GlobalFocus Center starts the year advancing #research on defining regional subjects through its #fellowship programme. Following our competitive selection process of last year, we are supporting not four (as initially intended), but six (given the high quality of applications!) researchers to deepen their understanding of crucial #foreignpolicy and #security developments that impact the Central-Eastern European, Black Sea and Western Balkans regions:
Ovidiu Alexandru Raetchi is the former deputy chair of the security and defence committee in the Romanian Parliament Chamber of Deputies, currently a scholar working on the Russo-Turkish apparent “non-aggresion pact” in the Wider #BlackSea region and its implications for neighbouring countries;
@Dr. Vira Ratsiborynska, of Ukrainian origin, teaches at the Free University in Brussels, has worked extensively with #NATO and is currently focusing on the #EasternPartnership countries’ preparedness for facing hybrid threats;
Roman Hlatky is a Czech PhD student at the The University of Texas at Austin, passionate about ethnic nationalism in Central-Eastern Europe, who is researching #Russian efforts to foster instability in this region by helping create a sense that governments have lost control over identity politics.
Marius Ghincea(European University Institute, Florence), Dr. Clara Volintiru (ACADEMIA DE STUDII ECONOMICE DIN BUCURESTI, Bucharest) and @Ivan Nikolovski (Institute for the Study of Democracy ‘Societas Civilis’/ Institute for Democracy ‘Societas Civilis’ Skopje) are young, but already accomplished researchers, hailing from political sciences, economics, good governance and foreign policy who are working together, as part of the GlobalFocus Center ‘#China cluster’, examining Chinese influence in #EasternEurope, the prospects of reducing economic and trade dependence on Beijing and regional countries’ approach to #Huawei and #5G.
Their findings will be published in Eastern Focus (www.eastern-focus.eu) and will be disseminated in public online panels and discussions.
Congratulations to all our fellows!