ON THE SCHOLARSHIP DURING THE WAR: PANEL DISCUSSION AT CENTRAL EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY

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.