How to support scholars at risk?
The fellows of the Zukunftskolleg stand in solidarity with their fellow researchers in Ukraine who are suffering from the war and with those who oppose the war in Russia who are suffering from state repression. The fellows are horrified and shocked, and they condemn the Russian leadership’s war of aggression. Both the members of the Zukunftskolleg and the Zukunftskolleg as an institution offer affected researchers the best support they can: in kind, through offers such as office space or private accommodation, or financial support, including temporary fellowships. They coordinate their efforts with the university (uni-konstanz.de/en/university/news-and-media/topics-of-focus/solidarity-with-ukraine/uni-konstanz-helps-ukraine/informal-support-network/) and with their national and international partners. Initiated by the fellows of the Zukunftskolleg, the University of Konstanz has established a network of informal/non-financial support – ranging from tandem partnerships, scholarships and job offers to office space – for refugee students and researchers from Ukraine – to which every person at the university can contribute. Moreover, in March 2022, the Zukunftskolleg launched a new call for applications for Visiting Fellowships, which was open to early career researchers in Ukraine threatened by the current war (“scholars at risk”). The postdoctoral stipends for up to six months were awarded on a rolling basis. The “Politics of Inequality” cluster is supporting this endeavour by currently funding two out of twelve Visiting Fellowships.
The following seven Visiting Fellows joined the Zukunftskolleg between May and July 2022. Further five Visiting Fellows that joined the Zukunftskolleg in autumn 2022 will be presented in the next annual report.
Hanna Klipkova
Politics and Public Administration
Assistant Professor in the Department of International Relations, International Information and Security at Kharkiv Karazin National University
Visiting Fellow since 05/2022
funded by the Cluster of Excellence "The Politics of Inequality"
Project
“The Impact of the War on State-Institutional Building Processes in Ukraine”
The Russian invasion in February 2022 raised new challenges for researchers in post-Soviet states. One could consider the post-Soviet state as a specific type of state that cannot be described just as a transition stage from the authoritarian regime to the democratic one. We propose to consider the post-Soviet state as a self-sufficient phenomenon and research instrument for trajectories of political regimes and state institutions. The post-Soviet state can be described as a stable constellation of formal and informal state and political institutes. Instead of being a temporary frame for describing transition, the post-Soviet state emerged as a new, relatively sustained type of state with its own arsenal of governing techniques. More than 30 years of state-building in Ukraine, like in other post-Soviet countries, seems to have brought unsuccessful results. The outcomes of democracy, sovereignty and the whole political system were qualified in terms of neopatrimonialism (Fisun 2016, Hale 2016) and explained with the low quality of the institutional system. The lack of mature and legitimate institutions for the circulation of elites, institutional imbalances in the state power system and an undeveloped party system led to structural defects in political governance and to inversions of its political transformation.
The post-Soviet type of state is characterized by the emergence of Soviet and Western liberal state systems. The socialist legacy remained partly destroyed, while the new liberal economy and state models were not implemented completely. This symbiosis created a specific destructive, but viable state-institutional system. At its core lies neopatrimonialism with the profit-seeking behaviour of elites, the emergence of authorities and business groups, using the state’s capacity in private interests and patron-client networks as the dominant principle of political market organization. Neopatrimonialism can be considered as a state capture problem, as privatization of the public policy sphere. There is a dominance of informal institutions hidden behind the facades of formal but incapable institutions.
When it comes to further post-conflict reconstruction, there is no doubt that the war will have a strong influence on the nation-building process. Ukrainian society nowadays demonstrates a new level of consolidation. All social and political cleavages have the opportunity to be repaired by the powerful rise of national unity.
The theory tells us that the war can create a state and support nation-building processes. There is an opportunity to trace this hypothesis. It seemed impossible in the 21st century, but the crisis in the global security system has brought it back into the centre of the political discourse. History demonstrates that large-scale wars can enhance or even create nations. And for political scientists, the key question will be whether Ukraine is able to build a capable political-institutional system after the war? Will it follow the Afghan failed-state scenario or will it give us a chance to use the war in terms of the Tillian perspective as the state-making driver? It will be the main post-conflict challenge for Ukrainian statehood.
The purpose of her research is to define possible trajectories of state-institutional system building after the greatest bifurcation point for the Ukrainian nation. There is а chance to rebuild the Ukrainian state on the new principles and to change the “path dependence” trap (Mahoney 2000). The most crucial point for the Ukrainian state after the war will therefore be how Ukraine can improve the quality of governance and avoid further corrosion of state capacity.
“Since my arrival at the Zukunftskolleg on 10 May, I’ve received tremendous support from the team as well as from other fellows. My current research is devoted to the post-conflict reconstruction of Ukraine. The focus of my research is state-institutional resilience in the post-war period. I’m very happy to have an opportunity to make my contribution to the possible reconstruction of my country. Apart from that, this project gives me an opportunity to proceed with my work as a researcher in these complicated times.
I presented first outcomes of my research at the Jour fixe on 14 June. The fruitful discussion afterwards gave me great insights for further work. In addition, on 4 July I gave a project presentation for my local host professor Dr Nils Weidman and for the Research Group “Communication, Networks and Contention”. We already have some material to publish.
Zukunftskolleg fellows are making a significant contribution to my research by sharing their experience in post-conflict reconstruction.”
Yeliena Kovalska
History and Sociology
Assistant at the Department of Methodology and Methods of Sociological Research, Faculty of Sociology, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv
Visiting Fellow since 06/2022
Project
“Use of factorial design to determine the significance of personal social status characteristics (according to the adaptation of Warner’s Index of Status Characteristics for Ukraine)”
Methodological principles of the factorial design method (FD) were described by German sociologists Katrin Auspung and Thomas Hinz. According to “Factorial Survey Experiments” (2015), the FD method allows us to find both common social principles of judgements and differences of subgroups. Thus, the intention is to provide a deeper understanding of the principles of respondents’ judgements.
Combining the potential of the FD method with the possibilities of social status measuring methods has possible cognitive potential. Operationalization of social status in terms of FD provided characteristics for Ukraine - according to the adaptation of Warner’s Warner’s Index of Status. Ukrainian sociologist Yeliena Kovalska has adapted W. Warner’s index to the conditions of modern empirical research in Ukraine, using the example of Kyiv. It comprises a wide range of characteristics, but is also calculated by a formula that measures the individual weight of each component. These weights were proposed on the basis of an expert survey, but they should be verified in a national survey in order to measure the significance of the subjective social status characteristics.
All characteristics of the adapted index can be redesigned to factors and scales to levels. The factorial research method assumes the presence in the questionnaire of one or a set of specific questions, which are called “vignettes” and in which a certain situation is formulated from which the respondent needs to find a way out. As part of their work, they will create vignettes based on the above factors and levels of the adapted Warner index (in Kyiv). After the sample of vignettes is finalised, they will be distributed among the survey participants. There are many different ways to accomplish this, but Kovalska and her colleagues will use the R statistical environment. Web research is the planned method (using LimeSurvey).
“The Visiting Fellowship 1) allows me to avoid downtime in my career because the possibility to conduct empirical research in Ukraine remains questionable at the moment. Writing a doctoral thesis, as a development in my career, will allow me to continue scientific and teaching work in Ukraine at a new career level in the future, and 2) contributes to improving both the quality of the research work and deeper cooperation between European and Ukrainian colleagues through the exchange of research experience and involvement in the European sociological scientific discussion, and 3) supports the goal of Ukrainian sociology in the post-war period of becoming one of the areas of rebuilding society – highly qualified specialists in this field will be in high demand.”
Yaroslava Muravetska
Literature
Junior researcher in the Department of Theory of Literature, Taras Shevchenko Institute of Literature of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Visiting Fellow since 04/2022
Project
“Cultural practices of anti-Soviet struggle”
One of the fronts of Russia’s war against Ukraine is ideological, which is largely related to the propaganda of the mythologized past of the Soviet Union. In fact, this discourse is based on opposite theses: on the one hand, the Soviet Union is interpreted as a union of fraternal nations, and, on the other hand, Russia’s supremacy is asserted. Consequently, the collapse of the Soviet Union is interpreted as a tragedy caused by the separation of the Ukrainian nation from Russia, and not as the liberation of Ukraine from occupation. Thus, Russia’s attack on Ukraine is interpreted as a war of “fraternal nations”. The purpose of this report is therefore firstly to record the fact of the Ukrainian nation’s struggle against the Soviet Union (using the information leaflets of the Anti-Bolshevik Bloc of Nations (ABN) as an example) and secondly to interpret and analyze narratives of the ABN ideology, in particular to debunk the myth of “fraternal nations” and outline the imperial essence of both the Soviet Union and Russia.
“The Visiting Fellowship means a new step in my career. It’s a great possibility to connect with other researchers and to make my project more interdisciplinary.”
Tetyana Nikolaychuk
Economics
Junior research fellow in the Department of Economic Regulation and Management, Institute of Economic & Ecological Research of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
Visiting Fellow since 04/2022
Project
“Post-war sustainable development in Ukraine: Innovative economic and environmental activities (cybernetic planning and chess business modelling: new rules, new tools)”
The Russian military invasion of Ukraine has led to numerous transformations in the social, economic, political, ecological and regulatory field. The formation of effective main economic drivers in the post-war period is the key to restoring civil society institutions and the market economy in Ukraine.
The invasion means the destruction of existing markets, business collaborations and the formation of new vectors of military and civilian activities.
The study considers the economic and organizational feasibility and profitability of the post-war market. Chess business modelling will find the most available business options for entities and identify the side effects for society and the environment. Chess business modelling could also be used as a tool for dealing with institutional traps.
The aim of the study is to identify the main possible milestones related to the implementation of economic and environmental reform in the context of decentralization in the post-war period.
“For me as a Ukrainian scholar, the Visiting Fellowship means solidarity and help for Ukrainian science in its struggle for independence. I can’t handle a gun because I’m not a soldier. But my research project is also a tool now fighting for Ukrainian independence.
I can show the face of Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified invasion to the EU’s scientific community and the influence of this disaster on nature. I do not want to repeat my political and social positions, but I would like to emphasize in my project some economic significance of the natural environment, especially protected areas, in the post-war market and society, which should increasingly attract not only the EU research community but also all representatives of the European family.
I would also like to share some good news. The first manuscript of my research project has already been published. Without the Zukunftskolleg, I would have no opportunity to continue my research during such a difficult time for Ukraine. Here is the link unwe.bg/eajournal/en/journalissues/article/23627.”
Svitlana Podplota
Philosophy
Senior lecturer at the Department of Preschool Education and Social Work, Bogdan Khmelnytsky Melitopol State Pedagogical University, Melitopol, Ukraine
Visiting Fellow since 06/2022
Project
“Peer Tutoring in Higher Education Institutions”
Peer tutoring is learning and consultation among equals. Today, peer tutoring is common in many universities and becoming even more important especially at German universities. As opposed to rather classic situations in a university context in Ukraine, where both learning and consultation take place between students and professors, peer tutoring creates an environment that does not involve an imbalance in power and authority.
Peer tutors are not a replacement for professors, but rather initiate and encourage their fellow students to reflect on their learning process and problems through the use of moderating and consulting techniques.
For successful peer tutoring in Ukraine, it is vital that peer tutors go through qualified training. An increased popularity of peer-assisted learning has triggered a growing interest in taking a closer look at how student tutors are trained to handle the task. Her future study will provide an overview of tutor training strategies at different faculties in Germany. She is going to look at professional training programmes in Germany that focus on both the theoretical and practical aspects of a peer tutor’s work. The study will also attempt to investigate the concept of peer tutoring and its impact on learning.
Bohdan Shumylovych
History and Sociology
Lecturer at the Department of Cultural Studies of the Ukrainian Catholic University (L’viv)
Visiting Fellow since 05/2022
Project
“Healing the socialist body: The Ukrainian broadcasts of Anatoly Kashpirovskii”
On 31 March 1988, Soviet television introduced the media bridge between Moscow and Kyiv with the popular television programme “Vzgliad”. This programme, which had an experimental character in the spirit of Perestroika, showed amazing surgery, which aimed to improve the health of Soviet people through the media. A Ukrainian physician, Anatolii Kashpirovskii, performed drug-free anaesthesia remotely via a TV bridge from Moscow while a surgeon did the operation in Kyiv. In 1989, Kashpirovskii presented six instalments of these so-called televised healings, and, soon after, these broadcasts in the media were stopped. The case of Kashpirovskii and televised surgeries, followed by the repetitive mass TV hypnosis sessions in 1989, exposed several aspects of late Soviet history: late détente, televisual experiments, media bridges and perception of the socialist body. Schumylovych’s talk explored Ukrainian broadcasts of 1989 and how they were perceived by ordinary people, media professionals and medical circles. Late Soviet television was shaped by the specific “unimaginative imagination” of these broadcasts.
Andrii Zhorniak
Politics and Public Administration
Lecturer at the Department of Public Management and Administration, Dmytro Motornyi Tavria State Agrotechnological University, Melitopol, Ukraine
Visiting Fellow since 06/2022
funded by the Cluster of Excellence "The Politics of Inequality"
Project
“The Influence of the Authorities in the Integration of People with Disabilities in Germany”
There is an urgent need for further implementation in Ukrainian legislation of international standards to ensure the integration of persons with disabilities in the context of current globalization challenges and strengthening European integration processes in Ukraine. The scientific significance of the study lies in the development of conceptual provisions and practical recommendations for improving the activities of local governments in the field of social integration of persons with disabilities in Ukraine.
The aim of the study is to analyze the legislative support of state policy for persons with disabilities in Germany; to substantiate the institutional capacity of interaction between local self-government bodies and civil society institutions on issues concerning the social integration of persons with disabilities; to consider modern international standards for ensuring the social integration of persons with disabilities; on the basis of the analysis of various scientific sources to determine the features of the implementation of German state policy on the research topic, to update ideas and experiences for Ukraine.
The Zukunftskolleg is grateful that the Visiting Fellows have joined the ZuKo community. The Zukunftskolleg can only provide a limited number of fellowships, but does its best to create ideal conditions for those researchers to develop and advance their research independently and to establish strong networks between the University of Konstanz and Ukrainian academic institutions. The Visiting Fellows maintain all legal and academic ties to their home institution in order to be able to return home at any time. In this way, the Visiting Fellowship is creating sustainable, long-term cooperation. The Zukunftskolleg has built this bridge because its members stand in solidarity with their fellow researchers in Ukraine and want to maintain it long after the war has ended. This is why the double affiliation – with strong departmental integration – is so incremental to the programme. Participation in the Zukunftskolleg programme and its successful completion will allow the beneficiaries to achieve several goals: (1) It supports the beneficiary’s academic career, as it will avoid breaks in the career path due to unstable research conditions in Ukraine. (2) The exchange of research experience and involvement in the European academic discussion will improve the quality of research work and deepen cooperation and communication between European and Ukrainian colleagues. (3) The programme particularly supports early career scholars during a crucial period in their careers and will help to increase the number of young people in research who have a long academic career ahead of them – be it in Ukraine, Europe or worldwide.
Working together with the central services at the university, the Zukunftskolleg is seeking to create a network that contributes to European research communities and compensates for a small but important part of the effects of the war. The Zukunftskolleg is thankful to its colleagues at the International Office and the Welcome Centre that continuously strive to support Ukrainian scholars and students alike: “We are proud to be part of their team and honoured that the University Council has granted this year’s prize to the Ukraine Support Team.”