The Eastern European Transatlantic Network

The European Arctic has always been a space of opportunity and overlapping jurisdictions. In this episode, Declan is joined by Dr. Andreas Raspotnik, Director of the High North Center, to discuss how the High North presents opportunities and complications for the EU. They discuss how economic and hard security concerns are reshaping the return of focus to the region and how a more holistic understanding could produce a more robust defence.   To learn more and keep up with the EETN follow us on social media and check out the website listed below:  X (Twitter) - EETN LinkedIn - EETN Instagram - EETN Bluesky - EETN Website - EETN (Carleton University)

The war in Ukraine has entered its 5th year of conflict with little hope of it ending soon. In this episode, we look at the internal decisions being made by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the appointment of Chrystia Freeland. Declan is joined by Kim Nesbitt, EETN editor and PhD candidate, to examine what changes made by Zelenskyy to his inner circle could mean for a post-war Ukraine.   To learn more and keep up with the EETN follow us on social media and check out the website listed below:  X (Twitter) - EETN LinkedIn - EETN Instagram - EETN Bluesky - EETN Website - EETN (Carleton University)

The war in Ukraine has entered its 5th year of conflict with little hope of it ending soon. On this episode, we highlight the voices of resistance and resilience in Ukraine and in the diaspora. First, Declan is joined by Albina Kovalyova, a documentarian and award-winning journalist to discuss “Kharkev War Diaries.” A BBC Eye Investigation, it tells the story of three residents of Kharkev who remained in the city. Next, we sat down with Valeriia Gusieva, a Ukrainian-Canadian and former EETN research assistant, to discuss her profile of a former classmate fighting on the front lines and the feelings of the diaspora.    To learn more and keep up with the EETN follow us on social media and check out the website listed below:  X (Twitter) - EETN LinkedIn - EETN Instagram - EETN Bluesky - EETN Website - EETN (Carleton University)

With brewing tensions over American threats to annex Greenland, Declan sits down with Dr. Paal Sigurd Hilde to discuss its importance to Arctic security and what this means for NATO. Dr. Hilde is a professor and researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies. His research focuses on Arctic defence policy, NATO, and Nordic and international defence cooperation. He presented at Carleton University on the complex history of NATO in the Arctic.   Further Reading:   Jacobsen, Marc, Ole Wæver, and Ulrik Pram Gad. Greenland in Arctic Security: (De)securitization Dynamics under Climatic Thaw and Geopolitical Freeze. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2024. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/book.119444.   Tamnes, Rolf. The United States and the Cold War in the High North. Dartmouth: University of Michigan Press, 1991.   To learn more and keep up with the EETN follow us on social media and check out the website listed below:  X (Twitter) - EETN LinkedIn - EETN Instagram - EETN Bluesky - EETN Website - EETN (Carleton University)

The Canadian government has recently called for NATO to “devote more focus to defence in the Arctic”. In the lecture, Professor Paal Hilde from the Norwegian Defence University College will outline the history of the Arctic’s place in NATO deterrence and defence and give his thoughts on the opportunities and challenges for further engagement of the Alliance in the region. Dr. Paal Sigurd Hilde is a professor of war studies at the Institute for Defence Studies (IFS), which is part of the Norwegian Defence University College. He earned his DPhil at the University of Oxford in 2003. His main research interests include Norwegian security and defence, NATO and Arctic security. Paal has worked on policy planning and NATO at the Norwegian Ministry of Defence, led the secretariat of two government-appointed commissions and is, amongst others, the inaugural Norway Chair at the Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Studies.

  EETN Event: NATO at a Crossroads: Present Challenges and Future Trajectories   Hosted in partnership between the EETN, Carleton University, and the NATO Association of Canada, this event brings together academics and policymakers to examine NATO’s current challenges and future trajectory in light of shifting global security dynamics. Discussions will focus on the war in Ukraine, renewed great-power competition, the crisis of arms control, and debates over burden-sharing and European strategic autonomy. By combining scholarly and policy perspectives, the event will explore the alliance’s evolving role in transatlantic security and its implications for member states, including Canada’s commitments to defence modernization, Arctic security, and collective deterrence.   Panel 1: Academic Perspectives Dr. Benjamin Zyla (Professor, University of Ottawa) Dr. Christian Leuprecht (Professor, Royal Military College and Queen’s University) Dr. David Sichinava (Adjunct Research Professor; Carleton University) Dr. Ann Fitz-Gerald (Professor and Director of the Balsillie School of International Affairs) Dr. Luca Ratti (Professor; University of Rome III, joining remotely) Dr. Mihai Sebe (Lecturer, University of Bucharest and Head of the European Affairs Department; European Institute of Romania, joining remotely) Dr. Antonia Colibasanu (Senior Fellow; Foreign Policy Research Institute, joining remotely) Panel 2: Policy Perspectives Kerry Lynn Nankivell (Director, NATO and Europe, ADM(Pol), Department of National Defence) H.E. Witold Dzielski (Ambassador; Embassy of Poland) Eric Laporte (Executive Director; Global Affairs Canada) BGen (retired) Scott McKenzie (Director General, Canadian Joint Operations Command)

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 Ottawa, who this summer published a policy memo detailing the ramifications of the Washington accords and examining the ways its signing signifies a new era in conflict resolution.   To learn more and keep up with the EETN follow us on social media and check out the website listed below:  X (Twitter) - EETN LinkedIn - EETN Instagram - EETN Bluesky - EETN Website - EETN (Carleton University)

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 Russia and the ways that these conspiracies are being exported to the Western world.    Much of this conversation is based on two publications -  "Demographic Attributes and Attitudes of COVID-19-skeptics in Russia," Problems of post-communism. "Politics of the Pandemic: Blame Game and Governance in Russian and Central-Eastern Europe."  To learn more and keep up with the EETN follow us on social media and check out the website listed below:  X (Twitter) - EETN LinkedIn - EETN Instagram - EETN Bluesky - EETN Website - EETN (Carleton University)

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 mentor, Dr. Jean-François Ratelle, about their experiences.    To learn more and keep up with the EETN follow us on social media and check out the website listed below:  X (Twitter) - EETN LinkedIn - EETN Instagram - EETN Bluesky - EETN Website - EETN (Carleton University)

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 learn more and keep up with the EETN follow us on social media and check out the website listed below:  X (Twitter) - EETN LinkedIn - EETN Instagram - EETN Bluesky - EETN Website - EETN (Carleton University)

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 learn more and keep up with the EETN follow us on social media and check out the website listed below:  X (Twitter) - EETN LinkedIn - EETN Instagram - EETN Bluesky - EETN Website - EETN (Carleton University)

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.    To learn more and keep up with the EETN follow us on social media and check out the website listed below:  X (Twitter) - EETN LinkedIn - EETN Instagram - EETN Bluesky - EETN Website - EETN (Carleton University)

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. To learn more and keep up with the EETN follow us on social media and check out the website listed below:  X (Twitter) - EETN LinkedIn - EETN Instagram - EETN Bluesky - EETN Website - EETN (Carleton University)

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.   To learn more and keep up with the EETN follow us on social media and check out the website listed below:  X (Twitter) - EETN LinkedIn - EETN Instagram - EETN Bluesky - EETN Website - EETN (Carleton University)

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.    To learn more and keep up with the EETN follow us on social media and check out the website listed below:  X (Twitter) - EETN LinkedIn - EETN Instagram - EETN Bluesky - EETN Website - EETN (Carleton University)

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.   To learn more and keep up with the EETN follow us on social media and check out the website listed below:  X (Twitter) - EETN LinkedIn - EETN Instagram - EETN Bluesky - EETN Website - EETN (Carleton University)

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 our view of Europe and how it questions the foundational ideas of the EU.    To learn more and keep up with the EETN follow us on social media and check out the website listed below:  X (Twitter) - EETN LinkedIn - EETN Instagram - EETN Bluesky - EETN Website - EETN (Carleton University)

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 gender politics and the role that the West has to play in the upcoming months and years.    To learn more and keep up with the EETN follow us on social media and check out the website listed below:  X (Twitter) - EETN LinkedIn - EETN Instagram - EETN Website - EETN (Carleton University)

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 this research arm gets off the ground.    To learn more and keep up with the EETN follow us on social media and check out the website listed below:  X (Twitter) - EETN LinkedIn - EETN Instagram - EETN Website - EETN (Carleton University)