European Security: A European Studies Seminar
Discussions of “crisis at the border” fill the news on both sides of the Atlantic. Focusing on one of the primary European receiving countries in the current migration waves, this seminar will put forward a consideration of flexicuritization as a departure from the securitization of migration. As preparation for the discussion with Prof. Dimari, participants in the seminar will read three brief articles of hers available upon registration.

Moderator:

Randall Halle, Director of the European Studies Center, University of Pittsburgh

Panelist:

Georgia Dimari, Ph.D. University of Crete

About the Speaker: Dr. Georgia Dimari is a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Department of Political Science of the University of Crete where she has taught security and securitization issues. Currently, she is exploring the transformation of the Greek Migration Policy the post-2015 period. She holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Crete, an MA in American Studies from the University of Turin, and a BA in International and European Studies from the University of Piraeus. She researches security, securitization of migration, de-securitization and migration policy, and the securitization of Covid- 19 in Greece. She participated in the research program (CA 10076) “Impact and categorization of the prospects of integration of refugees into the Greek productive system.” co-funded by the European Social Fund and national funds, and currently in the program “Management of Migration in Greece: Construction of a Pilot Model (Start-up) for Forecasting Migration Flows and Development of Policy Scenarios for Greek Immigration Policy” funded by the Research & Management Committee of the University of Crete.

SPEAKER:
Milada Anna Vachudova
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Professor Vachudova will explore how the rise in support for populist parties has shaped party systems in Europe over the last decade, focusing on ethnopopulist parties -- parties that make strong anti-pluralist appeals, vilifying individuals, groups and institutions labeled as culturally harmful. When in power, ethnopopulist parties use these appeals to justify the concentration of power -- and this playbook has helped bring authoritarian rule to Hungary while Poland stands on the brink. She unpacks why ethnopopulism has become a challenge to liberal democracy in Europe, how oppositions have responded -- and why EU member governments have shown such complacency and cynicism in countering it. This has led to the risk of a decoupling of the EU from the regime type of liberal democracy. Yet Russia's war against Ukraine is changing political contestation related to liberal democracy and to relations with Russia in key states including Poland and Germany. Professor Vachudova will close by reflecting on Ukraine's challenge to the European Union -- and whether and how the EU enlargement process can be revived as a tool of EU foreign policy.

Join the French Club for Spring 2023's weekly conversation hours, on both Wednesdays and Thursdays from 5-6:30 pm!

Note: French Conversation Hour will not meet in the Global Hub on Thursday, April 13.

This is the first event as part of the series Race, Rebellion, and Global Solidarity. The Battle of Algiers is a 1966 Italian-Algerian war film co-written and directed by Gillo Pontecorvo. One of the most extraordinary films ever made, The Battle of Algiers is an emotionally devastating account of the anticolonial struggle of the Algerian people and a brutally candid exposé of the French colonial mindset. It was shot on location in a Roberto Rossellini-inspired newsreel style: in black and white with documentary-type editing to add to its sense of historical authenticity, with mostly non-professional actors who had lived through the real battle. There is no registration for this screening.

Join the Spanish Club for Spring 2023's weekly conversation hours, on Wednesdays from 6-8 pm!

Join the Arabic Language and Culture Club for this weekly get-together and safe space for Arabic speakers to have a conversation and work on their language skills!