Die Veranstaltung findet über Zoom statt. Zugang zum virtuellen Hörsaal erhalten Sie über diesen Link https://eu01web.zoom.us/j/61071050589?pwd=ckpPWTF5T0VoZ1lTV2JPaEVoMGNtdz09 oder indem sie Meeting-ID und Kenncode in der Zoom-App eingeben (Meeting-ID: 610 7105 0589 ; Kenncode: 319193).

Zudem wird die Veranstaltung als Livestream auf dem YouTube-Kanal des IFZO verfügbar sein.

Programm: (Download)

16.00 - 16.15 Uhr (CEST): Welcoming notes

Prof. Dr. Katharina Riedel, Rector of the University of Greifswald.
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Michael North, Speaker of the IFZO at the University of Greifswald.
Susanne Bowen, State Secretary, Ministry of Education, Science and Culture

16.15 - 16.45 Uhr: Keynote Interview – “Uncomfortable Neighbours: The Impact of Crises on Regional Governance”

Dr. Artis Pabriks (Deputy Prime Minister/ Minister for Defence of Latvia)
Edward Lucas (Center for European Policy Analysis, Times UK)

Recent engagements of Baltic Sea region countries with Russia have exposed certain hard security issues to the general public, including a somewhat strained relationship between countries. Apart from deterrence and sabre rattling together with the deployment of Russian and NATO troops along the borders, there are differing attitudes toward Russia as is evidenced by the Nord Stream 2 controversy. Despite integration since the 1990s, the past decade has engendered several debates over welfare policies, sustainability and security. Moreover, while regional NATO-Partners have been alarmed by Russia’s projections of power, Germany finds itself torn between cooperation with or against Russia. Should such developments be understood as manifestations of transformative crises, especially with reference to the region’s security architecture? In line with the IFZO-research focus on “transformations in the Baltic Sea region”, the objective of this panel discussion is to ascertain and debate the role of current transformation processes together with their impact on regional security. Key questions include these: Are military manoeuvres still -- or again -- a viable and acceptable tool for maintaining a balance within the region? Are current deterrence strategies having the intended effect? Is sustainability transformation weakening deterrence strategies, as oil and gas become economically less important for Russia’s economy, but remain controversial nonetheless? Will Germany’s role change in this regional balance if it begins to insist on “values”? Will the new US-administration strengthen the role of NATO and in so doing also aid the different minority voices inside the alliance?

16.45 - 17.30 Uhr: Panel Discussion

Interview/ Panel Partner:

State Secretary Susanne Bowen is State Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture in the State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. She studied law in Bonn, Göttingen, Paris and Kaliningrad.  During her legal clerkship in Schleswig-Holstein she also held positions in Tallinn and Moscow.

Prof. Dr. Margit Bussmann is Chair of International Relations and Regional Studies at the University of Greifswald (Germany). She has published widely in leading peer-reviewed journals regarding fundamental causes and patterns that drive various interstate disputes. She holds a PhD in political science from the University of Alabama (US).

Rt. Hon. Charles Clarke is a British Labour Party politician, who was Member of Parliament (MP) for Norwich South from 1997 until 2010, a Junior Education Minister in 1998 and served as Home Secretary from 2004 until 2006. He now holds Visiting Professorships at the University of East Anglia, Lancaster University, and King’s College London.

Prof. Dr. Andres Kasekamp is Chair of Estonian Studies at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto (Canada). His research interests include populist radical-right parties, memory politics, European foreign and security policy, and cooperation and conflict in the Baltic Sea region. He has served as the editor of the Journal of Baltic Studies and as President of the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies (AABS).

Edward Lucas is a Non-resident Senior Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA). He has covered Central and East European affairs since 1986, writing, broadcasting, and speaking on the politics, economics, and security of the region. He has served as a foreign correspondent in Berlin, Vienna, Moscow, and the Baltic States. He was formerly a senior editor at The Economist.

Dr. Artis Pabriks is Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the Republic of Latvia. In 2004, he was elected as a Member of the Latvian Parliament and later appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs. He holds a PhD in political science from Aarhus University (Denmark). As an academic, his main fields research included political theory, ethnic policy, multiculturalism, as well as foreign and security policy.

Hosts:

Prof. Dr. Katharina Riedel is rector of the University of Greifswald (Germany) and Chair of Microbial Physiology and Molecular Biology. Since 2017 she has served as deputy vice rector of the university and was director of the Institute for Microbiology from 2013 until 2020. Her research focuses on the molecular basis of bacterial infections, molecular interactions in mixed-species biofilms as well as the analyses of structure and function of microbial communities in terrestric and aquatic environments by metaproteomics.

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Michael North is Chair of Modern History at the University of Greifswald (Germany). He served as deputy vice rector from 2007-2010 and was speaker of the graduate programmes on the “Baltic Sea Region” from 2000-2019. Since 2019 he is speaker of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Baltic Sea Region Research (IFZO). His main field of research include the history of the Baltic Sea region and the history of commerce and cultural exchanges.