the Nakba are not comparable, it shouldn`t deprive us to understand the sense of victimhood of others. The role of empathy when it comes to the suffering of the other cannot be underestimated but is hardly spoken about. Why is it important to talk about the holocaust, antisemitism, genocide, occupation? What role does international law play today and how are European countries reacting on the events in the Middle East? How can a peace process between Israel and Palestine become a political paradigm again and who could push the Israeli government to end the war in Gaza? What could peace mean for Israel and Palestine? These and other questions have been discussed in our latest episode: Israel and Palestine: Imagining Peace Guests: Omer Bartov is an Israeli-American historian. He is the Samuel Pisar Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Brown University, where he has taught since 2000. Bartov is a historian of the Holocaust and is considered one of the world's leading authorities on genocide. Born in Israel and educated at Tel Aviv University and St. Antony's College, Oxford, Omer Bartov's early research concerned the Nazi indoctrination of the Wehrmacht and the crimes it committed in World War II, analyzed in his books, The Eastern Front, 1941-1945, and Hitler's Army. He then turned to the links between total war and genocide, discussed in his books Murder in Our Midst, Mirrors of Destruction, and Germany's War and the Holocaust. Bartov's interest in representation also led to his study, The "Jew" in Cinema, which examines the recycling of antisemitic stereotypes in film. His more recent work has focused on interethnic relations in the borderlands of Eastern Europe. Recent publications include Erased: Vanishing Traces of Jewish Galicia in Present-Day Ukraine (2007), Anatomy of a Genocide: The Life and Death of a Town Called Buczacz (2018), winner of the National Jewish Book Award, and Tales from the Borderlands: Making and Unmaking the Galician Past (2022). His many edited volumes include Shatterzone of Empires: Coexistence and Violence in the German, Habsburg, Russian, and Ottoman Borderlands (2013), Voices on War and Genocide: Three Accounts of the World Wars in a Galician Town (2020), and Israel-Palestine: Lands and Peoples (2021). Hannes Swoboda is the President of the International Institute for Peace. He started his career in urban politics in Vienna and was elected to the European Parliament in 1996. There, he served as an MEP for eighteen years, including as the Leader of the Social Democratic Group in the Parliament from 2012 until 2014. He was particularly engaged in foreign, enlargement, and neighborhood policies. He is now president of the International Institute for Peace, the Sir Peter Ustinov Institute and the Vienna Institute for Economic Studies. Moderation: Stephanie Fenkart, Director of the IIP The episode was recorded on 24 June 2024.

In this episode, we discuss the EU’s global foreign policy. How has the EU been faring in its attempt to remain (or become?) a global power amid the declining liberal world order? Can the EU diminish its dependency on China’s market and rare materials? How should it position itself towards the United States after the presidential elections in November? Is it capable of avoiding being dragged into the US-China rivalry? How can it become a credible partner in the eyes of the so-called Global South? Does the Franco-German leadership of the European Union still hold? Misha Glenny and Christos Katsioulis elaborate on these and many other pressing issues. Guests: Misha Glenny is an award-winning journalist, author and public intellectual. He is the Rector of the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) - the role he assumed in May 2022. He covered the 1989 revolutions and wars in the former Yugoslavia for The Guardian and was the BBC’s Central Europe Correspondent. In 1993, he received the Sony Gold Award for Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting, and in 2012 he was named BT Information Security Journalist of The Year. His publications have been met with considerable international acclaim, including his account of Yugoslavia's descent into civil war. In more recent years, Misha Glenny has dedicated his journalistic activities to the uncovering of geopolitical and cybersecurity issues. His books McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld and DarkMarket: Cyberthieves, Cybercops and You were shortlisted for several awards. McMafia has been adapted into a major television drama, and the adaptation of his latest book, Nemesis: One Man and the Battle for Rio, will follow soon. Glenny is also a regular contributor to major publications in Europe, North America and Japan. Christos Katsioulis is the Director of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation's Regional Office for International Cooperation. Born in Böblingen, Germany, he studied History and Political Science at the University of Trier and the Aristotle-University in Thessaloniki. He obtained his MA in International Relations from the Institute for Political Science in Trier, where he taught international relations and foreign policy from 2003 to 2005. After that he joined the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, starting as policy officer in the EU-Office in Brussels and from 2007 to 2012 as expert on foreign policy in the International Policy Analysis Unit in Berlin. In 2012 he founded and headed the FES Office in Athens, later he headed the EU Office in Brussels as well as the London Office of FES. Christos has been a regular commentator on European affairs in the German as well as international media and a regular contributor for the journal Internationale Politik und Gesellschaft. Moderation: Marylia Hushcha, Researcher and Project Manager at the IIP. The episode was recorded on 29 May 2024.

The unprovoked and illegal war of aggression of Russia against Ukraine ended the assumption that a conventional war within Europe is a relict of the past. With the European Security Architecture in crisis, if even still existing, the EU member states understood the importance of their neighboring countries in South Eastern Europe and in Eastern Europe for their own security. With the granting of EU candidate status to Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, the nearly two decades long period of enlargement-fatigue came to an end. However, six states in the so-called Western Balkans have been in the process for many years and yet Croatia was the last country to become a member of the EU in 2013. Challenges are still manifold when it comes to the rule of law, corruption, nationalism, emigration on the side of the candidate countries. On the other hand, especially in the countries of the Western Balkans the EU has lost its credibility due to not following its own promises after reforms. The way into the EU is still long and technical, but there are many attempts to make the process more feasible and merit-based. However, the EU also needs to address the most crucial questions on how it wants to deal with an enlarged EU. How is this possible when decision-making processes on foreign policy decisions are still based on unanimity? While the decision to grant the countries in the east a European perspective has widely been acknowledged as a geopolitical decision, what does that imply for the values of the EU, codified in Art 2 of the EUV? How credible is this European perspective for the candidate countries who are all on different tracks and made different reforms? What is the cost of non-enlarging the EU? With an expected shift towards right-wing parties in the upcoming EU elections in June, what does that mean for a “New EU”? These and other questions have been addressed in this Podcast with the excellent experts Kristof BENDER and Milena MIHAJLOVIĆ. Guests: Kristof Bender (Austria) is the Deputy Chirman at the European Stability Initiative (ESI). He leads various ESI research projects on EU enlargement and on South Eastern Europe. Educated in sociology in Vienna and Paris, he has worked in South East Europe in various capacities since 1997, including managing higher education projects in Bosnia for the World University Service, as Attaché for Humanitarian Affairs in the Austrian Embassy in Belgrade, as a researcher for the International Centre for Migration Policy Development and as a consultant for various institutions, including the Austrian Federal Chancellery, DFID and SIDA. Part of the ESI team since early 2000, Kristof has been living in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, and is currently based in Vienna. He is also a Europe’s Futures fellow at the IWM Vienna (Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen), a board member of the Kosovo Civil Society Foundation (KCSF) and an advisory board member of Institute Alternativa (Montenegro). Milena Mihajlovic is one of the founders and Programme Director at the European Policy Centre (CEP), independent, non-profit think-tank based in Belgrade, Serbia. Milena is a proven expert in the field of public administration reform, in Serbia and in the Western Balkan region. Before co-founding CEP, Lazarevic worked for almost six years as a civil servant in the Serbian administration, first in the EU Integration Office of the Serbian Government (SEIO) and later in the Ministry of Public Administration. She is a Soros scholar and has an MA degree in European studies from the College of Europe and an MA in European Administrative Law from Belgrade University. Moderation: Stephanie Fenkart, Director of the IIP The episode was recorded on 13 May 2024.

In the upcoming European Union parliamentary elections, a shift towards the conservative and right-wing forces is expected. Why are right-wing populist parties so successful these days and what implications does this have for the foreign policy and enlargement-agenda of the European Union? What is Hungary`s role within the European Union and what relevance does Victor Orbán`s anti-western, anti-woke and anti-liberal democracy narratives have for the work of the EU? In times of increasing multipolarity and the understanding that geopolitics are back on the agenda, how can the EU step up its efforts in dealing with multiple crises? How are right-wing parties cooperating on various issues within the EU parliament and what implications does this have for the EU as a peace maker? Are we heading towards an Orbanization of the European Union and what specific role plays Victor Orban in its immediate neighborhood, especially in the Western Balkan countries? These and other questions are addressed in the 18th episode of the podcast PEACE MATTERS with PÉTER KREKÓ and PAUL SCHMIDT. Guests: Péter Krekó is a social psychologist and a disinformation expert with a focus on the psychological drivers of belief in disinformation and the impact of political-institutional contexts. He holds a PhD from the Eötvös Loránd University of Sciences, where his dissertation topic was the social psychology of conspiracy theories. He is a Research Affiliate at the CEU Democracy Institute, a senior fellow at the Washington-based CEPA think tank, and a PopBack Fellow at the University of Cambridge. Additionally, he is a fellow of Rijeka University for Advanced Studies. He has also worked as a guest researcher at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna and as a non-resident Associate Fellow at the Johns Hopkins University SAIS Bologna Institute of Policy Research. In addition, he has served as a Fulbright Visiting Professor at Indiana University and is the owner and director of the Political Capital Institute. Krekó is also the head of the EC-funded hub against disinformation (HDMO-Lakmusz) Paul Schmidt has been Secretary General of the Austrian Society for European Politics since 2009. Previously, he has worked at the Oesterreichische National Bank, both in Vienna and at their Representative Office in Brussels. His current work mainly focuses on the analysis and discussion of topical issues regarding European integration. Moderation: Stephanie Fenkart, Director of the IIP The episode was recorded on 8 May 2024.

Die EU-Wahlen klopfen an der Tür. Und stehen in dieser Episode von Peace Matters im Mittelpunkt. In einer Zeit, in der Europa mit einem direkten Krieg in seiner Nachbarschaft und zahlreichen anderen Krisen konfrontiert ist, wird die Bedeutung einer feministischen Außenpolitik diskutiert. Lena Schilling, bekannt als Klimaaktivistin und die jüngste Spitzenkandidatin für die Grünen, reflektiert über die Vereinbarkeit von Aktivismus und politischem Engagement und teilt ihre Vision für die Zukunft Europas. Evelyn Regner, Abgeordnete im Europäischen Parlament für die SPÖ, diskutiert konkrete Maßnahmen, um das Wissen über die EU bei jungen Menschen zu verbessern. Die Rolle des Europäischen Parlaments bei der Annäherung der EU an die Bürger wird kritisch hinterfragt, ebenso wie die Bedrohung durch den Aufstieg des Rechtsextremismus. Die Rolle Österreichs in der EU und die Fortschritte sowie Herausforderungen in Bezug auf Geschlechtergleichstellung werden ebenfalls beleuchtet. Inmitten all dieser Themen steht die zentrale Frage: Kann Europa weiterhin als Friedensprojekt bestehen? Diese und andere Fragen diskutiert Dennis Miskic, Project Assistant am IIP gemeinsam mit Evelyn Regner und Lena Schiling. Gäste: Evelyn Regner - Seit 2009 Abgeordnete zum Europäischen Parlament und seit Jänner 2022 auch Vizepräsidentin des Hauses. Darüber hinaus stellvertretende Delegationsleiterin der SPÖ im EU-Parlament. Lena Schilling - österreichische Klimaaktivistin, die mit der Fridays for Future-Bewegung in die Öffentlichkeit getreten ist. Bei den EU-Wahlen 2024 tritt sie als Spitzenkandidatin für Grünen an. Moderation: Dennis Miskić - Project Assistant, IIP Diese Folge wurde aufgezeichnet am 30.04.2024.