The Eastern European Transatlantic Network

We have seen a much more aggressive posture from US peace negotiators under US President Donald Trump. This podcast will move past the headlines to ask how shifting conceptions and goals of peace talks mean for the rules-based order and the historical legacies that have informed this current moment. To discuss this and more, Declan is joined by Dr. Jean-François Ratelle, an adjunct professor and researcher at the University of Otta...

The COVID-19 Pandemic has birthed a new generation of conspiracy theories - ones that are unique and others that feed on historical legacies. On this episode of the EETN podcast, Declan is joined by Dr. Margarita Zavadskaya, a professor and researcher at The Finnish Institute of International Affairs and the University of Helsinki. Their conversation examines how COVID conspiracies have exposed deteriorating institutional trust in ...

This episode of the EETN podcast explores the goals and accomplishments of the Network's mentorship program. Working across international borders and academic disciplines, the program forged partnerships between young scholars and students and experts within their field. Dr. Jeff Sahadeo begins by explaining what the program accomplished this year, before we hear from Marika Barbieri-Antonoglou, a member of the first cohort and her...

As part of our mentorship program, Declan sat down with Eva Gaigalniece, a PhD candidate at the University of Latvia, researcher of radicalization, and journalist. They examined how the war in Ukraine has provoked rising radicalization in Latvia's Russian-speaking minority population. Building on her policy memo, Eva outlines how radicalization happens and what the Latvian government is doing to combat this worrying trend.

To lea...

As part of our mentorship program, Declan sat down with Marika Barbieri-Antonoglou, an undergraduate student at the University of Ottawa. They discussed the policy memo, published earlier this month, where Marika explored how Russian "doppleganger" campaigns contributed to influencing voter preferences by amplifying anti-EU and anti-Ukrainian support narratives in the lead-up to the 2024 European Parliamentary Elections. 

To lear...

In January, Declan sat down with Dr. Stanislav Budnitsky, a Visiting Assistant Professor of Russian and Eurasian Studies at Colgate University, to discuss how Russia is harnessing humour as a weapon of war. It breaks down the insidious ways that Russian propaganda campaigns harness humour, pranks, and the internet to aid their war in Ukraine. 

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Declan is joined by Dr. Ryhor Nizhnikau, a Senior Research Fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, to dissect how Moldova, Ukraine, and Belarus have responded to changing EU and Russian policy in the face of unpredictability. This conversation foregrounds the recent histories of these three nations and how that has informed the present moment.

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On this episode of the EETN Podcast, Gabriella Pickton discussed the future of Moldovan, Ukrainian and Georgian accession in the face of the war in Ukraine with Dr. Frank Schimmelfennig, a Professor of European Politics and member of the Center for Comparative and International Studies at ETH Zurich. Recorded in January, this episode looks holistically at the appetite from EU accession in these turbulent times.

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On this episode of the EETN Podcast, Valeriia Gusieva sits down with Dr. Maria Popova, an Associate Professor of Political Science at McGill University, to examine the fallout of Russo-American talks. The conversation foregrounds the sidelining of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and how the security community can react to the shifting geo-political landscape. 

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Declan is joined by Dr. Magdalena Dembinska, a political scientist at the University of Montreal, to explore the enigma that is de facto states. This conversation centres on the questions posed by Transitria, South Ossetia, and Abkhazia in Moldova and Georgia as the two countries draw closer to the EU. This conversation follows Dr. Dembinska's presentation at the Center for European Studies in November 2024.

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On this episode, Declan sits down with Dr. Tom Casier, the Chair of Global Politics of Europe at the University of Groningen, to discuss the perceived openness to new EU accession talks. In an illuminating conversation, Dr. Casier explains how the full-scale invasion of Ukraine has prompted a new round of accession talks and what that might mean for the EU as a security power. The two explore how a process of reordering has changed...

This episode of the EETN takes a deep dive into the recent Georgian Parliamentary elections and the fall out of the latest victory for Georgian Dream. Declan sits down with Dr. Anna Rekhviashvili, a PhD from York University who focuses on Anti-Gender and Andt-Feminist studies in Georgia and the Caucuses, to shed light on the rising right-wing populism and anti-gender movement in the country. They talk about the long history of gend...

On the first episode of the Eastern Transatlantic Network Podcast get to know the faces behind the newest research department at the Institute of European Russian and Eurasian Studies. Declan sits down with Dr. Crina Viju-Miljusevic, Dr. Paul Goode, and Dr. Jeff Sahadeo as they outline what you can expect from the EETN. Over this brief introduction, they discuss the EETN's research goals, mentorship program, and upcoming events as ...