Young Scholars’ Conference – “Central and Eastern Europe: Three Decades since Transition” 18 & 19 May 2022

Concept Note

Much has happened in the Visegrád countries – Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and
Slovakia since the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. Having successfully completed
the systemic transition from closed authoritarian socialist systems to open democratic market
economies, all four countries joined the European Union (EU) in 2004. The countries have
experienced remarkable economic growth with low unemployment rates. Poland for instance
was the only country in Europe to have escaped recession during the 2008 economic crisis
that ravaged most economies and is also better placed than most after the pandemic.
However, since then and particularly over the last decade, the Visegrád Four (V4) are also in
focus for taking positions on many issues that challenge the Union’s view. Democracy,
immigration and asylum, gender and gay rights are to mention a few.

In their external relations, the Visegrád Four have since 2010/2011 focused beyond Europe
and the immediate neighbourhood to Asia. V4 leaders like Orbán categorically stated the
need to concentrate and develop relations with this part of the world since it has emerged as
the pivot of economic growth and development. This shift is of particular interest for us in
India as our foreign policy too is actively seeking new partners and cultivating existing
bilateral relations.

Except for Poland the other three appear at ease with Russia and Putin, and have championed
better relations with Russia. Though in 2014 they did go along with the EU’s imposition of
sanctions following Russia’s annexation of Crimea, but they were also openly critical of the
sanctions and questioned their efficacy. In the current Ukraine-Russia standoff, this region
has once again become critical.

It is in the context of these developments – the commendable distance the Visegrád Four have
covered since the collapse of communism, and the increasing tensions in the supranational
EU as the V4 assert their interest that the Centre for European Studies, School of
International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University is organizing a three-day International
webinar on “Visegrád Four: Three Decades since Transition”, between May 18th & 20th,
2022. The third day will be organized as a Young Researchers’ Conference.

Papers are invited along with the following themes, though not limited to them.
1. Politics – national identity, democracy, minority rights, elections, party system,
emigration-immigration, media
2. Economy – sustainable development, energy, climate
3. Society – an ageing population, gender rights, LGBTQ community, family, Church
4. Foreign Policy – Eastern partnership, bilateral relations, NATO and security, India-
V4 relations
5. V4 and the EU – convergences and divergences

Contributors are requested to send their abstracts not exceeding 300 words to
ceusconference2021@gmail.com by March 15th, 2022.

Prof. Bhaswati Sarkar
Webinar Convener

Event Report 

The Young Researchers’ Conference on ‘Central and Eastern Europe: Three Decades since Transition’ was organised by the Jean Monnet Module on Understanding European Integration Through the Regional Lens and the Centre for European Studies in the School of International Studies (SIS), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) between May 18th and 19th, 2022.

The Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries have undergone momentous developments since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. In this context, the objective of this webinar was to take stock of the domestic developments of the CEE countries in the three decades since transition and evaluate both their achievements as well as the obstacles faced by them. 

The conference was introduced by Prof Bhaswati Sarkar, Jean Monnet Chair and Chairperson at the Centre for European Studies through her Welcome Address. Dr Erdő Mariann, Director of Liszt Institute, Hungarian Cultural Centre, New Delhi; Mr Roman Masarik, Minister-Counsellor Charge d’affaires at the Embassy of the Czech Republic in India and Dr Kristína Gondová of the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in New Delhi participated in the event. In her Special Remarks Dr Erdő Mariann, emphasised the similar cultural, religious and political backgrounds of the CEE countries and highlighted several aspects of their socio-cultural and economic transformations. Further, she also focused on Indo-Hungarian relations that have for long been underpinned by strong cultural ties, a theme which was continued by her Czech counterpart Mr Roman Masarik. With India and the Czech Republic set to celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations in 2023, Mr Masarik underlined India’s strong cultural relations with the Czech Republic and called to attention the pivotal role played by the latter in India’s defence sector as well as the increasing trade and tourism between the two countries with promising expansion potential. The final Special Remarks were given by Prof Gulshan Sachdeva, Jean Monnet Chair and faculty member at the Centre for European Studies. Interestingly, Prof Sachdeva being a PhD student in Hungary in the early 1990s experienced first-hand some of these changes. Like the previous speakers, he too highlighted India’s strategic interest in the CEE countries and succinctly summarised the political and economic transformations experienced by this region from the 1990s up to the onset of the pandemic. Two of the major challenges noted by him during this transition are migration and the ageing population. Complementing the Special Remarks, the Keynote Address was delivered by Prof R.K. Jain, Jean Monnet Chair and former Professor and Chairperson of the Centre for European Studies. Prof Jain, with his long standing interest in the region, traced the history of India’s relations with Central Europe as far back as the 1950s and concluded that the relationship between India and this region had for years been defined by mutual neglect and an information deficit. Nevertheless, amidst the current political scenario marked by Brexit and China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), there is potential for greater engagement between India and Central Europe, not just in terms of trade but also in other areas like defence and technology sharing since Central European countries have the potential to contribute immensely towards India’s modernisation efforts. The inaugural session, with its summary of the major developments of the region over three decades, ended with a vote of thanks by Dr Sakti Prasad Srichandan, Assistant Professor at the Centre for European Studies and set the perfect tone for the webinar.

The Conference was organised into six working sessions spanning two days which delved into an in-depth analysis of issues ranging from religion, right-wing populism and immigration to energy security, the rising partnership between India and the Visegrád Group, cyber security and the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the region. It was marked by presentations made by young researchers from diverse academic backgrounds who are at various stages of their careers. The sessions were ably chaired by notable Indian experts such Prof B. Krishnamurthy (former Professor at the Department of Politics and International Studies at Pondicherry University), Prof. Bhaswati Sarkar, Dr Amitabh Singh (Associate Professor at the Centre for Russian and Central Asian Studies, SIS JNU) among others, as well as by an international scholar Dr Šarūnas Paunksnis who is an Associate Professor at the Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania. Every session was followed by engaging discussions as well as Question-and-Answer rounds which were open to the attendees who hailed from different parts of India. An overwhelming majority of the attendees were Research Scholars and Post-graduate students from various institutions of higher education. The event was also attended on the first day by Dr Kristína Gondová of the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in New Delhi. 

The conference concluded with Prof Bhaswati Sarkar’s final remarks where she expressed her sincere gratitude to the participants and emphasised the need to carry forward the ideas and learnings of the conference to encourage further debates on the issues that presently dominate the European landscape.