On March 27-28, 2025, the International Scientific and Practical Conference “The Crisis of Modern Geopolitics: The World Between Democracy and Authoritarianism” was held at the Hryhorii Skovoroda University in Pereiaslav. This is an annual scientific event that has brought together a wide range of domestic and foreign participants for the fifteenth time in a row. This year, more than 130 participants took part in the conference.

The conference is co-organized by the I.F. Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. On behalf of the Institute, the conference participants were greeted by Deputy Director for Research, Head of the Department of World Political Development, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Oleksandr Maiboroda. He emphasized that the Russian-Ukrainian war is a war between authoritarianism and democracy, and even more so, between democracy and an attempt to return to totalitarian regimes. The authoritarian regimes that are now acting as a united front against democracy are acquiring fascist features with a high probability of turning into totalitarianism. This dangerous trend is confirmed by the fact that in recent years more countries have moved from democracy to authoritarianism than from authoritarianism to democracy. The geopolitical crisis is not only a crisis of international relations, it is a crisis of the common political space, political thought, and the general political philosophy of the world. Authoritarianism, in order to create crises in the geopolitical space, first takes advantage of a crisis in its own country, tries to establish itself and gain popularity through populism, and then tries to impose its forms of government on the world. This is a very dangerous trend that needs to be studied, to find out the reasons and factors that lead to this: economic, social, political, and civilizational. Authoritarianism thus poses a danger to the further development of humanity. This is a phenomenon that revives from time to time, gaining support, which requires scientific and public discussion and reflection.

Oleksandr Maiboroda speaking

 The conference participants focused on discussing a wide range of issues: authoritarianism and revanchism; challenges of the current stage of democratic transit; the Russian-Ukrainian war as a factor of geopolitical transformations; ethnopolitical and national resilience in the context of global instability; information wars in geopolitical strategies of states; political futurology of the post-crisis period; civil-military cooperation: challenges and tasks in the new geopolitical realities.

At the plenary session, the staff of our Institute made presentations: Oleh Kalakura (“Peculiarities of the soft power strategy of culture in the foreign policy of the warring Ukraine”), Oleksiy Lyashenko (“Principles of the (post-war) state system of Ukraine in the context of the EU experience”) and Rostyslav Balaban (“Is democracy losing value?”).

The participants of the sessions were: Vasyl Kozma, Oleh Kondratenko, Tetyana Lyashenko, Maksym Kyiak, Natalia Kochan, Liudmyla Mazuka, Valeriy Novorodovsky, Iryna Ovchar, Anatoliy Podolsky, Alina Yasinska, and Vladyslav Velgus.

Conference participants

On March 27, Mykola Riabchuk, Principal Research Fellow at the Department of Political Culture and Ideologies, took part in the podium discussion on “Russia’s War in Ukraine” at the international conference “Geopolitics, Language(s) and Diplomacy” in Howard University, Washington DC. In his presentation, Dr. Riabchuk explained why Ukrainians are very skeptical about the ‘peacemaking’ efforts of the incumbent American administration and have no trust in Moscow capacity t negotiate in good faith. As long as the Russian leaders deny the very existence of the Ukrainian state and nation, a strive to eradicate them from political map, Ukrainians have little choice but to fight since the war for them is really existential. Or, as the CIA Director John Ratcliffe had to admit recently, Ukrainians “will fight with their bare hands if they have to, if they don’t have terms that are acceptable to an enduring peace”. It means, Dr. Riabchuk, concluded, that the real peace can be achieved only from the position of strength, from Ukraine’s preponderance, both military and diplomatic.

Mykola Ryabchuk speaks

On March 26-28, 2025, within the framework of the XVI International Exhibition “Modern Educational Institutions 2025”, the VI All-Ukrainian Interdisciplinary Scientific and Practical Online Conference “Ukrainian Society in the Prospects of Development: Historical, Socio-Political, Educational and Pedagogical Aspects” was held.
The purpose of the conference is to discuss the problems of rethinking and supplementing the history of Ukraine and promoting it at the global level; to identify current problems of the development of Ukrainian society on the principles of freedom, equality, respect for human dignity, human rights and the rule of law; to actualize educational and pedagogical trends in improving national education; to outline areas for the development of gifted children and youth in the context of the struggle for independence and integrity of Ukraine.

Oleg Rafalsky speaks

The event was co-organized by the Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the NAS of Ukraine. The program committee included Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Academician of the National Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Ukraine, Vice President of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Director of our Institute Oleh Rafalsky. At the beginning of the conference, he delivered a motivational speech. The speaker emphasized the key political challenges of today and the tasks that Ukrainian society will face in the postwar period. The main emphasis was placed on the importance of unity, social consolidation, solidarity and civic responsibility in the process of rebuilding the country. The speaker analyzed the impact of the war on political institutions, social cohesion and international relations, emphasizing the need for reforms, inclusive dialogue and building democratic structures. O. Rafalsky also drew the attention of the conference participants to the results of the research conducted by the Institute’s scholars recently. In particular, he spoke about the research “Adaptive Changes in the Political Field of Ukraine in the Context of War”, “Political System of Ukraine: Constitutional Model and Political Practices”, “Dialectic of National-Civic and Ethnic in Ukrainian Society”.

During the conference

At the plenary session of the conference, the report “Ukrainian National Identity as a Basis for Socio-Political Consolidation in the Context of Social Transformation” was delivered by the Chief Researcher of the Department of Theory and History of Political Science of our Institute, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor Tetiana Bevz. The report focused on the importance of Ukrainian national identity for socio-political consolidation in the context of social transformation.

Tetyana Bevz speaks

The speaker analyzed the key aspects of national self-identification, its role in strengthening civic cohesion and its impact on political stability. The report also focused on the challenges that society is currently facing, as well as the opportunities that are opening up due to the commonality of values and awareness of national priorities. Possible directions for harmonizing development and strengthening society on the basis of a common identity, which is an important condition for democratic progress and post-war recovery of Ukraine, were proposed.

On March 21-22, 2025, an international scientific and practical conference “Social Resilience and Solidarity in Time of War: The Experience of Ukraine and Poland” was held in Kyiv at the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine with the support of the Stefan Batory Foundation (Poland).

The conference was attended by researchers from the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Warsaw, University of Warsaw, Jagiellonian University, University of Fribourg (Switzerland) and London School of Economics.

The topic of social resilience and solidarity between Ukraine and Poland has many common and special experiences of Ukrainian and Polish societies, starting from the era of post-tory revolutions and the lessons of the Polish Solidarity movement to the current dramatic circumstances of the war in which Ukraine is defending its independence and identity against Russian invaders. In this war, Poland, as a neighboring country, has demonstrated many examples of genuine social and political solidarity towards Ukraine, supporting the social resilience of our country and also shaping its national mobilization experience.

During the conference

Galyna Zelenko, Head of the Department of Political Institutions and Processes, Doctor of Political Science, Professor, Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, made a presentation on “The Impact of the Constitutional Model of Organization of Power on the Functionality of Political Institutions (on the Example of Ukraine and Poland)”. In her report, she showed “the interdependence between the nature of procedural norms and the effectiveness of teleological constitutions in two countries”.

Leading researcher at the Department of Ethnopolitical Science of our Institute, Candidate of Historical Sciences Anatolii Podolskyi gave a lengthy interview to the well-known European, German edition “Die Welt”. The interview with A. Podolsky was conducted by Austrian journalist Stefan Schocher.

In his interview, the scholar emphasized, among other things, that quite often and quite accurately some domestic and foreign analysts compare the development of current events with the beginning of World War II. There are similarities, but there are also many differences. In my opinion, the scholar noted, Putin and his regime now enjoy much more support in Russian society than the Hitler regime of the time. In Germany and Austria, there was resistance to the Nazi regime in the late 1930s and during World War II. Today, in Russia, there is no resistance. Therefore, this war is not only the responsibility of a dictator or a totalitarian regime, but also the responsibility of Russian society. Russians support Putin, they hate Putin, they may be afraid of Putin, but they have done nothing over the past 10 years to stop him.

Anatolii Podolskyi

Answering a journalist’s question, A. Podolsky emphasized: „The Stalinist regime hated Ukrainians – the Ukrainian independence and national movement, Ukrainian literature, Ukrainian culture. There is a deep hatred of Ukrainian culture that Putin inherited from Stalin. Anti-Ukrainianism, anti-Semitism, and Ukrainophobia are the same thing. This is hatred”.

Answering a journalist’s question, A. Podolsky emphasized: “The Stalinist regime hated Ukrainians – the Ukrainian independence and national movement, Ukrainian literature, Ukrainian culture. There is a deep hatred of Ukrainian culture that Putin inherited from Stalin. Anti-Ukrainianism, anti-Semitism, and Ukrainophobia are the same thing. This is hatred.”

Publication of the interview in the Austrian edition of “Wiener Zeitung”

On March 6-8, Mykola Riabchuk, Principal Research Fellow at the Department of Political Culture and Ideologies, took part in the international conference “Revolutions of Hope: Resilience and Recovery in Ukraine” at the University of Notre Dame (South Bend, Indiana). There, he presented a paper entitled “When Soft Power Becomes Hard: Debates on the ‘Canceling’ of Russian Culture in Ukraine”. In his paper, he argued that culture, regardless of the political position of its creators, either pro-government or anti-government, is a kind of national flag, an attractive symbol of an unattractive state, a means of whitewashing and ennobling a rogue regime, diverting attention from the most important feature that currently characterizes that country and that regime – the crime of military aggression and genocide.

The canceling of Russian culture during the war does not mean its complete prohibition, it only implies certain temporary restrictions on its promotion, and is not tantamount to “censorship” since there are no formal legislative bans, restrictions are based primarily on the moral reaction of cultural actors, their ability to empathize and solidarize with the people who are opposed to the brutal aggression of their fascistoid neighbor.

Mykola Riabchuk

Senior Research Fellow at the Department of World Political Development, PhD in Philosophy Maksym Kyiak took part in the International Conference on EU Enlargement, which took place in February 2025 in Tallinn (Estonia). The event was organized by the International Center for Defense and Security (ICDS), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, the European Commission, the Embassies of Poland and Sweden in the Republic of Estonia.

In his speech at the panel discussion „Black Sea Security”, the scientist emphasized the importance of issues related to the security situation in the Black Sea region in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Maksym Kiyak speaking at the event

Maksym Kiyak also took part in a scientific discussion organized by the European publishing network Eurozine. The discussion was devoted to the analysis of current political processes in Ukraine and in the world, as well as Ukrainians’ resistance to Russian military aggression.

“What’s New in Metternich’s Garden? Central and Eastern Europe and the Russian War in Ukraine” was the title of a public lecture given by Mykola Riabchuk, a leading researcher at the Department of Political Culture and Ideology at the German Historical Institute in Warsaw.

The main question that the lecturer tried to clarify was why post-communist countries with approximately the same historical experience of Russian domination are now taking very different positions vis-a-vis the ongoing Russian aggression in Ukraine. Economic ties and dependencies, according to the scholar, are not decisive in this case, because even by 2022, Russia accounted for only a few percent of the trade turnover of Central and Eastern European countries. More important is the internal political dynamics in these countries, as well as their experience of relations not only with Russia and the USSR (roughly the same), but also with Ukraine and the West (quite different).

Taking into account cultural and historical factors, the speaker averred, is essential for both governmental and public diplomacy.

On February 17-21, 2025, the University of Innsbruck, Austria, hosted the Aurora International Peace Conference on the theme “The Role of Higher Education in Peacebuilding”. The conference aimed to provide a platform for discussing critical questions about how higher education institutions can respond to complex global circumstances by promoting cultures of peace through educational initiatives, activities and policies. The conference engages with the following key questions:

• How can the universities and institutes utilize their mission (teaching, research, third role) in the best way to support conflict prevention, transformation, and peacebuilding?

• Which capacity-building programs (teacher training and professional development) for the staff and students could and should be introduced to respond to different stages of the peacebuilding process?

• What can we learn from practitioners in the peace-building sector to enhance the role of universities in becoming agents of peace in conflict-affected societies?

The conference welcomed over 170 international experts—both scholars and practitioners in the peacebuilding sector and related fields—higher education policymakers, academics, and students from Aurora universities, their partners, and beyond to discuss the challenges and opportunities of universities in promoting peace.

Leading Research Scientist of the Ethnopolitics Department of Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Ph.D. (Political Science), Associate Professor Anastasiia Dehterenko presented a research study Impact of the Ethnopolitical Management on Peacebuilding: The Case of the System of Educational Resilience in Panel 14: Experiences of HEI from War Zones and with Post-War Reconstruction, Recovery, and Reconciliation II. Anastasiia Dehterenko presented the results of the research project, which was supported by the German scientific foundation Gerda Henkel Stiftung in 2023, and the second round of research has already begun on January 1, 2025. The researcher emphasized that the Ukrainian Northern Pryazov’ye is a unique region of Ukraine, which has been partially a war arena since 2014. Since 2022, residents of the area have been forced to leave their homes and become refugees from the war. Given that the territory of the Ukrainian Northern Pryazov’ye is home to 85% of the Greeks in Ukraine, it is appropriate to talk about the resilience of the Greeks of the Ukrainian Northern Pryazov’ye.

Anastasiia Dehterenko

In the Paper at the Peace Conference, ethnopolitical management, which has a global impact on peacekeeping, was considered as the example of the system of ensuring the educational resilience of territorial communities in this region, with an emphasis on the work of Mariupol State University. The researcher presented the methodology for measuring ethnopolitical resilience and offered recommendations for the Venice Commission. The issue of ethnopolitical management must gain new relevance, in particular in connection with the displacement of the population and the integration of war refugees, as well as Ukraine’s preparation for EU accession, when one of the conditions was to improve the situation of Ukraine’s national minorities. The system of ethnopolitical management in Ukraine is an important resource component of the country’s post-war reconstruction. Improvement of the political and legal framework for the protection of the rights of national minorities in Ukraine, as one of the important requirements for Ukraine’s accession to the EU, is inextricably linked to the reform of the entire system of state ethnopolitical management.

Conference Program

Mykola Riabchuk, a leading researcher at the Department of Political Culture and Ideology of our Institute, took part in the winter school organized by the Central European University in Budapest for Ukrainian students as part of the international program „Invisible University for Ukraine”. At the podium discussion titled „History of the Present: Wartime Narration Between Neutrality and Judgement”, he addressed the problem of academic impartiality during the war, which is difficult to maintain, especially for Ukrainians as the primary of the Russian genocidal assault, but which still is mandatory as a sine qua non precondition for a sober academic analysis and eventual elaboration of adequate policies. In his view, the situation of scholars during the war might be more difficult emotionally than in peacetime but essentially it is the same since they still are obliged to use the same mechanisms of critical thought, inward reflection and self-control that bolster up academic objectivity of their analysis and are usually required and strictly observed in peer-reviewed journals. On the hand, yet, as the citizens of this or that country and, generally, as human beings with particular views, preferences and emotions, scholars have a broad opportunity to engage in debate in more partisan way as public intellectuals – by giving interviews, publishing op-eds, and communicating with mass media. During the war like today’s, it is probably not just an option but also a duty.

After the discussion, at the request of the Review of Democracy, Mykola Riabchuk recorded a podcast about the peculiarities of Ukrainian democracy and the problems it encounters during the war.

 On 27 January 2025, on the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, we held the traditional 18th annual Roundtable „Holocaust Commemoration and the Ukrainian Society: Heritage and the Challenges of Today”. The XVIII Roundtable was organised by the Ukrainian Center for Holocaust Studies, the Goethe-Institut in Ukraine, and the House of Europe.

This year’s dedication marked the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the end of World War II, 80th anniversary of the United Nations, 30 years to the Srebrenica genocide, and also 11 years of russian war against Ukraine. Discussions focused on the importance of remembering the Holocaust and preserving Jewish heritage today, especially in the context of ongoing conflicts.

At the opening, Anatolii Podolskyi, a Leading researcher in the Department of Ethnopolitical Science of our Institute, Head of the Ukrainian Center for the Study of the History of the Holocaust, Candidate of Historical Sciences, delivered a welcoming speech. In his speech, A. Podolsky emphasized the importance of remembering the Holocaust and protecting the Jewish heritage today, during the full-scale phase of the Russian war against Ukraine, the loss of lives and destruction. He also mentioned the difficulties and challenges of remembering the war during the war.

The Remembrance, Heritage, Museums session (moderated by Anastasiia Haidukevych-Kachuro) explored the creation of a Babyn Yar museum (speaker: Vitalii Nakhmanovych) and the challenges involved. Participants also discussed the National Museum of the Holodomor-Genocide (by Lesya Hasydzhak)  and the Genocide Museum Territory of Memory in Odesa (by Tymur Korotkyy), highlighting their relevance during the current war. The Tracks of Memory project (introduced by Matthias Richter), using interdisciplinary tools to commemorate heritage, was also presented. Two major public cultural projects were shared: the exhibition Ukrainian-Jewish Century. Pictures and Stories from the 1920s through 2024 by Centropa (introduced by the founder, Edward Serotta) and audio lessons on the Holocaust by Lesya Yurchyshyn and Oleksandr Voroniuk, both praised as adaptable educational tools.

Session Remembrance through Education (moderated by Olha Limonova) covered teaching the Holocaust to various age groups. Anna Lenchovska from the NGO Educational Centre Tolerspace discussed methods for working with teenagers during three years of war. Nadiia Ufimtseva presented a manual for teaching Holocaust history in higher education, highlighting key challenges.Olena Zaslavska shared an example of an effective university curriculum, the Interdisciplinary Certificate Program in Jewish Studies at A. Krymsky Institute of Oriental Studies, discussing the challenges it faces and solutions.

We sincerely thank everyone who joined the Roundtable live, and to all Ukrainian and foreign speakers for sharing their experiences. In February, videos of the presentations will be posted on the UCHS YouTube channel. Thanks to our partners, Goethe-Institut in Ukraine and the House of Europe programme, for their support in organizing this event. As a reminder, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 60/7 in 2005, proclaiming 27 January as International Holocaust Remembrance Day, highlighting the importance of education and awareness to prevent future hatred, bigotry, racism, and prejudice.

Programme of the Roundtable in English

Photo gallery

„Different Faces of ‘Pragmatism’: Eastern European Countries Against the Russian War in Ukraine – A Mixed Response” was the title of a public lecture given in Paris at the Sorbonne European Center for Social and Political Studies by the Chief Researcher of the Department of Political Culture and Ideologies Mykola Riabchuk. In his presentation, the Ukrainian scholar discussed different stances of East European nations in regard of the Russian war in Ukraine and hypothesized the possible reasons for these differences. It appeared that neither the common ‘Communist’ past and semi-colonial dependence on Moscow nor common belonging to the European ‘family’ of nations institutionalized in the EU and NATO do not guarantee their unanimity on such an important issue.

Sorbonne University

Security concerns and economic ties with Russia (energy import in particular) do play some role but, in some cases, they are remarkably downplayed while in some other cases they are notably overblown. The main determinant of the stances and policies of East European governments, according to Dr. Riabchuk, is their commitment to the normative values of the EU or, alternatively, willingness to sacrifice this commitment for the sake of populist policies and electoral success.

On January 22, 2025, the Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine hosted a roundtable dedicated to the Day of Unity of Ukraine “National Communities of Ukraine – Historical Events and Modernity in the National Context”.

The scientific and practical event was organized by the Council of National Communities of Ukraine together with the scientists of the Institute.

The event was attended by scholars, MPs, representatives of state authorities and public associations of national communities of Ukraine. Before the roundtable, a minute of silence was observed in memory of the fallen fighters for the freedom of Ukraine.

The discussion was moderated by Professor, Vice President of Kyiv International University Oleh Zarubinsky.

During the round table

The participants were greeted by the Deputy Director for Research of the Kuras Institute of International Relations of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Oleksandr Maiboroda, Chairman of the Council of National Communities of Ukraine, Chairman of the National Congress of Armenians of Ukraine Ashot Avanesyan, Project Assistant of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine Natalia Oliynyk, MPs Maksym Tkachenko and Pavlo Frolov, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine Andriy Chesnokov, representative of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Oleksandr Osipov, Deputy Head of the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience Ihor Losovsky.

During the roundtable, the participants discussed a number of topical issues related to current socio-political processes, strengthening social unity and interethnic solidarity, and countering Russian military aggression.

The participants heard reports from the staff of the Department of Ethnopolitical Science of the Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. In particular, Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor, Chief Researcher Oleh Kalakura (“Crystallization of National Culture in Ukraine”), Candidate of Historical Sciences, Junior Researcher Valerii Novorodovskyi (“Challenges to Social Cohesion of Ukrainian Society”), Candidate of Philosophy, Leading Researcher Nataliia Kochan and Candidate of Historical Sciences, researcher Oleksiy Lyashenko.

During the roundtable, the participants discussed a number of topical issues related to current socio-political processes, strengthening social unity and international solidarity, and countering Russian military aggression.

During the round table

Oleg Kalakura speaks

The participants of the roundtable emphasized that the Day of Unity of Ukraine is a reminder that in the face of war and the challenges of our time, only through unity, solidarity, mutual respect and mutual support is it possible to defeat the enemy and post-war recovery.

Participants of the event

On January 14, 2025, Ukrinform hosted a roundtable discussion “Violation of the right to education in the state language in the occupied Crimea”. The public discussion was attended by representatives of the authorities, academia and the Ukrainian public. Among the speakers were Andriy Shchekun (representative of the Crimean Ukrainian Council, coordinator of the Humanitarian Policy group of the Crimean Platform expert network), Taras Kremin (Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language), Margarita Sokorenko (Commissioner for the European Court of Human Rights), Denys Chystikov (Deputy Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea), Klyment (Kushch) (Metropolitan of Simferopol and Crimea of the OCU, Head of the Orthodox Mission to Assist Victims of Human Rights Violations and Persons Deprived of their Liberty) and others.
During the event, representatives of the public and law enforcement agencies informed about the facts of criminal actions of the aggressor country, the Russian Federation, in the field of education in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukrainian Crimea. Information was presented on criminal proceedings for unlawful actions that violate the right to education, as well as materials on monitoring the criminal activities of “officials” of the so-called “Ministry of Education, Science and Youth of the Republic of Crimea”.

During the round table

Information was made public about criminal proceedings on unlawful actions that violate the right to education, as well as materials on monitoring the criminal activities of “officials” of the so-called “Ministry of Education, Science and Youth of the Republic of Crimea”. The participants of the event discussed possible further steps of Ukraine in the context of the implementation of the judgments of the International Court of Justice of January 31, 2024 and the European Court of Human Rights of June 25, 2024.

Pavlo Gai-Nyzhnyk

Pavlo Gai-Nyzhnyk, Leading Research Fellow at the Department of Political Culture and Ideology of the Institute, Doctor of Historical Sciences, took part in the roundtable. In his speech, he emphasized the need to create a humanitarian and educational front in the temporarily occupied Crimea, which would include the use of the latest technologies to influence cyberspace and the Internet.
The event also included a presentation of the book “Formation of the Modern National Consciousness of Ukrainians in Crimea: Tendencies, Prospects and Assimilation Threats (Late XIX – Early XXI Centuries), compiled, edited and co-authored by Pavlo Hai-Nyzhnyk, a leading researcher at the Institute, Doctor of Historical Sciences.

An electronic version of the analytical report “Institutional Capacity Traps in the System of Public Administration in Ukraine” is available on the Institute’s website in the section “Our Publications”.

The analytical report is devoted to the review of the institutional capacity of public authorities and local self-government bodies in Ukraine. Based on the results of the study, using numerous indices and indicators, analysis of legislation, sociological surveys and statistics, the authors formulated “institutional capacity traps” in the system of public authorities in Ukraine, which cause the underdevelopment of the system of checks and balances and, as a result, the degradation of the institution of political responsibility, social elevators, and do not contribute to strengthening public confidence in the state.

The book is intended for politicians, scholars in the field of public administration, political science, law and sociology; civil servants and representatives of local self-government interested in improving the efficiency of governance; experts and analysts involved in civil service reforms, students and postgraduates, and anyone interested in the development of government in Ukraine.

On December 1, 2024, Ukrinform hosted a roundtable discussion on “Civic Education for Veterans as Active Participants in Social and Political Processes in Ukraine”. The event was organized by the Razumkov Center with the support of the Hanns Seidel Foundation in Ukraine. The format of the event combined an offline discussion in the Ukrinform hall and an online connection.

Head of the Department of Political Institutions and Processes of our Institute, Doctor of Political Sciences, Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Professor Halyna Zelenko took part in the roundtable. In her speech, the scholar emphasized the formation of a new social stratum in Ukraine – war veterans, and possible obstacles related to the political activity of veterans. In particular, the ban on registration of new political parties during martial law and legislative restrictions on the political activities of military personnel may become an obstacle to the creation of new political forces of veterans, while existing political parties may try to use their authority in their own interests. The roundtable was an important step in the public discussion of civic education for veterans. The participants agreed that this area is extremely important for Ukraine’s democratic development and the integration of veterans into social and political life.

The project “Civic Education for Veterans as Active Participants in Social and Political Processes in Ukraine” aims to develop mechanisms to help veterans adapt to peaceful life, raise their political awareness and ensure their participation in building a democratic state.

On December 10, 2024, the Living Memory Exhibition Center of the Babyn Yar National Historical and Memorial Reserve hosted a public discussion entitled “The Holocaust and Social Responsibility: Lessons for Today.”

During the discussion, historians, political scientists, archivists, and cultural experts considered the Holocaust not only as a historical event, but also as a phenomenon that has relevant lessons for preventing any manifestations of mass crimes today. Particular attention was paid to the role of society in confronting injustice and fighting for the protection of human rights and everyone’s responsibility for the future. The event was moderated by Roza Tapanova, director of the Babyn Yar National Historical and Memorial Reserve. Public figures and scholars took part in the discussion.

During the event

Anatolii Podolskyi, a leading researcher at the Department of Ethnopolitical Science of the Institute, PhD in History, made a presentation on “Memory of the Past as a Weapon in Modern Warfare”. In his speech, the scholar emphasized: “the historical calendar of modern Ukraine is already a true history and memory, unlike the times of the communist dictatorship. We must study, remember, and analyze our past. At the same time, it is important that academic research does not turn into propaganda.”

Anatoliy Podolsky speaks

The public discussion also featured video addresses by Oleksandra Matviychuk, Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 2022, human rights activist, and head of the Center for Civil Liberties, and Pavlo Kozlenko, director of the Holocaust Research Center and Genocide Museum Territory of Memory. The discussion was attended by Kyrylo Vyslobokov, director of the Archival Information Systems company, and Yurii (Amir) Radchenko, PhD in History and researcher at the Mykola Hayevyi Center for Contemporary History at the Ukrainian Catholic University.

Kuras Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine has been included in the global register of research organizations – Research Organization Registry (ROR).

The ROR was created to identify research organizations and aims to integrate research institutions into the open scientific infrastructure.

The identifier is supported in the metadata of a number of scientific platforms, including Crossref and ORCID.

The ROR is used in journal publishing systems, data repositories (in particular, for state registration and accounting of scientific papers and dissertations in the Ukrinform), platforms that provide international research grants, open access workflows, and other components of the research infrastructure. ROR ID is designed to eliminate ambiguity of institutional affiliation, improve identification and tracking of research conducted by the institution, etc.

ROR ID of the institution:
https://ror.org/0067sfd77

ROR data is free and publicly available in accordance with the requirements of the CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain license.

Use of a unique identifier (ROR ID):

• Ensures correct attribution of scientific institutions, associated researchers, publishers, informative for granting organizations, etc;
• facilitates interaction between different systems, databases and research platforms, facilitating information exchange and collaboration;
• helps to improve the identification and accessibility of research organizations, which contributes to effective interaction and search for partners for cooperation;
• allows for more accurate tracking of scientific results;
• promotes the implementation of international standards for the identification of research organizations, transparency and open access to scientific information, which is important for the development of open science.

From September 30 to October 2, 2024, the University of Regensburg and Think Space Ukraine, with the support of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, held a conference “Shifting Borders, Changing Landscapes: Research on Industrial Regions in Transition”. The conference was devoted to the study of the past and present of the industrial regions of Eastern Europe – Upper Silesia and Donbas. The conference was also aimed at creating a space for a broader dialogue with scholars who study European industrial zones and border areas, and conduct comparative research.

I took part in the conference and delivered a presentation “Donbas vs. Galicia: Different Modes of Othering and Mythologization” by Mykola Riabchuk, a leading researcher at the Department of Political Culture and Ideologies of the Institute. In his presentation, the scholar argued that the othering of both regions was largely based on old Soviet myths, although they were used in different ways. The post-Soviet stereotyping of Galicia was essentially a continuation of old Soviet myths that demonized the region as extremely nationalistic and xenophobic, while in the case of Donbas, the old Soviet myth of the region as a showcase of “developed socialism” was caricatured into its opposite – the embodiment of all possible social pathologies. However, after 2014, the representation of both regions in the public discourse, according to the researcher, has changed significantly due to a deeper understanding of regional peculiarities and their more responsible political interpretation.

University of Regensburg

Prior to the conference, a photo exhibition of works by four prominent artists whose lives are closely connected with Upper Silesia and Donbas was organized for the participants: Viktor Maruschenko (1946-2020), Karolina Jonderko (1985), Oleksandr Chekmenov (1969), and Michal Kala (1948).