On May 17, 2019 KEDIS and Gaidar Foundation co-organized an international conference about the fall of the Soviet union with the participation of actual witnesses and analysts from both Greece and Russia. The conference was promoted by a book of late Yegor Gaidar, a major political figure of perestroika reforms in the Gorbachev era. The book was recently translated in the Greek language by Papadopoulos publishers who also sponsored the conference. The event was held at the Chamber of Commerce in Corinth The bookstore Koukida presented the book to the local public.

The discussion focused on the reasons of USSR’s collapse and the lessons learnt regarding the fate of communism, great powers, reforms and successor states. Following Yegor Gaidar’s book Q+A concerned also the idea of US and EC/EU ambivalence towards the dissolution of the Soviet union as well as the distinct historical identity of Russia that differentiates it from the contemporary West.

Speakers:

-Leonid Gozman, Professor of Economic, Lomonosov University, Moscow and Member of the Yegor Gaidar Foundation

-Konstantina E. Botsiou, Associate Professor of Modern History and International Politics and Director of KEDIS, Department of Political Science and International Relations, University of the Peloponnese

-Manos Papazoglou, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Department of Political Science and International Relations, University of the Peloponnese

Introductory comments were offered by the Dean of the School of Social and Political Sciences Associate Professor Nikitas-Spiros Koutsoukis.

The discussion was moderated by Dimitrios V. Triantafyllidis, Journalist and editor-in-chief of the 9,84 FM Radio Station.

The event was attended by students and professors of the University of the Peloponnese, educators, members of the Corinth lawyers association, army officials, members of political parties, NGOs a.o.

Conference: The Greek landing in Asia Minor and the beginning of the Asia Minor Campaign

KEDIS and Offline Post co-organized this international conference in the Museum of the City of Athens on May, 17, 2019 on the occasion of the 100-years anniversary of the Greek landing in Asia Minor as part of expected incorporation of the region in Greece under the provisions of the then negotiated post-World War I Sevres Treaty between the Allies and the Ottoman Empire.

The discussion focused on the rapidly changing international and regional realities after the Treaty of Sevres, the impact of the Greek National Schism on Greek strategic mistakes, the Disaster of Asia Minor and the exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey.

Speakers:

-Thanos Veremis, Professor of Modern History, University of Athens

-Konstantina E. Botsiou, Associate Professor of Modern History and International Politics and Director of KEDIS, Department of Political Science and International Relations, University of the Peloponnese

-Sotiris Rizas, Director of the Centre for the History of Modern hellenism (KEINE), Academy of Athens

Moderator: Nikolaos Ermis, Director of Offline Post

International Conference
Greek Social Movements between past and present
5-6  April 2019
American College of Greece, ACG Institute of Global Affairs

This significant conference entitled Greek Social Movements between Past and Present was jointly organized at the American College of Greece in Athens on 5-6 April 2019 by KEDIS and four prominent institutions: Sheffield University, Exeter University, University of Oxford (SSESOX) and the Institute of Global Affairs of the American College of Greece. 25 distinguished academics and researchers contributed high-quality original papers about the phenomenon of social movements in Greece covering all political groups since the 1974 regime change (Metapolitefsi). A major point of convergence  was the duration and political character of Greek social movements. The conference promoted inter-disciplinary approaches between historians, sociologists, political scientists, psychologists and psychoanalysts.

All papers were submitted in advance in order to allow for ample discussion between speakers, commentators and the audience. These papers will be  channeled to a collective volume as well as academic journals.

Konstantina E. Botsiou Director of KEDIS, participated in the roundtable discussion entitled “Challenges of Studying Social Movements in Greece” which can be found here.