2024 marks the year that colonial perspectives on international relations still present in Europe became a threat for European security. The full-scale Russian war of aggression against Ukraine showed the real danger of ignoring the voices of the colonised, repressed and persecuted, and regarding only the former empire as a worthwhile stakeholder in international relations. What would the world have looked like if Russia wasn’t received with impunity after it launched its brutal wars of recolonisation against Ichkeria, Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine? Perhaps currently we would not be facing the largest war in Europe since the Second World War.
How do we decolonise our mindsets to give an appropriate response to the Russian war of aggression this time, preventing it from spreading further around Europe? How do we address the powerful impact of the undercurrents of Russian propaganda that have eroded the foundations of global order over decades? Ukraine House in Denmark invites you to a forum that will tackle these questions and more on the 26th of April from 14:00 to 18:00.
This event is organised in collaboration with the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS) and the Embassy of Ukraine to the Kingdom of Denmark.
Program
14:00—14:10
Introductions by HE Ukrainian Ambassador to Denmark and Ukraine House in Denmark CEO Nataliia Popovych
14:10—15:20
Disinformation as a tool of colonialism to obscure reality and weaponise history
Maksym Eristavi – Journalist, co-founder of “Ukrainian Spaces,” author of “Russian Colonialism 101”
Flemming Splidsboel Hansen – Senior researcher at Danish Institute of International Studies
Mette Skak – Associate professor at the Department of Political Science at Aarhus University, author of “From Empire to Anarchy: Postcommunist Foreign Policy and International Relations”
Yevgeniy Golovchenko – Tenure Track Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science and SODAS at the University of Copenhagen, coordinator for the “Hub on mis-/disinformation”
15:20—15:45
All speakers Q&A
15:45—16:00
Coffee break
16:00—17:10
The threat of ruscism and what to do about it
Volodymyr Ogryzko – Former Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, co-author of the book “Multidimensional Ruscism”
Valeri Chechelashvili – Diplomat, former Ambassador of Georgia to the Russian Federation, co-author of the book “Multidimensional Ruscism”
Sergej Sumlenny – Managing Director at the European Resilience Initiative Center, co-author of the book “Multidimensional Ruscism”
Usam Basayev – Ichkerian activist, co-author of the book “Multidimensional Ruscism”
17:10—17:35
All speakers Q&A
17:35
Conclusions and book signing with Maksym Eristavi and Volodymyr Ogryzko, Valeri Chechelashvili, Sergej Sumlenny