An expert workshop on Resilience and Escalation in the Middle East was organized by Kreisky Forum in cooperation with partners. Hannes Swoboda reports on the event. The video of the public discussion is also available.

In the controversy between Russia and the European Union the discussion about values became more and more a central element over the years. Therefore The EURAS, the Karl Renner Institut and the IIP organized a forum to exchange opinions whether the current conflict is a clash of values or rather a clash of interests and if there are generally applicable rights or a traditional self-reliance of Russian values.

Am 26. September 2018 fand im Rahmen der Finissage „Verlorene Träume“ von Mitra Shahmoradi ein Gespräch über „Kunst im Iran: Zwischen Tradition und Moderne – vor und nach der Revolution 1979“ am International Institute for Peace (IIP) in Wien statt. Drei iranische Künstlerinnen unterschiedlicher Generationen, sprachen über Kunst im Iran, in Österreich, über Vorurteile in beiden Ländern gegenüber Frauen und Ausländerinnen, über Herausforderungen und Möglichkeiten unterschiedlicher Kunstformen, über den Zusammenhang zwischen Politik und Kunst, über die Autonomie und Kreativität von Künstlerinnen und über einen kritischen Umgang emotionaler Zusammenhänge im Kontext komplexer Themen.

An expert discussion covered the current state of affairs in Ukraine and possible ways of settling the crisis. The experience of the Western Balkans in conflict settlement and reconciliation was examined as a relevant case that Ukraine can draw lessons from.

by Lea Boraucke

The round table, which took place on 19 June 2018 at the IIP, gathered experts on international relations between Russia and Austria to a talk with Sharon Hudson-Dean, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs. In a political present of a widening gap between Russia and the EU, this relation is becoming more important.

by Marlene Prinz

The Vienna Center of Disarmament and Non-Proliferation (VCDNP) and the International Institute for Peace organised a round table on the 20th od April, moderated by Angela Kane, former high UN commissioner for disarmament and vice-president of the IIP, on the topic mentioned above. The event revolved around the benefits, opportunities but also challenges of artificial intelligence (AI). Two experts Sean Legassick and Jane Zavalishina were invited to give some interesting insights into this topic.

Die Europäische Union wird derzeit mit einer Vielzahl von Herausforderungen konfrontiert. In vielen europäischen Ländern ist eine Zunahme des Rechtspopulismus festzustellen. Dies beeinflusst den Zusammenhalt innerhalb der EU und stellt demokratische Institutionen vor neue Aufgaben. Im Rahmen der diesjährigen International Summer School in Sipan, die vom IIP und dem Atlantic Council of Croatia organisiert wurde, hat sich Stephanie Fenkart mit diesem Thema in ihrem Aufsatz "The Rise of Populism in Europe" intensiver auseinandergesetzt.

Even tough the elections didn’t happen yet, it is clear who is going to be the future president. Putin won’t have much difficulties becoming the head of state, for the simple reason that there are no serious competitors to defeat. Therefore, it’s not right to speak about an election victory of Wladimir Putin on the18th of March, the anniversary of the annexation of Crimea. Putin is no longer only admired for his personality, but ascended to a state symbol for Russia. A sacral embodiment of the Russian state. Voting for him is voting for Russia. Voting for the opposition would mean loosing this guarantee of the Russian state which Putin embodies. Throughout his presidential term he was able to convince the population of being the maintainer of the Russian state. The opposition is now trying to undermine this legitimacy. In this election Putin needs a high turnout. Moreover the relation between Russia und the West was another topic discussed by the panelists. But to understand the relationship between Russia and the EU, it is necessary to look back in time.

by Marlene Prinz

This year I had the chance to participate in the 17th International Summer School, which took place from 24th-29th in Šipan. The weeklong Summer School revolved around the topic “The role of NATO in the process of stabilisation of Western Balkan countries” and was organised by the Atlantic Council of Croatia with the support of NATO PDD and the International Institute for Peace (IIP).

by Maro Polykarpou

Maria Kulikovska is a Ukrainian artist, architect, actionist, and curator. She was born and raised in the city of Kerch in Crimea, a place whereby she cannot return after the Russian annexation of Crimea. She has been living in Kyiv since and has had various exhibitions in different European cities which convey her experiences after the 2014 Madiadan. After an insightful discussion with her at the International Institute for Peace in Vienna,  we learned why it is important for her to transcend art into the wider political field.