Date/Time
Date(s) - 30/04/2024
16:00 - 18:30
Location
Press Club Brussels Europe
Categories
THE RUSSIA – UKRAINE WAR
Prisms of Conflict in a Fragmenting World
HOW DOES THIS END?
A Conversation with Dr. Vladimir Zherebov and Ambassador Dr. Len Ishmael
Press Club Brussels Europe, Froissartstraat 95, 1000 Brussels
Date: Tuesday April 30th 16:00-18:30hs
Speaker: Dr. Vladimir Zherebov Head CIS Expert Group BDA
Host: Ambassador Dr. Len Ishmael Head Expert Groups & Global Affairs BDA
This event is the first in a three-part series examining the war in Ukraine and its implications not only for Ukraine, Europe, NATO and its allies, but for the world. The consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are multifaceted with significant disruption to the rules-based order in place since the end of the Cold War. This war, now in its third year, has been costly. Effects extend beyond the shores of Europe.
Among the suite of retaliatory actions levied by the West against Russia are those related to sanction regimes now in their twelfth instalment. Their reach and scope are unprecedented. One consequence is clear – effects are being felt and borne by societies and communities around the world – including those who are the most vulnerable, and poor. In some ways this war has also been the tipping point in forging a new consensus among countries of the Global South concentrated around their interests. They are now heavily invested in a number of Non-Western platforms and engaged in actions and alliances in a bid to secure their interests in a fragmenting world.
This first conversation will focus on the effects of the war on the Russian State, its leadership and economy, and the stability of CIS countries. Russia’s deepening links with China, North Korea, Africa and the Global South; the freezing of Russian state and private assets, the soft power of Russian culture and language, the failure of diplomacy and reflections on how this all ends, will be discussed.
The second installment (June 6th) will explore how this period of crises is affecting Europe’s geopolitical and geo-economic position relative to the USA, China, Russia, Middle Powers and the Global South – and its influence and power as a global actor. The third session (July 9th) will examine the implications of this period of Great Power Rivalry on globalization and trade and what this means for countries of the Global South for whom trade is an important tool of development.
We hope that you will join us!
Please confirm attendance to: delia.barbu@vub.be by Monday 29th, 4PM CET. Brussels
For those unable to join us in person kindly use the link below to join the live streaming event:
FOLLOW THE CONFERENCE ONLINE
PROGRAM: TUESDAY APRIL 30th, 2024 | 16:00 – 18:30
16:00 Welcome & Introduction of Speaker: Dr. Len Ishmael
16:05 Conversation with Dr. Vladimir Zherebov
17:00 Open Discussion
17:45 Networking & Refreshments
Dr. Vladimir Zherebov holds a doctorate in Slavic and Eastern-European studies of the University of Leuven, has years of experience in academic research and education on the subject of the Russian-speaking world and its culture. Born in the end of the Soviet era, he witnessed the last years and the fall of the Soviet Union, the infamous period of Perestroika, followed by the turbulent 90’s, and the consequent reconstruction of Russia to its current state. He moved to Belgium in the end of the first decade of the 2000’s to pursue an academic career. Upon obtaining a doctoral degree, he worked at the department of Russian and Eastern-European studies of the University of Leuven. In 2018, Vladimir joined the international team of experts of Brussels Diplomatic Academy, heading the CIS region expert group. Besides his duties at Brussels Diplomatic Academy, Vladimir is a visiting professor at College of Europe and a research fellow at the department of cultural studies at the University of Leuven.
Ambassador Dr. Len Ishmael is the Global Affairs Advisor of the Brussels Diplomatic Academy and Head of the Expert Groups. She is a visiting Professor of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and the Mohammed 6 University (Morocco) affiliated with the MSc Program and the Joint HEC Paris/ Public Policy School Executive Program. She is a Senior Fellow and Distinguished Visiting Scholar of the German Marshall Fund of the United States of America and a Senior Fellow of the Policy Center for the New South (PCNS). She is the former Ambassador of the Eastern Caribbean States to the Kingdom of Belgium and European Union, and past President of the 79-member African, Caribbean & Pacific (ACP) Committee of Ambassadors in Brussels and Commissioner on the UN/Lancet Covid-19 Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. She is a former Director & Head of the Regional Headquarters of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America & the Caribbean; Director General for the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, Alternate Governor of the World Bank and Director for the Foundation Leadership for Environment & Development (New York) of the Rockefeller Foundation. She is The Fletcher School Tufts University GMAP Endowment Fellow and member of The Fletcher School GMAP Advisory Council. Ambassador Ishmael is an international speaker on relations between the West and the Global South and the author of several publications on the Global South, Geopolitics, Africa-EU relations, China, and the Trans-Atlantic relationship. Her most recent book as editor and co-author entitled: Aftermath of War in Ukraine, the West vs the Global South? was published by the PCNS in 2023.