Centre for European Politics, Security and Integration events

January-March 2012

Monday 23 January 2012

Dr Dan Hough (University of Sussex)
Corruption, Anti-corruption and Politics: The Case of Poland.
Dr Hough will discuss some of his current research in progress for a book project on corruption and democratic governance, focusing on the case of Poland.

Monday 6 February 2012

Dr Eric Gordy (UCL-SSEES)
The Past in Post-Milošević Serbia: From Confrontation to Trivialisation.
Dr Gordy discusses ongoing research on the changing ways in which the Milošević era has been remembered in contemporary Serbia, with a particular focus on war crimes trials at the International Criminal Tribunal.

Monday 5 March 2012

Roundtable Event: Russia after the Presidential Elections - What Future for Putin's Sistema?
Speakers:
Dr Pete Duncan (UCL-SSEES)
Prof Alena Ledeneva (UCL-SSEES)
Dr Andrew Wilson (UCL-SSEES)
Leading specialists on Russian politics and society discuss the presidential elections, their aftermath and what they tell about the likely political direction of Russia.
NB. Registration necessary for this event. Please email Liz Apinall.

Monday 12 March 2012

Dr Richard Mole (UCL-SSEES)
Gay East European Migrants in Berlin: Between Ethno-National and Gay Diasporas
Attitudes towards homosexuality in Eastern Europe are largely negative. Migration thus offers gays a means of escape and self-realisation as well as a brighter economic future. However, there has so far been little research on the relationship between migration and sexuality or the experience of gay migrants from the former communist countries. When migrants arrive in a destination country, it is often taken for granted that they can plug into diaspora networks. However, ethno-national identity is often used to justify anti-gay rhetoric and violence. For gay migrants, traditional diaspora networks are thus often unavailable. To avoid alienation, gay migrants therefore either have to hide their sexuality or establish parallel, quasi-diasporic (often virtual) networks of their own.

Monday 19 March 2012

Dr Kasia Wolczuk (University of Birmingham)
Customs Union or Association Agreement? Ukraine's Dilemmas and Responses
Both the EU and Russia have proposed advanced new forms of economic integration for the post-Soviet states, namely the EU Association Agreements, including a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area, and the Russian-led Customs Union. What does this mean for Ukraine? Does it need to choose between Russia and the EU? Or can Ukraine continue to play off one side against one another to gain concessions from both? Dr Wolzuk analyses Ukraine's responses examining key domestic actors and their preferences and decision-making process against the backdrop of Russian and EU strategies towards Ukraine.

More on the CEPSI website.