On 24 February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. What Putin’s regime ignorantly believed to pull off as a ‘small victorious war’ turned out into the largest conflict Europe has seen since World War II in scale, intensity, number of casualties and destruction. In light of the planned counteroffensive of Ukraine, this paper aims to conceptualise a new post-war security architecture in the region. The authors identify economic and political tasks for Ukraine, the EU and the US to guarantee the long-term integrity of Ukraine and to contribute to regional and global stability. The basis for future scenarios is the analysis of the major policy shift regarding the West’s attitude to dealing with the Russian aggression in Ukraine. An evolution from mere sanctioning policy against Russia to full-scale military support for Ukraine is observed and explained in-depth from hard and soft power approaches. Ukraine’s military and leadership managed to reestablish a reliable and competent image of Ukraine through remarkable institutional resilience and victories on the battlefield. They also utilised a smart soft power strategy drawing on emotional and value attachments of Western elites and the public to sustain long-term support for Ukraine.
The Working Community of the Danube Regions was founded over 30 years ago in Lower Austria. Since its foundation, the members of the working group have been pursuing a common vision for the Danube Region and the prosperity of its inhabitants. The following article will provide an overview of the development of the cooperation, from the first steps to the current problems the Working Community is working on. It also focuses on the challenges that arise when working together in cooperation with many different stakeholders from a very diverse group. The aim is to build up interregional friendships on which to rely in times of crisis and to contribute to problem-solving as bridge builders.
The International Association for Danube Research (IAD) was founded in 1956 to promote transboundary exchange in limnology and river management across the ‘Iron Curtain’. This was a necessity to tackle environmental problems, focusing first on pollution. After the political and socio-economic changes in 1989/1990, the IAD concentrated gradually on hydromorphology. As a scientific association that has acted in the Danube Region for decades, IAD could provide scientific input to management authorities, policymakers, and administrations. IAD scientists have contributed to activities of the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) and the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR), and they were involved in or led transnational projects funded by EU programmes. Scientific progress in lake and river ecology has shaped the IAD’s targets and scientific agenda. Keeping an ecological focus while admitting that ecosystems and humans are inextricably linked determines the future long-term goals of the IAD: conservation and rehabilitation of aquatic ecosystems; integral water protection, and sustainability; raising public awareness; and facilitating cooperation within the Danube River Basin, especially among young researchers.
Crisis periods have always been accelerators for new phases of country development. The Russian war in Ukraine and the granting of European Union candidate status are opening a space for new cooperation with European countries, reforms and opportunities for Ukraine in the education sector (exchange programs, alignment with European standards, quality improvement). At the beginning of the new academic year of 2022, two major issues are present: how to maintain the learning process during war and attacks, and how to improve the educational system for EU accession and strengthen the human capital of the state. In this study, the experience of Balkan countries (with special focus on the Yugoslav successor states) in the postwar period since the 1990s is investigated and some practical examples of innovative reforms are proposed. Major topics include academic freedom, brain-drain prevention and the involvement of EU investments and initiatives. Besides this, the pandemic benefitted society with tools of online learning, which became one of the measures to secure students' education in the current conflict and let them continue studies as much as possible. Ukraine has the potential to improve in all spheres, although at the same time human capital is endangered because of the war.
No AccessThe 2021–2022 Period and Slovakia’s Engagement in the EU Strategy for the Danube RegionMichal BlaškoMichal Blaškois the ambassador and national coordinator for the European Union Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR). He is the director of the Department of Transnational Cooperation Programs at the Slovak Ministry of Investments, Regional Development and Informatization.Search for more papers by this authorPublished Online:Nov 2023https://doi.org/10.7767/dedo.2023.63.3-4.11SectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail About Previous article Next article FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Download book coverVolume 63Issue 3-4November 2023 ISSN: 0012-5415 eISSN: 2307-289X History Published online:November 2023 PDF download
