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KIU is the Competence Network Interdisciplinary Ukrainian Studies – what is Ukrainian Studies and what does it set out to do?

In our understanding, Ukrainian Studies has two different but interrelated aims. One the one hand, it is meant to broaden our understanding and knowledge of Ukraine itself, its history, culture, language, politics, society, and economy in European and global contexts.

But Ukraine is also a lens for investigating particular social, political, cultural, economic phenomena that point to larger dynamics and problems. Through Ukraine and with Ukraine we may ask broader questions about the world we live in. So Ukraine is not an object to be described but a case through which we can assess various more generic phenomena – for example, the quest for self-determination and optimal forms of government; resilience and vulnerability; responses to violence; mobility and rootedness; the future of democracy; and European and global entanglements.

What is KIU’s contribution to Ukrainian Studies – can you tell us more about KIU’s projects?

KIU is the most prominent and largest endeavour to establish and strengthen Ukrainian Studies in Germany, together with our sibling project ‘Denkraum Ukraine’ at the University of Regensburg. It serves as a platform and a hub for interdisciplinary research on Ukraine and beyond. We are a network of six scientific institutions in Frankfurt (Oder) and Berlin, including three universities (HU, FU,Viadrina), ZOiS, the Berlin Brandenburg Academy of Sciences (BBAW), and the Wissenschaftskolleg (WiKo), an institute for advanced studies in Berlin. Together, they represent a large intellectual powerhouse for implementing KIU’s research projects. Our fellowship programme supports up to 27 international scholars a year at Viadrina University and in Ukraine. In collaboration with our Ukrainian partner universities, we develop teaching and research programmes, organise scientific conferences and collaborate on different publication projects.

We are building a network with other universities in Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania and other countries to figure out how research and knowledge on Ukraine can be strengthened. We are also working with cultural institutes and NGOs to find ways to promote Ukrainian culture more effectively and foster exchange and mutual understanding. This is also linked to public discourse: Fake news is no longer effective once you have got to know people from Ukraine and their perspective. In the long term, we also want to play our part in bringing Europe and Ukraine closer together on a societal level.

What previously neglected topics does Ukrainian Studies need to address?

A lot of questions have not received enough attention so far. Some are focused solely on Ukraine, while others cannot be answered without thinking about Ukraine. For example: Do the United Nations have a future as long as Russia has a veto on its major decisions? Is there a solution to this problem or a reform option? What does Ukrainian-EU integration mean for the European Union’s political system, its markets, power distribution methods, identity and culture? Is Ukrainian-EU integration bound to succeed? And why was the phenomenon of interstate war somehow absent in research since the end of the Cold War, although Russia was effectively preparing for that scenario, at least since 2008.

How can Ukrainian Studies contribute to expanding public understanding of Ukraine and its societal, political and cultural challenges?

In many Western societies, Ukraine only came to be recognised as a sovereign state with its own unique society and complex history after Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. Western ignorance and inattention were the mantle under which Russia waged its war of aggression from 2014 and planned the full-scale invasion.

Although public knowledge of Ukraine has expanded since 2022, many misunderstandings and misinformation still persist. Public discourse is typically unregulated, leaving plenty of room for distortion, particularly when opinions are presented as knowledge or even as scientific facts. There are Russian and pro-Russian actors—ranging from political figures to entrepreneurs—who are particularly interested in whitewashing Russian atrocities. That is why studies about Ukraine in these times also have an educational mandate and need to disclose their sources and their claim to expertise.

So we have our work cut out for us in Ukrainian Studies. Our societies need knowledge about the historical legacies of the different power constellations on the territory of present-day Ukraine, about the roots of Ukraine’s will to freedom, and the resilience of Ukrainian civil society. They also need to understand the reasons for Ukraine’s problems, for example the origins of the war, the failed post-1991 transition and others. Our approach in interdisciplinary Ukrainian Studies is thus to learn about Ukraine and about Ukraine’s European and global entanglements and integrate that knowledge into both academic and public debates. We don’t conduct research for the ivory tower.

What are KIU’s further plans for 2025?

2025 will see the launch of many new KIU publications – from essay collections and a working paper series to a KIU book series on Interdisciplinary Ukrainian Studies, published by Nomos. Our PhD programme with up to 15 PhD students will also get up and running. I am very much looking forward to our opening event in June! We will welcome new fellows on site in Frankfurt (Oder) in May and September, followed by our new non-residential research fellows in Ukraine, who will start their work in July. In the summer term, the KIU lecture series at Viadrina University will offer talks on the topic ‘Ukraine in Europe: Controversies, Complexities and Agency of a Multifaceted Interconnection’. We are also planning several conferences and the second Ukrainian Studies Summer School. As part of our Ukrainian Studies Certificate Programme, which will start in October, 25 MA students from various disciplines will deepen their knowledge on Ukraine, learn Ukrainian, and do an internship in a Ukraine-related institution. I could go on – stay tuned!

 

Expert:

Dr. Susann Worschech, KIU Academic coordinator

Viadrina University