Submitted by Administrator on Tue, 01/05/2018 - 11:19
On 24th April, the Forum on Geopolitics held a panel discussion on the New Geopolitics of Eastern Europe. The panel consisted of Professor Aleks Szczerbiak from the University of Sussex, Dr Antonia Colibasanu from Geopolitical Futures, Mr Laza Kekic, formerly of the Economist Intelligence Unit and Ms Yulia Osmoloskaya, a former Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Ukraine in London.
The discussion focused on the impact on a shifting international environment on the internal politics of eastern Europe. The key conclusion was that a power vacuum is emerging in the region resulting from the decline in the authority of the European Union, the steady decline of Russia and the re-pivoting of the United States towards Asia. This is having a number of malign effects inside eastern Europe, from democratic backsliding in Central Europe to a fracturing of fragile states in the Western Balkans as the process of Euro-Atlantic enlargement comes to a halt. The region is also becoming a battleground in the so-called New Cold War as Russia’s fears about its long-term survival put it on the defensive.
The panel discussion formed the first session of the Forum on Geopolitics’ public colloquium on the New Intermarium which will continue in autumn 2018 and into 2019.
The Forum is grateful to Cambridge Polish Studies for its support.