The European Civilization Chair of the College of Europe in Natolin organised a timely debate titled "The Price of Freedom in Changing International Politics" featuring Professor Andrii PORTNOV, Director of the PRISMA UKRAINA Research Network, and Professor Stefan AUER, Head of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures of the University of Hong Kong.
With the ongoing war in Ukraine and escalating conflicts in the Middle East, international politics is becoming increasingly volatile and unpredictable. These wars are a manifestation of societies fighting for independence and freedom. However, in today's world, is there still a place for such values in international politics?
Freedom, independence, and the right to collective and individual self-determination have been foundational values shaping European politics throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. They defined the trajectory of significant democratization processes and the emergence of nation-states, not only on the old continent but also globally. Will the 21st century present a fundamentally different landscape in this regard?
Currently, the direction of changes in the contemporary international order is steering us toward a world dominated by great powers, characterized by the primacy of force, geopolitical and geo-economic rivalry, wars, and conflicts. In such a world, the price of freedom increases. However, centuries ago, the Greek thinker Thucydides warned us that if we relinquish our freedom under the threat of force, it would mean that "the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must."
These pressing questions about freedom were at the center of our debate with Prof. Andrii PORTNOV and Prof. Stefan AUER.
The aim of the European Civilization Chair debates is to discuss key issues related to history, values, and politics—especially international politics—with special guests, academics, and experts. We seek to engage students in a broader conversation about politics, one that enhances geopolitical and strategic considerations with historical insights and axiological (value-based) contexts.
About the speakers:
Prof. Andrii PORTNOV is the Director of the PRISMA UKRAЇNA Research Network for Eastern Europe and a member of the Ukrainian PEN-Club.
He graduated from the Universities of Dnipro (M.A. in History) and Warsaw (M.A. in Cultural Studies) and defended his Ph.D. thesis (2005) at the Ivan Krypiakevych Institute of Ukrainian Studies in Lviv. In 2012, Prof. PORTNOV came to Berlin as a Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Study and began teaching at Humboldt University of Berlin. In 2022, he was awarded the DIALOG Prize by the German-Polish Society for his “commitment to the dissemination of knowledge about Ukraine and its historical entanglements in Europe.”
His short book, Poland and Ukraine: Entangled Histories, Asymmetric Memories, was published in 2021–2023 in English, German, Polish, and Ukrainian. More information could be found here.
Prof. Stefan AUER is Professor of European Studies at the University of Hong Kong in the School of Modern Languages and Cultures.
Twice named Jean Monnet Chair in EU Studies, he has published an award-winning monograph, Liberal Nationalism in Central Europe (London: Routledge, 2004), and articles in Government and Opposition, International Affairs, the Journal of Common Market Studies, Osteuropa, and West European Politics, among others. He also writes occasional opinion pieces for The Australian, The Financial Times, Politico, The South China Morning Post, and The World Today (Chatham House), and comments on European politics in the media, such as CNBC and RTHK (based in Hong Kong).
Most recently, he published European Disunion: Democracy, Sovereignty and the Politics of Emergency (London/New York: Hurst/OUP, 2022). More information can be found here.