6th Minsk Conference of the Institute “Political Sphere”

Evolution or devaluation: the problem of democratic order in Eastern Europe

Program

Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Minsk, Zacharava st. 68

 

May 25 (Thursday)

 

18.30-20.30   Crowne Plaza Hotel, Kirava, 13

Public discussion “How to write history of your own country now?” Participants:  Lukasz Adamski (Poland), Valiancin Holubieŭ (Belarus), Rūstis Kamuntavičius (Lithuania), Ivan Kurilla (Russia).

 

May 26 (Friday)

Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Minsk, Zacharava st. 68

09.00-10.00 Registration

10.00-10.10 Opening session

10.10-11.30 Centers and peripheries: revising democratic experience in Eastern Europe

Tomasz Zarycki (Poland). From a post-communist to a peripheral European political scene: international contexts of the transformation of Polish politics

Łukasz Adamski (Poland). Goals of Russian policy towards Poland: before 2014 and after 2014

Andrej Jahoraŭ (Belarus). Democracy promotion in Eastern Partnership countries: prospects and challenges

 

11.30-12.00 Coffee break

 

12.00-13.30 “Own way” to democracy? Explaining the Belarusian case

Piotr Rudkoŭski (Belarus). The Belarusian state ideology since the Russia–Ukraine conflict

Vadzim Smok (Belarus).  “Own way” to democracy: GoNGOs in speeches of Belarusian officials

Andrej Vardamacki (Belarus).  Bad mood and reforms: complicated tracks of public opinion in Belarus

 

13.30-14.30 Lunch

 

14.30-16.00 Democracy and Belarusian foreign policy

Jaŭhien Prejhierman (Belarus). Democracy as a factor of Belarusian foreign policy: Neoclassical realist analysis

Andrej Kazakievič (Belarus). Democracy and policy: understanding speeches and decisions of US presidents concerning Belarus (1992-2016)

Zmicier Mickievič (Belarus). Beyond democracy: the image of Belarus in neighboring countries

 

 

16.00-16.30 Coffee break

 

16.30-18.00 Civic identity and history in post-communist societies 

Bogdan Cywiński (Poland). Construction of real civic identity in post-communist societies

Ivan Kurilla (Russia). Presentism, politicization of history and new roles of historians?

Aliaksiej Kryvalap (Belarus). Russian world in Belarus: challenges of virtual information space

 

May 27 (Saturday)

Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Minsk, Zacharava st. 68

10.00-11.30 Education, history, democracy and politics in Eastern Europe
Rasa Čepaitienė (Lithuania). Consequences of neo-liberal reform of higher education in Lithuania: de-democratization of academic milieu
Rūstis Kamuntavičius (Lithuania). History in school textbooks and critical history: is this one or two histories?
Aleh Dziarnovich (Belarus). “Other Rus’”: Grand Duchy of Lithuania in contemporary Russian instrumentalist discourse
Aliaksei Lastouski (Belarus). Kurapaty in the context of “politics of dead bodies”

11.30-12.00 Coffee brake

12.00-13.00 Discussion “Education, history, democracy and politics in Eastern Europe”

 

Participants of the conference:

 

Łukasz Adamski – PhD in History, The Centre for Polish-Russian Dialogue and Understanding, deputy director (Poland)

Rasa Čepaitienė – PhD in History, Institute for Lithuanian History (Lithuania)

Bogdan Cywiński (Poland) – Dr. hab., one of the founders of Solidarity movement (Poland).

Aleh Dziarnovich (Belarus) – PhD in History, Institute of History, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (Belarus).

Andrej Jahoraŭ (Belarus) – Center for European Transformation, director (Belarus)

Rūstis Kamuntavičius – PhD in History, Institute of GDL, director, Vytautas Magnus University (Lithuania).

Andrej Kazakievič – PhD in Political Sciences, “Political Sphere” Institute, director (Belarus – Lithuania).

Aliaksiej Kryvalap (Belarus) – PhD in Cultural Studies, Polack State University (Belarus).

Ivan Kurilla (Russia) – Dr. hab. in History, European University at  St. Petersburg (Russia).

Aliaksei Lastouski (Belarus) – PhD in Sociology, “Political Sphere” Institute, (Belarus – Lithuania).

Zmicier Mickievič (Belarus) – analyst, Belarus Security Blog (Belarus).

Jaŭhien Prejhierman (Belarus) – Minsk Dialogue, executive director (Belarus).

Piotr Rudkoŭski (Belarus) – PhD, Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies (BISS), director (Belarus).

Vadzim Smok (Belarus) – “Political Sphere” Institute, (Belarus – Lithuania).

Andrej Vardamacki (Belarus) – Dr. hab. in Sociology, Belarusian Analytical Workshop (Belarus)

Tomasz Zarycki (Poland) – Dr. hab. in Sociology, Institute for Social Studies, University of Warsaw (Poland).