SCRIPTS in the Media
Russia's war and the Global South
Amrita Narlikar , President of the Global Institute for Area Studies and Principal Investigator at SCRIPTS, talks to Hans Monath from the Berlin daily newspaper Tagesspiegel about how India is still attached to Russia when it comes to the import of armaments. The sanctions against Russia not only affect the country itself but will hit countries of the Global South – and here, the poorest population – at the same time. Securing a stable trade worldwide, especially regarding food, will be important, says Narlikar. Read the interview in German here .
May 13, 2022
Germany's part in the war in Ukraine
Gwendolyn Sasse , Principal Investigator at SCRIPTS and Director of the Centre for East European and International Studies (ZOiS), was a guest on the talk show Markus Lanz and discussed the question of Germany becoming a party in the war in Ukraine. Sasse said that there is a legal definition when this threshold is passed. However, ultimately, it will likely be decided by Putin and will be largely political. When this will happen is hard to predict. Other guests included the Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschman, journalist Helene Bubrowski and psychiatrist Manfred Lütz. Watch the show here (in German).
May 11, 2022
Academic bridges: Arrival of scholars at risk from Ukraine at FU Berlin
The Freie Universität Berlin published an article about Dr. Tetiana Kostiuchenko , Ukrainian lecturer in sociology and special fellow in the SCRIPTS scholars at risk programme, and her colleague Prof. Tamara Martsenyuk. The article reports the support measures of the FU and how the Ukrainian scholars experience their arrival. Read the article (in German) here .
May 10, 2022
Restricting Russian state media
Principal Investigator and Professor of Public Law Christoph Möller s wrote an op-ed in the German daily newspaper FAZ in reaction to an earlier published interview by Michael Hanfeld with Carsten Brosda, senator for media and culture in Hamburg, and another op-ed by Jörk Ukrow, an expert on media law. Looking at the restriction imposed on the Russian state media outlets Russia Today and Sputnik, Möllers says that the political events happened faster than the juridical process. Read the article in German here (Paywall).
May 10, 2022
Commemoration day in Russia
In an interview with Thomas Frank for the program Kulturfragen from public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk, Principal Investigator and director of the Center for East European and International Studies (ZOiS), Gwendolyn Sasse, talks about the celebration for the commemoration days on May 8 th and 9 th . More and more, the focus shifts toward the second World War but simultaneously, historical details are vanishing. Besides the accuracy of history, the overall knowledge of the war is also declining, says Sasse. Listen to the audio piece here (in German).
May 08, 2022
What should diplomatic language do?
Jessica Gienow-Hecht , Principal Investigator at SCRIPTS and professor of history, gives an interview to the German public broadcaster Radio Eins, part of the rbb program, about how diplomatic language works. Currently, the Ukrainian ambassador Andrij Melnyk expresses his view in rather polarizing language. However, diplomatic language is not only there for negotiation and reassurance. It is allowed to spark debate and polarization. Currently, the situation regarding Russia is rather difficult when it comes to negotiation, and communications, says Gienow-Hecht. Listen to the interview here (German).
May 06, 2022
Stefan Gosepath talks about liberal democracies
The program Deutschlandfunk Nova from German public broadcaster Deutschlandradio featured in its program Offener Hörsall , the public lecture given by Stefan Gosepath , Principal Investigator at SCRIPTS and professor of philosophy at FU Berlin. The lecture was part of the lecture series “Die vielen Anfänge der Demokratie” organized by the department of history and cultural studies and the DFG-funded project “Rethinking Oriental Despotism”, Gosepath speaks about the pressure that liberal democracies currently face and how critical democratic principles are. Listen to the lecture in German here .
May 05, 2022
Who inherits what?
In an interview with the daily newspaper Schwäbisches Tagblatt , Stefan Gosepath , professor of philosophy at Freie Universität Berlin and Principal Investigator at SCRIPTS, talks about the (in-)equity of inheritance and which persons benefit the most. Due to the war, the unequal distribution of inheritance has grown even more. Read the German article here (Paywall).
May 05, 2022
There won't be an immediate breakdown
Katharina Bluhm , Principal Investigator at SCRIPTS and head of the Institute for East European Studies, talks to Jan Emendörfer from the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) about sanctions posed on Russia and the repercussions they will have on the economy. More than the sanction, the price of oil on the global market will be relevant to the economy in Russia. A crash in the Russian economy is not yet predictable, says Bluhm. Similarly, influencing the Russian population from afar to turn against the propaganda and the regime is not likely. Read the article in German here .
May 04, 2022
EU partnership to India
Amrita Narlikar , President of the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) and Principal Investigator at SCRIPTS, talks to the news outlet Tagesschau from German public broadcaster ARD about the current position of India in the war in Ukraine. Prime minister Modi advocates for immediate peace, but nevertheless, India is buying cheap oil from Russia. India tries to distance itself from China, but that might be even more difficult with strong China-Russia relationships. The country needs strong allies to have an alternative to Russia and China, says Narlikar. Read the German article here .
May 02, 2022
Moving forward: EU-India partnership
In her contribution to the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), Amrita Narlikar , Principal Investigator at SCRIPTS and director of the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA), writes about the importance of the partnerships between the European Union and India. The expansion of China leads to a tough position for India. Negotiations are moving slowly, but as Narlikar writes, “for the unfulfilled potential of their partnership, both the EU and India share equal responsibly”. To move forward, there is a need for new ways in the partnership. Read the English article here .
Apr 28, 2022
Economic outlook in Ukraine
Alexander Libman , professor of Russian and East European politics and incoming principal investigator at SCRIPTS, talks to the daily newspaper Berliner Zeitung about the economic downfalls for Ukraine through the war. Ukraine had high amounts of debt even before the war, says Libman. This has to be taken into account when one makes a prognosis for the country's economic development. Read the German article here .
Apr 27, 2022
A transformation without an interfering state?
Philipp Lepenies , professor of politics and Principal Investigator at SCRIPTS, talks to the podcast Kulturweit from German public broadcaster BR about his recently published book Verbot und Verzicht. He outlines that through the war in Ukraine, commodities such as for example oil are now associated with moral aspects. In Germany, interference by the state and the prohibition or regulation of consumption is looked upon with reluctance says Lepenies. However, this interference might be necessary to push for a wider transformation. To make this understandable for more people, investment in political and civic education could be helpful. Listen to the German podcast here .
Apr 24, 2022
Learning from the past
Tobias Rupprecht , Postdoctoral Researcher and Head of the Junior Research Group “Peripheral Liberalism”, talks to the Spanish branch of the public broadcaster Deutsche Welle, about the historical perspective of the current politics in Eastern Europe. Currently, Hungary shows quite a few similarities with the current style of government in Russia. See the video in German and Spanish here .
Apr 16, 2022
German non-fiction prize
Steffen Mau , Principle Investigator at SCRIPTS and professor of macrosociology, is nominated with his book “Sortiermaschinen. Die Neuerfindung der Grenzen im 21. Jahrhundert” for the German non-fiction prize. The winner will be announced on May 30 at the award ceremony in the Humboldt Forum Berlin. See the announcement here .
Apr 12, 2022
Climate crisis: What should the state prescribe, what not?
Principal Investigator and Cluster Professor Philipp Lepenies was interviewed by the public broadcaster WDR about his new book " Verbot und Verzicht. Politik aus dem Geiste des Unterlassens " (Prohibition and renunciation. Politics from the spirit of omission). In it, he criticises that the interfering state had become a bogeyman and that the orientation towards the common good has been lost in parts. This is a problem because renunciation and prohibition play an essential role in coping with the consequences of climate change. Philipp Lepenies attributes this development to the thinking of neoliberalism. Listen to the interview in German here . SCRIPTS hosts a public discussion on this thesis in the event series "Futuring the Liberal Script" with Philipp Lepenies on Wednesday, 01 June 2022 (More information will follow).
Apr 11, 2022
It is time for a new strategy
Michael Zürn , Director of SCRIPTS and Principal Investigator, answered in the daily newspaper Tagesspiegel , an essay, published in the same outlet , by political scientists Prof. Wolfgang Merkel and Prof. Wolfgang Schroeder. Instead of seeing a foreign policy which is driven by values and interest alike as antagonistic, he advocates for four concrete policy changes. In the middle of the discussion must stand a reformed, multilateral world order. Read the German article here .
Apr 07, 2022
The mechanisms of sanctions
Alexander Libman , Professor of Russian and East European Politics and incoming Principal Investigator at SCRIPTS, speaks to public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk Kultur about the reaction to the sanctions imposed on Russia. Sanctions often do not work in a short amount of time and therefore have not the desired effect. At the moment, they might even highlight Putin’s narrative against the west. Listen to the German audio here .
Apr 06, 2022
A divided society?
In the Viennese daily newspaper Die Presse , sociologist and Principal Investigator at SCRIPTS Steffen Mau speaks to Duygu Özkan about the politicization surrounding the question of vaccinations. Whereas the questions stirs debates, Mau refutes the claim that there is a complete split in society. Read the German article here .
Apr 04, 2022
SCRIPTS and Michael Zürn at Humboldt Lab: a report
Mich ael Zürn , SCRIPTS director and professor for International Relations, was invited for a "Meet the Scientist" lecture at Humboldt Lab Berlin. He spoke about authoritarian populism and addressed the Putin's regime aggressive war in Ukraine. Regional newspaper Der Tagesspiegel visited the public event and wrote a review of the exhibition at the same venue, in which SCRIPTS presents its research. The article summarizes Zürn's lecture and brings this together with quotes from the "talking wall", the exhibition piece by SCRIPTS in the science exhibition "After Nature" , which can be visited daily in Berlin. Read the article (in German) here .
Apr 04, 2022
