The Center for International and European Studies (CIES) at Kadir Has University, Istanbul; the International Institute for Peace (IIP), Vienna; UA: Ukraine Analytica, Odesa; the Foreign Policy Council “Ukrainian Prism”, Kyiv; and NGO “Quadrivium”, Chernivtsi in partnership with several other partner institutions are launching an online version of the flagship International Neighbourhood Symposium (INS). This year’s version titled “The Odesa Talks” aims to honor both the struggle of the Ukraine people and their resilience as well as the city of Odesa which had hosted the INS for three successive summers (2017-2019) before the Covid-19 Pandemic and the Russian invasion forced us to move to online formats of the event. The concept this year is to hold a series of five thematic discussions held on five consecutive Tuesdays (31 May, 7 June, 14 June, 21 June, and 28 June) at 17:00 CET (18:00 GMT+3) with expert speakers from Ukraine, the rest of Europe and the United States on the themes of: “The Russian Invasion of Ukraine and its Consequences”; “What Role for Civil Society in Conflict Zones?”; “The Regional Context”; “The European Union and its Neighbourhoods”; and “The European Security Architecture and Russia”. These talks each led by an experienced moderator are meant to encourage and generate dialogue between the speakers and the audience and advance our mutual understanding of the issues discussed. They will be held on the Zoom platform and be broadcasted live on Facebook and YouTube.

Interview with Saskia Stachowitsch, Senior Visiting Researcher at Central European University, Affiliated Researcher at the Austrian Institute of International Affairs.

In the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine and it's potential EU candidate status, the IIP organized an IIP Talk with Olena Halusha, board member in the Ukraine-based Anti-Corruption Action Center, avid writer and political commentator. The President of the IIP, Hannes Swoboda, talked to Olena Halushka about Ukraine's EU Integration and its anti-corruption measures. The EU commission already gave the green light for Ukraine and Moldova to become official EU candidate countries. The EU council meeting, on the 24th of June, is expected to discuss this issue even further and to give its final opinion and decide whether Ukraine and Moldova should become EU candidate countries.

Today, the IIP held its Advisory Board meeting! The Chair of the IIP Advisory Board, Heinz Gärtner, together with the IIP President, Hannes Swoboda, and IIP Director, Stephanie Fenkart, presented the current work and activities of the institute to the members of the advisory board. Afterwards, the members and the representatives of the IIP discussed future cooperation, ideas and activities!

Dieser Band ist ein Buch über „Krieg und Frieden“! Es steht außer Frage, dass alle Autoren den Angriff Russlands auf die Ukraine sowohl aus moralischen als auch völkerrechtlichen Gründen verurteilen. Durchaus unterschiedlich fallen die Beurteilungen der Ursachen des Krieges aus. Sie reichen von der Irrationalität des russischen Präsidenten über die Absichten Russland, das russische oder sowjetische Imperium wiedererrichten zu wollen, den russischen Revanchismus, bis zur Verhinderung weiterer Ausdehnung der NATO an die russische Grenze und die Absicherung von Einflusszonen. Auch die Lösungsmöglichkeiten und Vorschläge zur Beendigung des Krieges variieren. Ein militärischer Sieg der Ukraine wird von einigen Autoren als möglich, ja als unerlässlich angesehen. Ein lang andauernder Abnützungskrieg mit hohen menschlichen Kosten ist eine andere Möglichkeit. Als Alternative zum Krieg wird auch die Neutralität der Ukraine vorgeschlagen.

It has been more than eighteen months since the civil war in the northern part of Ethiopia started, with no clear end in sight. The war has resulted in an unprecedented humanitarian crisis and deteriorated security in Ethiopia and beyond. The war has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and displaced much more, torn the social fabric of the people, exacerbated political polarization, compromised the territorial integrity of the country, and poses a direct threat to the peace and security of Horn of Africa, among others. Despite some efforts to halt the war and bring about peace through the AU-led mediation as reinforced by the support of international actors, the war had spread to the entire northern part of the country, with sporadic armed hostility still ongoing throughout the country.

When did Ukrainian national identity emerge? What are the roots of the Ukrainians’ fierce belief in their right to an independent statehood? And on what basis does the Russian president question the very existence of Ukraine? How do identity issues play into the ongoing war in this country? A lot of questions that should be asked to understand the background of the war… And we will!

On Friday and Saturday, the IIP hosted the annual meeting of the Austrian Network of Peace and conflict Studies (NeFKÖ) on the topic “Current debates on peace and conflict”. In two intensive days of discussions and workshops in e.g. Afghanistan and Ukraine, the network tried to explore possibilities of constructive dialogue, cooperation between organizations and individuals, how to deal with set-backs within and outside the field of peaceful conflict resolution and how we can strengthen an active discourse about inclusive peace!