ERC Conference
We cordially invite you to the conference organised by the ERC Consolidator project Unlikely Refuge? Refugees and Citizens in East-Central Europe in the 20th Century, Masaryk Institute and Archives of the Czech Academy of Sciences.
In the decades following the Second World War, the image of refugee protection became increasingly associated with the ‘West,’ thought of both as several geographical regions and more broadly as a standing for democratic political systems, the rule of law and civil liberties. Even when expanded in space, time and scope, the foundations of the Cold War refugee regime have a significant impact on how refugee assistance and security are conceptualised and carried out. But do we really know what establishes the protection of people fleeing persecution and harsh conditions?
This conference aims to unpack and problematise the relationship between refugee protection and democratic political systems, the rule of law, and political rights and freedoms, or their absence. It draws on research that examines refugeedom in places beyond the scope of ‘Western’ liberal democracies, or in ‘unlikely refuges’ such as in Europe’s ‘East’, and to ask how to advance a more open and flexible perspective on refugee regimes worldwide. We aim to better understand how refugee regimes function in situations of weak and/or undemocratic state structures, in the context of war and ethnic conflict.
If you are interested in participating, please register via e-mail unref-public@mua.cas.cz until June 15th, 2025.
18/06 3 pm Welcome by doc. Dr. phil. Rudolf Kučera Ph.D., the director of the Masaryk Institute and Archives of the Czech Academy of Sciences
18/06 3.15 pm Keynote speech by Michal Frankl (Masaryk Institute and Archives of the Czech Academy of Sciences/ERC “Unlikely Refuge”): Unlikely and Likely Places of Refuge in Global Comparison: The Unlikely Refuge? Project and Beyond
Other speakers from MIA CAS: Michala Jandák Lônčíková, Nikola Tohma, Julia Reinke, Piotr Filipkowski, Anna Piłat, Veronika Kaszás
For the complete programme of the conference see the attachment.
