The 21st annual Aleksanteri Conference, “The New Era of Insecurity”, gathers more than two hundred scholars from Europe and around the globe to map out how Russia’s war in Ukraine is changing the world. The conference will be held between the 26th–28th of October in a hybrid format. Registration for both online and onsite attendance has closed on 19 October.
Russia’s unprovoked and illegal military attack against Ukraine has caused immense destruction and human suffering that will leave deep scars in Ukraine. This war will also have long-term repercussions for European and global security. The world community has condemned Russia’s actions and agreed upon sanctions that target Russia’s ability to continue the war in Ukraine. Consequently, Russia’s economy has taken a blow that, together with the political consequences of Russia’s war, may change Russia’s status in the world. At the same time, the Kremlin has introduced new regulations to suppress civic activism in Russia, resulting in a mass exodus of people from the country. The conference provides a forum to researchers specialising in Russia’s foreign and military thinking, as well as information, cyber and energy security.
Russia’s war in Ukraine will also change the way in which current and future scholars will study the region. The suspension of cooperation between Western and Russian research institutes and the forced evacuation of scholars from Ukraine means limited access and resources for conducting research in Russia and in Ukraine. At the same time, we need to critically assess the theoretical and methodological underpinnings guiding the research that will help to understand this new era of insecurity and its meaning for Europe and the world.
Taking into account the principles of engagement agreed upon by Universities Finland UNIFI and guidelines of the University of Helsinki on collaboration with Russia and Belarus, the conference organisers wish to note the following: Colleagues based in Russia or Belarus will participate in a personal capacity only, meaning that we will remove institutional affiliations from the conference programme.
The conference organisers encourage Ukrainian scholars to participate in the event. For this purpose they are exempted from paying the conference fee.