20:20 Visions: conversations on the future of democracy
20:20 Visions: conversations on the future of democracy is a new series of online discussions on current challenges to democracy faced by Central and Eastern Europe, hosted by LSE IDEAS and the Ratiu Forum.
The series continues in 2021.
Clientelism and state capture in the EU and EU-accession countries
Friday 23 April 2021 6:00pm to 7:30pm EET/4:00pm to 5:30pm GMT
Patron-client relations, rule of law weakness, state capture: how different are these concepts, and in which way do they play out across European countries?
While state-capture-like developments are often discussed in specific (especially East) European contexts, there have been few meaningful attempts to put these dynamics into conversation with those occurring in nominally more established European democracies. To these ends, the event will explore the patterns of grand corruption in the Balkans and in selected EU member states (e.g. Hungary, Italy, Croatia or Bulgaria) through a comparative lens. By so doing, it will reassess clientelism and state capture as new-old forms of politics, raising questions on the utility of the current framework.
This event will be live streamed on Facebook
Event Hashtag
#2020VISIONS
Speakers and Chair
SPEAKERS
Andrea Lorenzo Capussela is the author of Declino Italia (Einaudi, 2021), The Political Economy of Italy’s Decline (Oxford University Press, 2018), and State-Building in Kosovo. Democracy, Corruption and the EU in the Balkans (Bloomsbury, 2015). He served as the head of the economics unit of the International Civilian Office, which supervised Kosovo after its independence.
Liz David-Barrett is Professor of Governance and Integrity and Director of the Centre for the Study of Corruption at the University of Sussex. Her research focuses on the interfaces between government and business, particularly with regard to corruption in government contracting, lobbying and the revolving door.
Dušan Pavlović is a political economist. He teaches political economy and public choice at the Faculty of Political Science, University of Belgrade. His areas of interest are political economy of democratic institutions and state capture.
Tena Prelec is a Research Fellow at the Department of Politics and International Relations (DPIR), University of Oxford, and a Research Associate at LSEE-Research on South Eastern Europe, LSE.
CHAIR
Dr Abby Innes is Assistant Professor in Political Economy. Before joining the European Institute in 1997 she was a Visiting Scholar at MIT and was a Jean Monet Fellow at the European University Institute, (2001-2).
Resetting Transatlantic Relations: Central Europe and the USA
Friday 19 March 2021
The United States’ policy approach towards Central and Eastern Europe will be discussed within a broader context of American foreign policy objectives in Europe and neighbouring regions. Two such goals – repairing ties with European partners and NATO allies, and deterring Russia from further destabilising Eastern Europe – will most likely shape the unique dynamics of the Biden administration’s policy towards Central and Eastern Europe. Special focus will be given to Polish-American relations and how they
might change (or not) under the new administration. Given the current political climate in the United States and Europe, the main points will be countering Russia’s influence, focusing on energy security cooperation (i.e. through the Three Seas Initiative), and addressing liberal democratic values in the region.
This event will be live streamed on Facebook
Event Hashtag
#2020VISIONS
Panellists and Chair
PANELLISTS
Wojciech Michnik, Jagiellonian University
Christopher Reeves, Jagiellonian University
Lauren Speranza, CEPA
CHAIR
Christopher Coker, Director of LSE IDEAS.
EVENT VIDEO
Europe's Frozen Conflicts: Kosovo, Transnistria and Eastern Ukraine
Friday 26 February 2021
State disintegration at the end of the Cold War led to a surge in identity-based violence from the Balkans to the Caucasus. Despite some successful conflict-resolution in the former Soviet bloc, problems continue to simmer below the surface across much of Eastern Europe. Kosovo, Transnistria and eastern Ukraine are stark examples. All three remain frozen in ethnic competition and power-claims, spurred on by paramilitary groups with the backing of larger powers – most particularly by Russia.
How can these entrenched conflicts be brought to long-term resolution? This discussion will explore the complexities of these three regions and ask how external powers such as the USA and the EU might work to bring about peace and stability in Europe’s most troubled territories.
This event will be live streamed on Facebook
Event Hashtags
#2020VISIONS #LSEConflict
Panellists and Chair
Cristina Gherasimov is Foreign Policy Advisor to the Moldovan President.
Julia Himmrich is Associate at LSE IDEAS.
James Sherr is based at the International Centre for Defence and Security.
Mary Kaldor is a Professor of Global Governance and Director of the Conflict Research Programme at LSE IDEAS.
EVENT VIDEO
TURKEY, ISRAEL AND THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES IN THE BALKANS
Friday 22 January 2021
What should we make of the growing geopolitical interplay between Turkey, Israel, the UAE and the Balkans?
The list of non-Western powers who have engaged with the Balkans does not end with Russia and China. Turkey has upped the ante on its Balkan policy, returning to what used to be the European territories of the Ottoman Empire. Besides Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Israel have also boosted their ties with the Balkans.
Our panellists will discuss what strategic considerations guide the foreign policies of these three geopolitical players in the Balkans, what benefits the local nations expect to gain when engaging these countries, and the growing geopolitical interplay between the Balkans and the Middle East.
This LSE IDEAS and Ratiu Forum event is being held in partnership with the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy.
This event will be live streamed on Facebook
Event Hashtags
#2020visions
Panellists
Dimitar Bechev is a Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Human Sciences in Vienna. He is an Adjunct Professor in European Studies and International Relations at the University of Sofia.
Tena Prelec is a Research Fellow at the Department of Politics and International Relations (DPIR), University of Oxford, and a Research Associate at LSEE-Research on South Eastern Europe, LSE.
Vuk Vuksanovic is a PhD researcher in international relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), an associate of LSE IDEAS, and a researcher at the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP).
Christopher Coker is Director of LSE IDEAS.
EVENT VIDEO
The Impact of the US Presidential Election on Central and
South-Eastern European Security and Defence
Friday 27 November 2020
Will US foreign and defence policy change in Central and South-Eastern Europe under Joe Biden’s presidency?
President Trump’s foreign policy struck a radically different note to previous US administrations, with dramatic consequences in Central and South-East Europe. During his presidency the USA showed unprecedented warmth towards Russia, withdrew large numbers of troops from Germany and brokered an economic deal between Serbia and Kosovo, while threatening the strength and cohesion of NATO and the UN.
President-elect Joe Biden’s attitudes to foreign policy and transnational organisations differs markedly to that of Donald Trump. How will his administration’s security and defence priorities impact on the Central and South-East Europe region? Join us for an in-depth discussion of the security challenges and possibilities across the region presented by the USA’s change of administration.
This event will be live streamed on Facebook
Event Hashtags
#2020visions
Panellists
Wojciech Michnik is currently an assistant professor of International Relations and Security Studies at Jagiellonian University and contributing editor for the New Eastern Europe. He is a former Eisenhower Defense Fellow at NATO Defense College in Rome and Fulbright visiting scholar at Columbia University. In 2014 Mr. Michnik worked as a foreign and security policy analyst at the Department of Americas in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland.
Corina Rebegea is CEPA’s Director for Democratic Resilience, leading the center’s programming on the future of democratic governance and disinformation. Her expertise includes democracy and rule of law issues, good governance, and public sector leadership, as well as transatlantic security cooperation and Black Sea security.
Ivan Vejvoda is a Permanent Fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM), Vienna. Prior to this, he was Senior Vice President for Programs at the German Marshall Fund (GMF) of the United States. From 2003 until 2010, he served as Executive Director of GMF’s Balkan Trust for Democracy, a project dedicated to strengthening democratic institutions in South-Eastern Europe. Vejvoda came to GMF in 2003 after distinguished service in the Serbian government as a senior advisor on foreign policy and European integration to Prime Ministers
Zoran Djindjic and Zoran Zivkovic.
Christopher Coker is Director of LSE IDEAS.
EVENT VIDEO
Russia and China in South-East Europe
Friday 02 October 2020
What are Russia’s and China’s strategies and ambitions in South-East Europe?
A rising China and resurgent Russia have become two unavoidable benchmarks of international politics. The Balkans are not isolated from these trends as both Russia and China are present in the region. Russian foreign policy in the Balkans mostly revolves around soft power, energy, and unresolved Kosovo dispute. Unlike Russia, which is a historical great power in the region, China is a newcomer that in the past ten years has expanded its regional clout thanks to its global macro-project Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Our panellists will discuss what factors drive Russia and Chinese policies in the region, what are the strategic implications and what impact do these two countries have on the state of governance, economic development, and environmental standards.
This event will be live streamed on Facebook
Event Hashtags
#2020visions
Panellists
Dimitar Bechev is a Visiting Fellow at the Institute of Human Sciences in Vienna. He is an Adjunct Professor in European Studies and
International Relations at the University of Sofia.
Tena Prelec is a Research Fellow at the Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford, and a Research Associate at LSEE-Research on South Eastern Europe, LSE.
Vuk Vuksanovic is a PhD researcher in International Relations at LSE and an associate of LSE IDEAS.
EVENT CHAIR: Megan Palmer is Programme Manager of the Central and South-East Europe Programme, LSE IDEAS
EVENT VIDEO
Immigration into Eastern Europe: new challenges
Monday 27 July 2020
Central and Eastern Europe must address a new phenomenon: it is now a place of immigration. How is the region responding?
Central and Eastern Europe is increasingly a place of immigration as well as emigration – of returning migrants, of increasingly dynamic movement by EU citizens, and of non-EU economic migrants and refugees.
The arrival of larger numbers of immigrants into the CEE region presents challenges to infrastructure, labour markets and social dynamics. Our panellists will draw on their own research carried out in Poland, Romania and Croatia to examine the impact of the social and economic capital introduced by these incoming peoples – and the political, economic and social responses of the receiving countries. In doing so, they will also unpack some of the widespread assumptions and problems around how we talk about, and conceptualise, migration and peoples.
This event will be live streamed on Facebook
Event Hashtags
#2020visions
Panellists
Remus Anghel is Director of Migration Studies Center, Babeş-Bolyai University.
Michal Garapich is based at the University of Roehampton.
Caroline Hornstein Tomić is from the Institute of Social Sciences Ivo Pilar, Croatia.
Inta Mieriņa is from the University of Latvia, and the Director of the Centre for Diaspora and Migration Research.
EVENT CHAIR: Megan Palmer is Programme Manager of the Central and South-East Europe Programme, LSE IDEAS
EVENT VIDEO
Geopolitics in the Balkans
Monday 29 June 2020
Join us as our panel explores the shifting geopolitical organisation and strategies of the Balkans and the role of external actors such as Russia, China, and the European Union.
The COVID-19 outbreak, shifts in the global order, and rising tensions between great powers have brought new geopolitical dynamics into the Balkans. Against this backdrop, we will discuss these ongoing changes with a special focus on Serbia where parliamentary elections are scheduled to take place on 21 June.
We will take a closer look at policies pursued by the great powers (USA, EU, China, Russia) in the region and analyse their agendas in a broader, global context. We will also identify existing dependencies and see how the involvement of major global actors in Serbia may evolve in the future.
This event will be live streamed on Facebook
Event Hashtags
#2020visions
#BalkanGeopolitics
Panellists
Yu Jie is a Senior Research Fellow on China in the Asia-Pacific Programme, Chatham House. She is the former head of China Foresight at LSE IDEAS and remains an Associate at LSE IDEAS.
Sena Marić is based at the European Policy Centre.
Maxim Samorukov is from the Carnegie Institute Moscow.
Bogdan Zawadewicz is affiliated with LSE IDEAS and Geschwister Scholl Institute of Political Science.
EVENT CHAIR: Megan Palmer is Programme Manager of the Central and South-East Europe Programme, LSE IDEAS.
EVENT VIDEO
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This event will be live streamed on Facebook
- The event will be introduced by Bob Blackman MP, Chairman of APPG Romania and moderated by Megan Palmer of LSE IDEAS.
Event Hashtags
#2020Visions
Panellists
Tiberiu Anghel
Tiberiu Anghelis a co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of CyBourn. Tiberiu leads the development of industry partnerships, managing organisational development and client engagement. Prior to co-founding CyBourn, he worked with the Romanian National Computer Emergency Response team, where he was involved in policy development, crisis communication and pan-European cybersecurity exercises. He also was part of ENEVO Group, an Industrial Internet of Things start-up now active across 3 continents, where he coordinated innovation and security projects. Tiberiu is Board member of ISACA’s Romanian Chapter and holds a CISM certification. He has a Masters from the University of Amsterdam on Innovation Management and International Entrepreneurship and a Bachelors in International Business from Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest.
Euan Grant
Euan Grant is a Partner at Grant and Gutsell, a leading consultancy in Border Control, Tax and Customs matters. Euan was a Strategic Intelligence Analyst for HM Customs and Excise and has many years experience working with customs, police and military organisations. At Grant and Gutsell, he consults for the EU and other international organisations on border security, taxation and economic crime, and has worked extensively across the former Soviet States.He is a regular commentator on LBC Radio in the UK on strategic organised criminality.
Corina Rebegea
Corina Rebegea is CEPA’s Director for Democratic Resilience, leading the center’s programming on the future of democratic governance and disinformation. Her expertise includes democracy and rule of law issues, good governance, and public sector leadership, as well as transatlantic security cooperation and Black Sea security. Rebegea has extensive experience in the non-profit sector and has led rule of law and justice reform focused projects in the Western Balkans and South East Europe. She has also led research projects focusing on good governance, regional security, and countering disinformation. A former Fulbright and Open Society Institute Scholar, Rebegea holds an MPA degree from Syracuse University, an MA in Human Rights from the University of Manchester, and a BA in Political Science from the University of Bucharest. She is fluent in Romanian, English, French, and Spanish.
EVENT VIDEO
WILL DEMOCRACY SURVIVE IN POLAND, HUNGARY AND SERBIA?
Monday 8 June 2020
In the first of a series of online talks, the Ratiu Forum welcomes Slobodan Markovich (University of Belgrade, LSE IDEAS), Eric B. Weaver (University of Debrecen) and Wojciech Przybylski (Visegrad Insight, Res Publica Foundation) to discuss these political developments and their impact on democracy and civil liberties.
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This event will be live streamed on Facebook
Event Hashtags
#futureofdemocracy
#2020visions
#RatiuForum
#COVID19TALKS
Panellists
WOJCIECH PRZYBYLSKI
Wojciech Przybylski is the editor-in-chief of Visegrad Insight and chairman of Res Publica Foundation in Warsaw. Previously Wojciech has been the editor-in-chief of Eurozine – a magazine representing a network of European cultural journals, and – a Polish journal Res Publica Nowa. He has launched and leads the ‘New Europe 100’ project that is networking and bringing forward a community of successful innovators from CEE across the fields of business, research media, NGO and public administration run jointly by Res Publica, Financial Times and Google. He is a member of the advisory board of the European Forum of New Ideas. His expertise includes European and transatlantic affairs as well as policies related to innovation and culture. He has been publishing in Foreign Policy, Politico Europe, Journal of Democracy, EUObserver, VoxEurop, Hospodarskenoviny, Internazzionale, Gazeta Wyborcza, Dziennik Gazeta Prawna and several others. His new book ‘Understanding Central Europe’ (co-ed. with Marcin Moskalewicz) has been published in 2017 by Routledge.
Slobodan Markovich
Dr. Slobodan G. Markovich, MBE is Full Professor at the School of Political Science of the University of Belgrade where he lectures Political Anthropology, Political History of South-East Europe and Image of European Other. He is also Full Professor at the Institute for European Studies in Belgrade. He has been Research Associate at LSEE/LSE since 2012, and at LSE IDEAS since 2018. He has been the head of the Centre for British Studies at the School of Political Science in Belgrade since 2017. His published monographs include a book on Freud’s pessimism: Pessimistic Anthropology of Sigmund Freud (Belgrade, 2012), on Serbian economist, politician and diplomat Chedomille Miyatovich. A Victorian among Serbs (Belgrade, 2006), and a monograph on British-(Balkan)Serbian relations: British Perceptions of Serbia and the Balkans 1903-1906 (Paris, 2000, in English). His (co-)edited collections of papers in English include: British-Serbian Relations from the 18th to the 21st Centuries (Belgrade, 2018), Problems of Identities in the Balkans (Belgrade, 2006), and Challenges to New Democracies in the Balkans (Belgrade, 2004). He has been the coordinator of annual meetings “Psychoanalysis and Culture” since 2016.His research interests include: Construction of Ethnic/National and Religious Identities in the Balkans, British-Balkan Relations, psychoanalytic anthropology, and History of European Pessimism.
Dr.Eric Weaver
Dr. Eric Beckett Weaver is an associate professor teaching political science at the University of Debrecen. He received his doctorate in History from The University of Oxford in 2008. He is the author and editor of a variety of books and articles on nationalism, minorities, and politics in Southeastern Europe.
EVENT VIDEO
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