Russia and the Future Global Order
Project description
Over the past decade Russia has demonstrated its willingness to challenge the existing power arrangements and to take advantage of emerging power vacuums. The illegal annexation of Crimea, proxy warfare in Eastern Ukraine, the military campaign in Syria, actions in Libya, ongoing widespread disinformation warfare, and evasion of arms control treaties undermined the foundations of trans-Atlantic security. At the same time both the COVID-19 pandemic and a concurrent collapse of the oil prices have significantly constrained financial resources available to the Kremlin for pursuing its foreign policy objectives while responding to the public health crisis at home. How will the Kremlin balance those competing demands? Will the current crisis affect the Russian government’s foreign policy priorities or its policy tools? What implications will it have for European and trans-Atlantic security?
The sponsor welcomes proposals focusing either on Russian domestic or foreign policies or on EU-Russia relations. All methodological approaches are welcomed, knowledge of Russian is a plus. The research will be conducted on the premises of the Institute for European Studies and Vesalius College, both are part of the VUB.
About the research Group
Institute for European Studies
The Institute for European Studies (IES) at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) is an academic Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence and a policy think tank that focuses on the European Union in an international setting. The Institute advances academic education and research in various disciplines, and provides services to policy-makers, scholars, stakeholders and the general public.
The IES specifically explores EU institutions, policies and law within the context of globalization and global governance, including a focus on the EU in international affairs and institutions. The disciplines applied at the IES include law, social/political sciences, economics and communication sciences, and the Institute’s activities focus on the various ways in which institutions, law and politics intersect with each other in the EU, its member states and at the international level.
Academic work at the IES is organised in clusters, but is also pursued through horizontal activities cutting across them. Currently, there are the following five clusters:
- International Security
- Environment and sustainable development
- Migration, diversity and justice
- European economic governance
- Educational Development