Workshop ‘Geopolitics in Europe and the World’ marks start of interfaculty theme
Leiden researchers from law, political science, governance and global affairs and humanities gathered for the first workshop organized in the context of the new interfaculty theme ‘Geopolitics in Europe and the World’. The theme welcomes Leiden researchers interested in contributing.
The workshop, which was held on June 9, marked the start of a cross-faculty network, exploring one of the most pressing questions in international politics today: can a coalition of middle powers step in to recreate some form of rule-based global order?
The post-WWII multilateral system is under severe strain. Great power competition between the US and China, a rise of nationalism and populism, and the erosion of shared institutions have left smaller and mid-sized nations increasingly exposed. The theme, led by Armin Cuyvers (Law), Antoaneta Dimitrova (Governance and Global Affairs), Sarah Wolff (Humanities) en Nikoleta Yordanova (Social Sciences), and coordinated by Belle Beems (Law), explores both the opportunities and the challenges of middle powers collaborating to fill that void. Since each middle power is too weak to guarantee desired outcomes alone, they theoretically share an interest in building a system that offers stability and predictability and buffers their citizens against geopolitical turmoil.
Activities and output
The workshop opened with a keynote from Nora Fisher Onar, Associate Professor and Chair of Global Studies at the University of San Francisco and author of the book Contesting Pluralism(s) – Islamism, Liberalism and Nationalism in Turkey and Beyond. Nora adopted a critical approach and offered an insightful external perspective on our research theme. Her presentation was followed by four break-out sessions on different aspects of our research agenda, led by our colleagues Anne-Isabelle Richard, Karolina Pomorska, Matthew Hoye, Maxine David and Armin Cuyvers.
The sessions aimed to formulate concrete research questions and identify opportunities for future activities and output of the profile theme.
The day concluded with a lunch, followed by an invitation to attend Nora Fisher Onar’s book presentation.
The workshop was a first step in building a sustainable Leiden University network around the theme, defining its key research priorities and identifying opportunities for cross-faculty collaboration.
Researchers interested in contributing to the theme are welcome to get in touch with the coordinator Belle Beems at r.b.beems@law.leidenuniv.nl. For more information on the theme, visit the Geopolitics in Europe and the World’ website.