WORKSHOP: Emancipatory Dimensions of In:Security

Emancipatory Dimensions of In:Security

International Expert Workshop (online)

16 October 2024, 13.00 – 15.30 CET

ZOiS Berlin (Centre for East European and International Studies)

Convener: Nadja Douglas 

The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has unveiled different dimensions of insecurity and vulnerability, particularly by imposing new constraints on the everyday life and freedom of different social groups, not only in Ukraine. The (re-)production of insecurity in everyday practices and interactions in the region has given rise to endeavours aimed at emancipation from subordination and deprivation, including in the broader security sphere. Feminist deterrence in the context of war and conflict, controversies around societal resilience, and security from war-induced poverty and environmental degradation are just some examples of emancipatory approaches and topics that have gained currency.

The notion of ‘security as emancipation’ has long been a focus of Critical Security Studies. It offers an informed critique of traditional views of security and dominant state-centric assumptions, adopting instead a normative approach that links security to the goal of emancipation. This approach is actively implemented, for example, through the Women, Peace and Security agenda based on UN Security Council Resolution 1325, which underlines the crucial role of women in conflict, peace and security processes. The ecological dimension of security, meanwhile, represents another major challenge in the face of war and climate change. These different dimensions all feed into the concept of human and societal security, often discussed in the context of the sustainable development agenda. So far, however, there has been too little differentiation between the needs, demands and aspirations of various groups. As part of the ongoing debate on critical and vernacular security, in this workshop we will seek to advance emancipatory framings of (in)security in relation to gender, class and ecology as well as local communities.

This workshop is the third of four in a series of workshops organised as part of the KonKoop In:Security topic line (https://konkoop.de/index.php/project/in-security-douglas/), which aims to question state-centric notions of security and insecurity in times of war and conflict and dismantle Eurocentric perspectives.

During the workshop, we would like to touch upon the following questions:

• Which issues related to the Women, Peace and Security agenda have gained traction in the region since 2022?
• How do de-colonial ideas shape the reality of contemporary security order(s) in Eastern Europe?
• In what ways has the war acted as a catalyst for a socio-ecological emancipation/ transformation, and in what ways has it contributed to further environmental degradation and insecurity?
• What are the different facets of societal and community resilience, what challenges do different forms of resilience face, and why are they contested?

Panels:

1. Emancipatory trajectories as a response to in:security since 2022 in academic debates and on the ground from a feminist and a de-colonial perspective

Míla O’Sullivan, Institute of International Relations, Charles University, Prague

Yuliya Yurchuk, Department of History and Contemporary Studies, Södertörn University, Stockholm

Chair: Nadja Douglas, ZOiS

2. The effects of the war on human and societal security in Ukraine – critical reflection on responses to war-induced environmental degradation and societal/community resilience

Eugene Simonov/Oleksiy Vasyliuk, Ukraine War Environmental Consequences Work Group

Tetiana Skrypchenko, Deputy Director, Rating Group Ukraine

Chair: Angelina Davydova, environmental/climate journalist, coordinator with the Dialogue for Understanding e.V., fellow at the Institute for Global Reconstitution