International Center for the Study of Eurasia



CONFERENCES





October 6, 2022/ Paris, France



Russia is not Europe?





Russia Is Not Europe? International Center for the Study of Eurasia in partnership with the American Graduate School in Paris is organizing a seminar Russia Is Not Europe?" to discuss the significance of the announced Russian breakup with the West, its rejection of globalization, and political liberalism.


The Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to the unprecedented isolation of Russia on the world stage. Mutual sanctions and diplomatic demarches point to a radical revision of relations between Russia and the West. Russia is publicly refusing to participate in the European project and is moving the center of its economic, political, and cultural interests to Asia. It abandons what Mikhail Gorbachev once called “the Common European Home”.


What does this mean for Russian statehood? For Russian foreign policy? To what extent is Russia's withdrawal from the European political space really possible, and if so, how will it affect the security architecture in Europe?


Speakers:


Michael Einik — Professor at the American Graduate School in Paris, former US ambassador to Macedonia.


David Satter — Russian politics and history scholar, a former senior fellow at Hudson Institute. He is a fellow of the Foreign Policy Institute of Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).


Dr. Serena Giusti — International Relations, Foreign Policy Analysis and Art and Politics at Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies (SSSA) in Pisa; Senior Associate Research Fellow for the Russia, Caucasus and Central Asia Centre at the Italian Institute for International Political Studies in Milan.


Dr. Kataryna Wolczuk — Centre for Russian, European and Eurasian Studies (CREES), School of Government, University of Birmingham, UK, Associate Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Programme, Chatham House, London


Dr. Olivier de France — Senior Research Fellow at The French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs. He was Fontenay Scholar at Balliol College, Oxford, and Corpus Christi Scholar at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. Prior to joining Iris, he worked on Europe for EUISS and ECFR.


Dr. Anton Koslov — Director, ICSE; Associate Professor, American Graduate School, Paris


The seminar will take place on October 6, 2022, via Zoom.


The event starts at 4:00 PM Paris time.


The seminar’s working language is English.


Zoom codes will be provided one week prior to the event.


Our contact email is info@icse.io




October 28, 2021/ Paris, France



Afghanistan: Future Scenarios





On October 28, 2021, the International Center for the Study of Eurasia is organizing a conference-seminar Afghanistan: Future Scenarios.


The conference starts at 4:00 pm Paris time


The seminar will focus on possible scenarios of the Afghan conflict evolution for one to three years, in the context of international politics. The recent American departure from Afghanistan opened a new page in turbulent Afghan history. The consequences of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban victory are not yet fully understood. Whether it was a monumental failure of US foreign policy in the region or a well-devised plan remains to be seen. As of today, Afghanistan is a failed state politically controlled by a terrorist organization. Afghan economy remains dependent on foreign assistance and on opiate trade, while Afghan neighbors are concerned about the terrorist threat emanating from Afghanistan. Will Afghanistan remain a lawless land, de facto split between different armed groups or will it become a theocracy? Will the low-intensity civil war continue or the Taliban will establish full control of the country? What will be the role of India, Pakistan, China, Tajikistan, Turkey, Russia, and Iran in Afghanistan in the foreseeable future?​


Speakers:


Ambassador James Dobbins – The Rand Corporation, USA; former United States Ambassador to the European Union (1991/93), Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs (2001), and Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan (2013 /14)

Engage, Isolate, or Oppose: American Policy Toward the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan


Rasa Juknevičienė – Member of the European Parliament, Vice-Chair, Subcommittee on Security and Defense; Lithuanian Minister of Defense (2008/12); President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (2018); member of the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR)

The Future of European Security After the Withdrawal from Afghanistan


Dr. Bruce Hoffman – Council on Foreign Relations, USA; professor at Georgetown University's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. Director of the Center for Security Studies (2010/17); the George H. Gilmore Senior Fellow at the U.S. Military's Combating Terrorism Center

Why the American Withdrawal from Afghanistan Makes Us All Less Safe


Dr. Adam Baczko – Professor, Political Science University (ScincePo Paris), a researcher with the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS)

Afghanistan Under the Rule of the Taliban


Dr. Barnett R. Rubin – Senior Fellow, head of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Regional Program (2000/20) at the Center on International Cooperation (CIC), New York University; Director of the Center for Preventive Action, and Director, Peace, and Conflict Studies, at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York (1994–2000); Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for the Study of Central Asia at Columbia University (1990/96)

Does Afghanistan Have a Future?


Krzysztof Strachota – Head of Turkey, Caucasus, and Central Asia Department, Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW), Warsaw

The Future of Afghanistan - Challenges for Central Asia


Dr. Anton Koslov – Director, ICSE; Associate Professor, American Graduate School, Paris

Afghanistan Through the Security Prism of Tajikistan, Russia, Turkey





May 18th, 2021/ Paris, France



The Future of Iran's Nuclear Program: Technology, Diplomacy and Geopolitics








On May 18, 2021, the International Center for the Study of Eurasia conducted a seminar The Future of Iran's Nuclear Program: Technology, Diplomacy and Geopolitics.


The conference will start at 4:00 PM Paris time.


The Biden administration’s openness to talk with Iran about reviving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) marks an important foreign policy shift. The main motive of the United States seems to be to avoid open hostilities with Iran while confronting Russia and China. Iran, for its part, is under great pressure to return to negotiations due to the difficult economic situation it has been placed in and the impossibility of improving it under the current sanctions regime. Both the US administration and Tehran could benefit from the new opportunities that would arise from a new Iranian nuclear deal. The original JCPOA was considered by many a significant diplomatic achievement for regional and international security. What are the chances of striking a new balance of interests and commitments between the US, Iran, Israel, Russia, and other players? This seminar will deal with the prospects of successfully renegotiating the JCPOA and tackle diplomatic, strategic, technical, and other aspects of the coming negotiations.


Speakers :


Lord David Hannay - Member of the House of Lords, former UK Ambassador, and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, member of the Top-Level Group for Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, and a member of the Lords International Relations Committee.

Reviving the JCPOA: What is at Stake for International Peace and Security?


Dr. John Ghazvinian - Executive Director, Middle East Center, University of Pennsylvania

The Iranian Nuclear Issue: A View from History


Barbara Slavin - Director, Future of Iran Initiative

Iran Nuclear Program: Seeking Nuclear Knowledge, not Nuclear Weapons


Dr. Ali Vaez - Director of Iran Project and Senior Adviser to the President, International Crisis Group

JCPOA 2.0: Back to the Future


Dr. Kayhan Barzegar - Senior Academic Advisor, Institute for Political and International Studies (IPIS), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran

JCPOA and Regional Stability


Eric M. Brewer - Deputy Director and Senior Fellow, Project on Nuclear Issues, Center for Strategic and International Studies

JCPOA 2.0? Opportunities and Challenges


Dr. Andrey A. Baklitskiy - Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Advanced American Studies at the Institute of International Studies, MGIMO University

Making the Iranian Nuclear Deal Sustainable


Dr. Lana Ravandi-Fadai - Senior Researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Science/ Professor, Russian State University for the Humanities (RGGU)

Iranian Foreign Policy at a Crossroads


Dr. Ardavan Amir-Aslani - expert in international law and geopolitics of the Middle East, legal counsel to the government of Bahrain, professor, University François Rabelais in Tours

The Containment of China, the Primary Reason for the US Rush to Strike a Nuclear Deal with Iran



April 9th, 2021/ Paris, France



US Foreign Policy in South and South-East Asia after the End of Cold War






On April 9, 2021, the International Center for the Study of Eurasia is organizing a seminar on US Foreign Policy in South and South-East Asia after the End of the Cold War.


The conference will start at 2:30 PM Paris time.


Following the end of the Cold War, the United States had to reconsider its foreign policy objectives in South East Asia. The growing regional influence of China, the proliferation of nuclear arms, regional conflicts, and terrorism led to a new rather complex system of relations in which the United States must reinvent its role as a leading power. Despite its initiatives like the Indo-Pacific Business Forum, Indo-Pacific Energy Initiative (EDGE Asia), the Mekong-US Partnership et al, as well as occasional muscle flexing, US foreign policy in the region lacks clarity and a long-term perspective.


The conference will dwell on current issues pertinent to the US presence in the region, the US response to the political instability in Burma and Thailand, the Spratly Islands crisis, the rise of China, and how the United States will seek to respond to this emerging power.


Speakers:


Ambassador Dominique Dreyer – ambassador of Switzerland to China, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Mongolia, and the People's Democratic Republic of Korea; professor at American Graduate School, Paris

Presentation: America and China in South Asia


General Daniel Schaeffer - Member of the French think tank Asie 21

Presentation: The US Presence in the South China Sea and in the Taiwan Strait, its Reasons, and its Evolution


Dr. P.K. Ghosh - former Co-Chair, CSCAP International Study Group on Maritime Security

Presentation: The Dynamics of Powerplay: Battleground South China Seas


Dr. Dmitry Mosyakov - Director of the Center for the Study of South East Asia, Australia, and Oceania, Russian Academy of Sciences

Presentation: The Main Stages of American Expansion in the Countries of Southeast Asia


Dr. Douglas Yates - Professor, American Graduate School in Paris

Presentation: A Return to the Insular Strategy


Dr. Richard A. Bitzinger - Senior Fellow, Military Transformations Program, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies

Presentation: U.S. Defense Diplomacy Toward Southeast Asia in the Biden Presidency


Dr. Carlyle A. Thayer - Professor Emeritus, The University of New South Wales (UNSW), the Australian Defense Force Academy (ADFA) in Canberra, Director of Thayer Consultancy

Presentation: Playing Catchup: The Biden Administration and the Indo-Pacific


Dr. Ulises Granados Quiroz, - Associate Professor, Coordinator Asia Pacific Studies Program (PEAP), Academic Department of International Studies, Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico (ITAM)

Presentation: US naval presence in the SCS: directions of the Biden Administration


Dr. Vladimir Kolotov - Chair, Department of Oriental Studies, Saint-Petersburg University

Presentation: The Geopolitical Dimension of Religious Situation in South East Asia and the US Policy in the Region


Dr. Lana Ravandi-Fadai - Senior Researcher, Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences/RGGU

Presentation: America and Iran: Does Iran Have a Strategy in South-East Asia?»


Ms. Farhat Asif - President of the Institute of Peace and Diplomatic Studies – IPDS

Presentation: Pakistan balancing between China and the US: Options and Opportunities


Dr. Anton Koslov - Director, International Center for the Study of Eurasia (ICSE); Associate Professor, American Graduate School in Paris

Presentation: US and Thailand: an Uncertain Alliance






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