Roundtable Osteuropa ZOiS Berlin

The vast majority of Ukrainians are Orthodox. As recently as 2020, 14% percent considered themselves part of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), which has a distinct Ukrainian identity but historical ties to the Russian Orthodox Church. Given the notorious role of Patriarch Cyril in justifying the war, the UOC cut ties with Moscow and declared independence after the start of the full-scale invasion.
Two years on, criticism of the church has not died down, and the Ukrainian parliament is considering taking political measures against it. Why do many in Ukraine still see the UOC as a threat, and what do believers and active parishioners think of their church and its clergy? Regina Elsner and Andriy Fert give us an overview of the OUC and its place in Ukrainian society.
(Music: “Complete” by Modul is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0-License.)

In this special episode of our podcast, Tymofii Brik joins Julia Langbein at ZOiS to share his thoughts on the future of Ukrainian science. As well as proposing specific strategies, he points to some very practical aspects that need to be prioritised in the recovery plan. And looking ahead, he shares his vision for Ukraine as the location of a new global university for research on the region.
(Music: “Complete” by Modul is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0-License.)

Am 2. April ist Internationaler Kinderbuchtag. Doch die Kinderliteratur hat nicht überall Grund zum Feiern. Auch sie hat mit Verboten, Zensur oder Anfeindungen zu kämpfen. Im Podcast nehmen wir mit Russland und Polen zwei sehr unterschiedliche Beispiele in den Blick.
(Musik: “Complete” by Modul is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0-License.)

Animal testing or the use of artificial intelligence – most people know about and have an opinion on the ethics of these two academic practices from medicine and computer science. But what happens when human societies and culture become the object of research? Human interview partners, experts or eyewitnesses, writers or activists are essential to data collection in the social sciences and humanities. In every phase of a research project, researchers need to think about how they can reconcile their need to generate and publish knowledge with their participants’ (and their own) need for safety. This is especially important when researchers are dealing with vulnerable groups, operating in authoritarian regimes or facing conflicts and war. In this episode, two researchers with years of experience in Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus share their views on research ethics in the social sciences.
(Music: “Complete” by Modul is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0-License.)

Ukraine is faced with a substantial and complex challenge: advancing both reconstruction efforts and the EU accession process, all while defending the country against Russian forces. In this episode, we explore how the processes of rebuilding Ukraine and EU accession are connected. Many aspects of the two processes converge, but what if the two endeavours harbour conflicting objectives, particularly regarding short-term and long-term priorities? And what can we learn from other cases in Europe's recent history, for example in the Western Balkans? Political economist Julia Langbein delves into these questions with two experts well-versed in this subject matter: Clare Lockhart from the Institute for State Effectiveness and Inna Pidluska from the International Renaissance Foundation.
Music: “Complete” by Modul is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0-License.

Zum Erscheinen der deutschen Übersetzung seines Buches „Europas Hunde“ sprach Nina Frieß mit dem belarusischen Autor Alhierd Bacharevič und der Slavistin Nina Weller über die Lage der belarusischen Literatur im Exil und in Belarus.

Music: “Complete” by Modul is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0-License.