1. International Relations and Foreign Policy
1. Political and economic sanctions: assessment of influence on the region
Economic sanctions became a widespread and yet controversial mechanism of international politics. They provoke heated discussions among politicians, analysts and academics. The Ukraine crisis, sanctions against Russia after Crimea annexation and Russian countersanctions against the western countries raised the problem to a new level. What role do sanctions play in modern international relations? What challenges does the policy of sanctions pose for the region of Central and Eastern Europe? What impact will this policy have on Belarus? The panel will discuss these questions and assess the risks and outcomes of sanction policy for the region of Central and Eastern Europe.
2. International security in Central and Eastern Europe
Contemporary security environment of the Central and Eastern Europe is an area of the clash of civilizations, cultures and religions, which has a turbulent history of the struggle for national liberation and attainment of statehood and sovereignty. It is a region with poor natural resources needed for the development of any economy. It is also the region where its largest inhabitant for centuries disturbs mutual coexistence by imposing its will on any state that has ever been in the zone of its influence. To achieve this goal, it uses the strong energy dependence of the European countries which failed to restore their economies after USSR dissolution. Free trade in the region also remains under this state’s influence, as it not only does not stimulate growth, but on the contrary provokes economic dependence of the weaker countries. Besides, mutual sympathies and aversions stemming from the continuously developing international relations of the Slavic family play a significant role in shaping of the regional security. The best example of this is their tendency to self-strengthen security through international military relations and their artificial inclusion in the system built after World War II.
3. Energy security and other issues of energetics in Belarus
Energy security issue is crucial for sustainable development of any country. Especially this concerns countries with a low level of own energy resources, and the Republic of Belarus is one of them. There is a dominant type of energy resource (natural gas) and dominant energy supplier (Russian Federation) in energy balance of Belarus. The share of imported energy resources from Russia reaches 80%. Thus, it is critical for Belarusian government to find ways to reduce energy dependence. The panel will discuss this and other problems, like transformation of the Belarusian energy system according to market rules and modernization of its infrastructure.
4. Mobility, migration and visa regimes
In recent years, Belarus has signed several agreements on liberalisation or abolition of visa regime with a number of countries. At this very moment there are negotiations on visa facilitation between Belarus and the European Union taking place. At the same time, talks on Small Border Traffic came to a halt, after the active phase of development. Migration (especially illegal) is an important factor in the dialogue between the Belarusian authorities and the European countries. At the same time an open border with Russia promotes greater mobility of the population in an eastern direction. All these events and processes indicate that the issues of population mobility, migration and visa regimes are becoming more and more relevant. Unfortunately, these topics are covered more often by Belarus media and advocacy groups, rather than researchers. The thematic panel would be very useful to fill this gap.
5. Central Europe in the politics of great powers
In the first half of the 20th century, Middle -or Central – Europe, repeatedly set the stage for great power rivalry and conflict, as well as political, economic and cultural exchange. During the Great War, the interwar period and World War II, Middle Europe has become the target of covert or direct expansion. This region seemed to carry important implications for the national and imperial objectives of great powers, and Charles de Gaulle and Winston Churchill were the first to call the period “the Second Thirty Year War”. Yet, the topic of great power meddling in Middle Europe in 1914–1945 still offers numerous unresearched perspectives, including the perspective of synthetical comparison.The proposed panel is aimed to unite up to twenty researchers, who are interested in the topic of Great Power policies in Middle Europe between 1914 and 1945. The core group of this panel is formed by historians, who cooperate on the volume “Great Power Policies Towards Middle Europe, 1914–1945”. At the same time, the panel is opened for other researchers, who are welcomed to submit their abstracts.
Thus, we are welcoming papers analysing the policy of any given great power (the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, Italy, the USA and Japan) towards Middle Europe, either as a whole, or towards any individual country. English is the working language of the panel.
Our team includes two dozens of historians (twenty Doctors of Philosophy and five PhD Candidates) originated from different parts of Europe. By participation in the 5th International Congress of Belarusian Studies in Kaunas, we wish to discuss our studies with a wider audience and, possible, to present our volume. Also, this panel could be perceived as a symbolic (and, possibly, terminal) point in our project, which was launched during the preceding Congress in Kaunas.
6. The idea of restoration of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 20th – early 21st century.
1. The concepts of the GDL restoration in times of the nation formation in the region
Supposed topics of reports and discussions:
Ideas of the GDL restoration among the Krajowcy movement, the confederation project by Anton Luckievič, ideas of the union between Belarus and the Baltic nations in Vaclaū Lastoūski’s works. Ideas and projects of the Baltic union formation (Jonas Šliūpas, Oscar de Lubicz Milosz, Stasis Šalkauskis, Jaan Tõnisson, Kaarel Robert Pusta) and their interconnections with the GDL restoration projects – whether they were “rivals” or “allies” in shaping the region?
2.The concepts of the GDL successor-nations reunification in the late 20th – early 21st centuries.
Supposed topics of reports and discussions:
Ideas of the Baltic-Black Sea Union formation and practical steps to their implementation in the late 1980-s – early 1990-s. The revival of the Krajowcy concepts and contemporary versions of the Intermarium project. The impact of European integration and the EU Eastern enlargement on the present conditions and future prospects of relations between the successor-nations of the GDL.
7. Emergence of Belarus on the political map of Europe (from the dissolution of USSR until 1994) in the Polish political and legal thought
The subject of the panel is how the appearance of Belarus on the European map was evaluated in Polish political and legal thought. Belarus in relation to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia was not an independent state, so the issue of diplomatic relations with it differed from the arrangement of diplomatic relations with the above mentioned countries. Separate attention will be paid to the person of Stanislav Shushkevich – Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Belarus, who on 8 December 1991 together with Boris Yeltsyn – President of Russia and Leonid Kravchuk – President of Ukraine in Viskuli signed the Belavezha Accords, which declared dissolution of the USSR.
8. Hybrid warfare: contemporary security challenges and responses.
2. Political Institutions. Economic Policy
1. Belarusian Civil Society: Present and Future
The panel will present studies on civil society in Belarus, as well as studies that are carried out by Belarusian civil society organizations. The overall objective of the panel is to improve the quality of research done by NGOs, and to discuss and disseminate the results of this research.
2. Mass protests: the experience of Central and Eastern Europe
The panel is devoted to the study of protest activity in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe in the XXI century.
3. Social Policy
Social policy is a system of measures aimed at achieving social objectives and results related to improving public welfare, improving the quality of life and ensuring social and political stability, social partnership in society.
In the context of economic slowdown in 2015 unresolved issues of social policy will escalate in Belarus. A significant part of the population may suffer because of limited financial resources of the Belarusian state. Drop in income and rising unemployment may become the key factors of public welfare worsening. So the issue of social policy seems to be highly relevant to the discussion of contemporary social, political, and economic situation of Belarus.
4. Public Administration Reforms in Belarus: focusing on the experience of others or looking for solutions at home?
3. Science and Education
1. Reform of the education system in Belarus and the Bologna process
The section will focus on understanding of the current state, problems and prospects of modernisation and cooperation of higher education, science and economy with the purpose of elaboration of Belarus’ innovative development path. The problem is crucial for Belarus as it attempts to follow the European (and regional) trend of building innovative economy (the economy of knowledge and post-industrial society). This intention found its place in a number of programs aimed at the innovative way of development in general and development of a research component of the higher education, in particular. However, between intentions (programs) and reality of innovative development there is a number of problems and obstacles which disturb, complicate, and sometimes make the implementation of plans impossible. The section will try to produce sober and reliable diagnostics of the current situation, systematic analysis of the reasons of problems of innovative development of Belarus and to find ways of their most effective resolution. The subject of the section has an integrative (education–science-innovation) and interdisciplinary (educology-law-economy) character.
2. Upgrading the organisation of doctoral education: problems of quality, legal and institutional transformations
The Bologna process and the creation of the Single European Scientific and Educational Space, being primarily European response to globalization processes in the world, resulted in a paradigm shift in scientific activity and higher education on the continent. The panel invites to discuss the main problems of the organization, management, evaluation and improvement of the quality of education in training and certification of highly qualified scientific personnel. It will also try to formulate the main tasks to be resolved in the institutional, legislative and regulatory frameworks. These changes should comply with the cultural values and be aimed at compliance with academic ethics, increased publicity, integrity and objectivity at all stages of preparation and certification of scientific personnel, to ensure the effective reproduction of scientific staff potential of higher qualification, which forms the creative core of innovative economy. The relevance of the discussion of these problems stems from the need to harmonize the directions and principles of development of national systems of training and certification of highly qualified scientific personnel with European standards.
4. History of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
1. Lithuanian Rus’: problems of identification of Belarusian and Ukrainian socio-cultural and socio-linguistic complexes on the territory of the GDL
Multicomponent structure of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) has repeatedly been the subject of historical research. Separation of the cultural and historical regions of “Litva”, “Ruś”, “Żamojć” from the integral body of the GDL has already become a historiographical tradition However, it is more difficult to delimit the Belarusian and Ukrainian sociocultural and sociolinguistic complexes of the 16th – 17th centuries. Is it possible to identify the Ukrainian and Belarusian language and cultural traits in the early period of the GDL (14th – 15th c.)? Has just the Was the Lublin Union of 1569 the only factor of distinguishing of the “Lithuanian Ruś” ethno-religious complex? What was the role of the Brest Church Union of 1596 in these processes? The problem of analysis of this situation is further complicated by the fact that protobelarusian features can not be combined only by the concepts of “Ruś”, but should include “Litva” too. In turn, protoukranian complex also has a number of cultural and partly politically autonomous regions, which had varying types of relationships: Volhyn, Kyiv region, Podolia, Galicia… Discussion of these issues is possible on the interdisciplinary level, with the participation of historians, linguists, literary scholars, ethnologists and representatives of other sectors of socio-humanitarian knowledge.
2. At the service of Duke and the Grand Duchy: officers and public administration bodies in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The section “At the service of the Ruler and the Grand Duchy: officials and government bodies in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 13th – 18th centuries” will discuss the formation, development and functioning of the bureaucracy from the inception of the state until its disappearance from the political map of Europe. It will consider various aspects of bureaucracy phenomenon in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. For example:
- personnel recruitment and activities of the authorities at different levels;
- methods of the prosopography and interdisciplinary methods in the study of state institutions of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania;
- daily work of state and local authorities;
- the activities of governmental bodies and the formation of political culture in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania;
- foreign citizens in the public service of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and more.