During the meeting Stephan will give a presentation on how views on Ukraine have fluctuated in Western Europe in the past few decades. It is a story of wild ups and downs, in which expectations on both sides have typically been exaggerated on the upsides, leading to mutual disappointments and recriminations on the downsides. Stephan will argue that on balance, the catastrophic developments of the past year provide Ukraine's (and Western Europe's) best chance to break out of this infernal cycle and to push the country 'on the road to Denmark'. This may very well be the last chance for quite some time to come, and it is by no means a foregone conclusion that it will be taken. But he will argue that the single clear message of the past few decades is that paper commitments are cheap and that resolute actions are required - on both sides.
Stephan De Spiegeleire is a Senior Defense Analyst at the The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies. He started his career as a Soviet specialist at the RAND Corporation and the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, he moved on to broader European security and defense issues at the WEU's Institute for Security Studies, then back at RAND and for the past decade at the The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies. But recent events in Ukraine and Russia are once again pulling him back to this region.
Venue - Alfavito Hotel (35D, Predslavynska str, conference hall “Davos”, 6th floor).
The language of the meeting is English.
To participate it is mandatory to fill the registration form and send it in before December 18, 2014. Pre-registration is required. Seats are limited.
FOR YOUR INFORMATION: Discussion Club “Open World” – is an educational Project of Arseniy Yatsenyuk Open Ukraine Foundation for socially active youth. Its purpose is to foster a new generation of responsible leaders. Each month the Foundation arranges lectures with renowned experts, political and community leaders to discuss ways of effective solutions to social problems in Ukraine and worldwide.
