Hilary 2020 Term Calendar

Hilary 2020 Term Calendar

SEESOX Seminar Series

The world currently faces major geopolitical challenges in an environment of political fluidity and uncertainty. SEESOX 2020 Hilary seminar series will address important global security challenges and how these affect the region of South East Europe. It will focus on three categories of security concerns: first, the role of external actors, second, new (and old) global threats common to all states; and third, internal, homegrown, regional security threats. More specifically, our seminar series will look at the role of the West (EU and NATO), Russia and China and how these external great powers in a multipolar world compete for regional influence and resources in South East Europe; it will also look at new forms of geopolitical challenges such as energy, migration and cybersecurity and how these affect the region’s stability or instability; finally it will look at internal challenges that have to do with bilateral problems between states, and questions of extremism from a bottom up perspective. Our panels include a variety of speakers from various disciplinary backgrounds and/or a policymaking experience. We aim at a better understanding of the current security challenges facing the region while trying to think outside the box of conventional geopolitics. 

Click here for abstracts

Every Wednesday at 5 p.m.

Unless otherwise stated, all events take place in the Seminar Room, European Studies Centre, 70 Woodstock Road, Oxford  OX2 6HR

Week 1
Wednesday 22 January, 17:00
Western policy approaches to South East Europe: Engagement or neglect?
Mirena Pencheva (St Antony’s College, Oxford); Jarek Wisniewski (Independent Analyst)
Chair: Othon Anastasakis (St Antony’s College, Oxford)

Week 2
Wednesday 29 January, 17:00
Radicalisation in the Western Balkans: Political, social or religious?
Florian Qehaja (Kosovar Centre for Security Studies); Asya Metodieva (Central European University)
Chair: Jessie Barton Hronesova (Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford)

Week 3
Wednesday 5 February, 17:00
The ‘Balkan Route’: Humanitarian and security perspectives on migration
Amanda Beattie (Aston University); Myriam Fotou (University of Leicester); Gemma Bird (University of Liverpool)
Chair: Foteini Kalantzi (St Antony's College, Oxford)

Week 4
Wednesday 12 February, 17:00  
Energy dynamics in the Eastern Mediterranean: Cooperation or conflict?
Bill Kappis (University of Buckingham); Okan Yardimci (St Antony’s College, Oxford)
Chair: Charles Enoch (St Antony’s College, Oxford)

Week 5
Wednesday 19 February, 17:00  
How to restart the normalisation of Serbia-Kosovo relations?
Ian Bancroft (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe); Jessie Barton Hronesova (Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford)
Chair: Elizabeth Roberts (Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Trust)

Week 6
Tuesday 26 February, 17:00
The role of the Balkans in the geopolitics of cybersecurity
Lucas Kello (Centre for Technology and Global Affairs, Oxford); Cvete Koneska (S-RM Intelligence and Risk Consulting, London)
Chair: David Madden (St Antony’s College, Oxford)

Week 7
Wednesday 4 March, 17:00
South East Europe in Russia’s geopolitical objectives
Roy Allison (St Antony’s College, Oxford); Othon Anastasakis (St Antony’s College, Oxford); Andreja Bogdanovski (University of Buckingham)
Chair: Othon Anastasakis (St Antony’s College, Oxford)

Week 8
Wednesday 11 March, 17:00  
China in South East Europe: Economic or political interests?
Jens Bastian (ELIAMEP); Igor Rogelja (King’s College London)
Chair: Rana Mitter (Faculty of History, University of Oxford)

Other events

Week 1
Thursday 23 January, 12:50
Life outside the Euro: Monetary and financial issues for the EU periphery and beyond
Various speakers
Venue: Investcorp Auditorium, St Antony's College, Oxford
Convenors: Adrienne Cheasty, Charles Enoch, Daniel Hardy (European Political Economy Project (EuPEP)
In cooperation with ESC and Europeaum
Please register here: https://life-outside-the-euro.eventbrite.co.uk

Week 2
Thursday 30 January, 12:30
EU referenda in Greece and the UK and questions of legitimacy
Evangelos Fanoulis (Xi’an Jiaotong – Liverpool University)
Chair: Kalypso Nicolaidis (St Antony’s College, Oxford)