Nyhetsbrev från Ålands fredsinstitut 4/2019

Newsletter from the Åland Islands Peace Institute 4/2019

Contents

• The many-faceted character of autonomy explored in new issue of The Journal of Autonomy and Security Studies
• The Kastelholm talks 2020: War, peace and the environment
• Save the dates: Lunch seminars on 12 February and 5 March
• New research project: What has the EU implied for Åland? 

Innehåll

• Kastelholmssamtalen 2020 har temat krig, fred och miljö
• Nya numret av JASS belyser mångskiftande självstyrelse
• Notera datumen: lunchseminarier 12 februari och 5 mars
• Nytt forskningsprojekt: Vad har EU betytt för Åland?

Läs nyhetsbrevet här.

Read the newsletter here.

On March 30, 2020 (Monday), the Åland Peace Institute will host Kastelholm talks on peace in Kastelholm, Åland. The Kastelholm talks are recurring talks with a peace theme held under the auspices of President Tarja Halonen, in connection with the Åland Demilitarisation Day on March 30. The Kastelholm talks 2020 have the theme of War, Peace and the Environment.
Our time is characterized by severe climate change, declining biodiversity and climate anxiety. At the same time, global tensions and military armament are increasing. It is therefore necessary to discuss the links between peace and the environment. Are we in tune with nature or are we at war with it? For several decades, the concept of security has been broadened and now also encompasses environmental aspects. What role does such a broadening of the concept of security play, and what significance does it have in terms of actions for the environment? What role does sustainability work play as a peace factor?

The Kastelholm talks consist of two parts. First, a panel discussion is held in the Kastelholm Castle. The conversation wants to promote dialogue, rather than debate. Thereafter, a more informal and open round table conversation is arranged, located at the nearby restaurant Smakbyn.

The speakers will be presented and invitations will be sent out in January and February. In March, it will be possible to register for open seats. More information will come in the next newsletter and in social media.

The Journal of Autonomy and Security Studies (JASS) is a peer-reviewed, open access e-journal published by the Åland Islands Peace Institute (AIPI), Mariehamn, Åland, Finland. The journal addresses its overarching theme of peace and security from the perspectives of autonomy, demilitarisation, and minority protection.

The Vol. 3 Issue 2 of JASS includes the following materials:

Article

Exploring the Role of Regional Parties in the Nordic Autonomies: Why Entrenched Self-Government Matters - Maria Ackrén and Jan Sundberg

Research Notes

Publication and Collaboration Patterns in Autonomy Research – A Bibliometric Analysis - Felix Schulte

Consensus Impossible? South Tyrol’s Autonomy Convention and the issue of Self-determination - Marc Röggla

Commentary

Oil on Water: Some Personal Musings on Hong Kong’s Summer of Protests - Jennifer Eagleton

The issue can be found at www.jass.ax, where you can also register to subscribe to coming issues.

Lunch seminar on Tuesday 12 November 2019 at 11.30-12.30 in hotel Arkipelag's restaurant.

Does the EU suffer from a democratic deficit?

Speaker: Allan Rosas

The so-called democratic deficit of the EU has long been a subject of debate and brought with it various types of change within the Union. How should this discussion and criticism be understood? How has it influenced European co-operation?

Allan Rosas, with his long experience of legal issues in Finland and the EU, discusses the criticism of the democratic deficit and the EU's willingness and ability to meet it.

Lunch seminar on Thursday 24 October 2019 at 11.30-12.30 in hotel Arkipelag's restaurant.

Hybrid threats - how do they affect the demilitarisation and neutralisation of Åland?

Speaker: Sia Spiliopoulou Åkermark

Hybrid threats have been defined as a mixture of conventional and unconventional methods (i.e. diplomatic, military, economic and technological) that can be used by state or non-state actors to achieve specific goals - often in a grey zone between war and peace. Hybrid threat is also a fashionable term that frequently occurs in reports, at new institutions and in various statements. Do these hybrid threats pose a threat to Åland's demilitarisation and neutralisation? Based on the results of many years of research in international law and demilitarisation, Sia Spiliopoulou Åkermark discusses how Åland should reason about and relate to the hybrid threat.

The Nobel Peace Prize for 2019 is awarded to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali for his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea.

The Director of the Åland Islands Peace Institute, Sia Spiliopoulou Åkermark comments:

"The Nobel prize is awarded a head of state and an individual but also a whole package of ideas, concepts and institutions. The Committee emphasises the importance of international agreements, mediation, conciliation as well as that of strong constitutions. Abiy Ahmed is prime minister for a large federal state and a young democracy with many different needs and expectations in the regions and amongst different groups. The Nobel prize shows that peace agreements are possible and that conflicts can be solved. Abiy is also a military who has opted for a strong diplomatic path. The prize is equally awarded to a whole region, East Africa, where the trajectory is currently positive and gives hope to millions of people. Women’s participation in public life and a stark pro-democracy agenda are efforts that Abiy Ahmed has actively promoted."

The Åland Islands Peace Institute offers an opportunity for one or two trainees to experience a dynamic and flexible internship during the spring semester of 2020. 

We are looking for applicants interested in issues concerning peace, security, minorities and autonomy. The work assignments include arrangement of seminars, information dissemination and website development. Suitable fields of study background are social, legal or political sciences but also IT, communication and information management. In this year’s call for applications, we also appreciate a background or interest in one or more of the following fields: graphic design, research, conflict management and event management.

Lunch seminar on Wednesday 9 October 2019 at 11.30-12.30 in hotel Arkipelag's restaurant.

In a time when the cities grow and the digital development advances with giant steps, small societies get into trouble. In Sweden and Finland there are about five regions per country, in essence the five biggest university cities with their surroundings, that can cope, while the rest of the regions regress economically and demographically. An important reason for the increasing regional inequality in the Nordic countries and Europe is the ongoing brain drain, as well-educated people stay in or move to the big cities to a greater extent than people with a lower level of education. This is hastening the uneven regional development. Åland has so far been a brilliant exception, but the question is whether the long-term development is sustainable? In the light of such trends and from an economic perspective, what are the prospects for the Ålandic economy and for the Ålandic autonomy legislation?

Link to / Länk till Nyhetsbrev / Newsletter 3/2019

Ladda ner Nyhetsbrev / Download Newsletter as pdf

CONTENTS

• Upcoming lunch seminar 9.10.2019: Edvard Johansson: Small economies and global trends - how can Åland meet the future?
• Call for Interns at the Åland Islands Peace Institute in the spring of 2020
• Many visits during autumn, including officials from Sweden and EU-ambassadors
• Conference participation; political participation, sovereignty and borders discussed in Hungary, Greece and Gibraltar respectively
• New interns at the Institute
  and more

INNEHÅLL

• Kommande lunchseminarium 9.10.2019: Edvard Johansson: Små ekonomier och globala trender - hur kan Åland möta framtiden?
• Praktik vid Ålands fredsinstitut våren 2020
• Många besök under hösten, inklusive riksdagsledamöter från Sverige och EU-ambassadörer.
• Konferensdeltagande; politiskt deltagande, suveränitet och gränser diskuterades vardera i Ungern, Grekland och Gibraltar.
  m.m.

The Director attended research network RECAST meeting on political participation and mobilization of citizens

The research network RECAST (Reappraising Intellectual Debates on Civic Rights and Democracy in Europe) had a meeting and a seminar at the Central European University in Budapest on 19-20 September 2019. The seminar discussed new forms for political participation and mobilization of citizens. In November 2019 the Training School of the network will be organised in co-operation with the Norwegian Institute at Athens. For further information about the Training School see here. The research network is financed through the so called COST-program (Cooperation in Science and Technology) and researchers from 30 European countries belong to the netwotk. The Director of the Peace Institute, Sia Spiliopoulou Åkermark, acts as the Vice Chairperson of the network.