Russian Influence in Eastern Europe — with Rumena Filipova

Writer, researcher, and Chairperson of the Institute for Global Analytics, Rumena Filipova joins host Am Johal to discuss her latest book, Constructing the Limits of Europe: Identity and Foreign Policy in Poland, Bulgaria, and Russia since 1989. Rumena speaks to how dominant conceptions of national identity have shaped the foreign policy behaviour of the Balkan states, Hungary and Russia. She explores the internal politics of European Union member states, the competing regional forces of Europeanization and their impact on traditions of national identity.

Am and Rumena discuss the rise of right-wing populism worldwide and how climate change could exacerbate existing geopolitical tensions. This episode also highlights the way national identities can be in flux, and how activists and local community organizers are reasserting liberal democratic norms and their rights through protest.

Full episode details: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/158-rumena-filipova.html

Read the transcript: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/transcripts/158-rumena-filipova.html

Resources:
— Institute for Global Analytics: https://globalanalytics-bg.org/
— Constructing the Limits of Europe Identity and Foreign Policy in Poland, Bulgaria, and Russia since 1989: https://cup.columbia.edu/book/constructing-the-limits-of-europe/9783838216492
— Episode 21: Do we really know what democracy is? — with Astra Taylor: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/21-astra-taylor.html
— Episode 129: Fascism, Fanaticism and Neoliberalism — with Alberto Toscano: https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/129-alberto-toscano.html
— Europe and right-wing nationalism: A country-by-country guide: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36130006
— Serbia halts China-owned mine over environmental breaches: https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/serbia-halts-china-owned-mine-over-environmental-breaches-2021-04-14/

Bio:
Dr. Rumena Filipova studied Political Science and International Relations at Cambridge and Oxford and she is Chairperson and Co-Founder of the Institute for Global Analytics. Rumena’s main research interests focus on the politics and international relations of Central and Eastern Europe, with a particular reference to questions of identity, media and disinformation, and the authoritarian influence exercised by Russia and China in the region.

Constructing the Limits of Europe: Identity and Foreign Policy in Poland, Bulgaria, and Russia since 1989, is Rumena's latest book and will be published in April, 2022.

Cite this episode:
Chicago Style

Johal, Am. “Russian Influence in Eastern Europe — with Rumena Filipova” Below the Radar, SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement. Podcast audio, February 03, 2022. https://www.sfu.ca/vancity-office-community-engagement/below-the-radar-podcast/episodes/158-rumena-filipova.html.