By Debanjali Ghosh & Lyimee Saikia
The Young Researchers’ Conference on Central and Eastern Europe: Three Decades since Transition was organised by the Jean Monnet Module Understanding European Integration Through the Regional Lens and the Centre for European Studies in the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University between May 18th and 19th, 2022.
The Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries have undergone momentous developments since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. In this context, the objective of this webinar was to take stock of the domestic developments of the CEE countries in the three decades since transition and evaluate both their achievements as well as the obstacles faced by them. The conference was introduced by Prof Bhaswati Sarkar, Jean Monnet Chair and Chairperson of the Centre for European Studies through her Welcome Address. This was followed by Special Remarks delivered by Dr Erdő Mariann, Director of Liszt Institute, Hungarian Cultural Centre, New Delhi. Dr Mariann emphasised the similar cultural, religious and political backgrounds of the CEE countries and highlighted several aspects of their socio-cultural and economic transformations. Further, she also focused on Indo-Hungarian relations that have for long been underpinned by strong cultural ties, a theme which was continued by her Czech counterpart Mr Roman Masarik, Minister-Counsellor Charge d’affaires at the Embassy of the Czech Republic in India. With India and the Czech Republic set to celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations in 2023, Mr Masarik underlined India’s strong cultural relations with the Czech Republic and called to attention the pivotal role played by the latter in India’s defence sector as well as the increasing trade and tourism between the two countries with promising expansion potential. The final Special Remarks were given by Prof Gulshan Sachdeva, Jean Monnet Chair and faculty member at the Centre for European Studies. Interestingly, Prof Sachdeva being a PhD student in Hungary in the early 1990s experienced first-hand some of these changes. Like the previous speakers, he too highlighted India’s strategic interest in the CEE countries and succinctly summarised the political and economic transformations experienced by this region from the 1990s up to the onset of the pandemic. Two of the major challenges noted by him during this transition are migration and the ageing population. Complementing the Special Remarks, the Keynote Address was delivered by Prof R.K. Jain, Jean Monnet Chair and former Professor and Chairman at the Centre for European Studies. Prof Jain, with his longstanding interest in the region, traced the history of India’s relations with Central Europe as far back as the 1950s and concluded that the relationship between India and this region had for years been defined by mutual neglect and an information deficit. Nevertheless, amidst the current political scenario marked by Brexit and China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), there is potential for greater engagement between India and Central Europe, not just in terms of trade but also in other areas like defence and technology sharing since Central European countries have the potential to contribute immensely towards India’s modernisation efforts.
The inaugural session, which ended with a vote of thanks by Dr Sakti Prasad Srichandan, Assistant Professor at the Centre for European Studies, set the perfect tone for the webinar and was followed by the first working session on the theme Religion and Politics. The session was chaired by Dr Šarūnas Paunksnis, Associate Professor at the Kaunas University of Technology. The presenters addressed various issues related to religion, state and politics especially focusing on Poland. The final session of the first day pertained to Migration and the CEE and was chaired by Dr Srichandan. With a major focus area being Hungary, the presentations shared insights on identity politics, the securitization of migration and the refugee crisis.
The second day commenced with the third working session on the theme India & Central and Eastern Europe: Strengthening Engagement, and was chaired by Dr Ankita Dutta, Research Fellow at the Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi. The presentations explored a plethora of topics ranging from new economic opportunities in light of the rising partnership between India and the Visegrád Group to understanding the dynamics of their relationship in the contemporary world and the contribution of Polish women in the cultural and public diplomacy of India-Poland relations. The next theme focused on Energy Security and the CEE which was chaired by Dr Amitabh Singh, Associate Professor at the Centre for Russian and Central Asian Studies, SIS JNU. It was marked by an exchange of thoughts and arguments on aspects related to energy and the prospects for the Visegrád Four. More specifically, the presentations shared research findings to understand the scope for diversification of energy and the challenges associated with it. Against the backdrop of the Ukrainian crisis, issues such as the impact of the war on energy security and related policies, the dependency on Russia for energy and the ‘Baltic Sea Pipeline’ project was also discussed. The theme for the fifth working session, Right Wing Populism and the CEE, was chaired by Prof. Bhaswati Sarkar. Within the current political circumstances of the Visegrád Four and the rise of populism and right-wing politics, the deliberations focused on the consequences of far-right ascendency in Hungary and Poland. Further, it also took into perspective the changing dynamics of the relationship between Hungary and Poland in the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A recurring theme throughout this session was the emphasis on analysing challenges faced by the existing democratic institutions in these countries and the possible repercussions associated with extremist politics. The final working session explored the theme CEE and the European Union and was chaired by Prof B. Krishnamurthy, former Professor at the Department of Politics and International Studies at Pondicherry University. This session assessed a diverse set of sub-themes which included understanding cyber security in wake of the Ukraine War, identity concerns within the broader European framework and the scope of integration of transition economies.
The presentations at the Webinar were made by young researchers from diverse academic backgrounds who are at various stages of their careers. Every session was followed by lively discussions as well as Question-and-Answer rounds which were open to the attendees who hailed from different parts of India, with an overwhelming majority being Research Scholars and Post-graduate students from various institutions of higher education. The event was also attended on the first day by Dr Kristína Gondová of the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in New Delhi.
The Webinar came to an end with Prof Bhaswati Sarkar’s concluding remarks where she expressed her sincere gratitude towards the participants and emphasised the need to carry forward the ideas and learnings from the six sessions to encourage further debates on the issues that presently dominate the European landscape.
Debanjali Ghosh and Lyimee Saikia are Research Scholars at Centre for European Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University.