International round table "From cyber to fake. Hybrid power languages in the Black Sea"

Date and place: online (Zoom system), Monday, June 29, 10.00 a.m. - 1.00 p.m.

Organizer(s): Black Sea House Association, in partnership with the European Democratic Culture Initiative / ICDE Association, Bucharest and Constanta branch, Romania and the Institute for World Politics, Kyiv, Ukraine.

Participants: 16 experts from 6 countries – Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine.

Working languages: English and Russian.

The Black Sea House Association will organize, in partnership with the European Democratic Culture Initiative / ICDE Association, Bucharest branch (president Radu Carp) and Constanta branch, as well the Institute for World Politics, Kyiv, Ukraine (executive director Yevhen Mahda), the International Round Table “From cyber to fake. Hybrid power languages in the Black Sea”; the event will take place online (in the Zoom system), on Monday, June 29, 10.00 a.m. - 1.00 p.m. Participants: experts from Belarus, Georgia, Romania, Moldova, Turkey, Ukraine.

• The concept of the event

Recently, competition for power at the regional level has intensified in the Wider Black Sea region, with direct disruptive effects on the region's security and stability. This competition is expressed through a various geopolitical languages of its actors (political, diplomatic, military, economic, ideological), in a diverse, hybrid and sophisticated manner, from predominantly military languages (maritime exercises, new military design, trends to rebuilding the military architecture) to predominantly ideological languages (historical revisionism, disinformation campaigns, information war), from cyber to fake, from frigates to fictions.

Experts in the region have often discussed the effects of these languages, omitting / ignoring or underestimating its nature (the language as a tool), which explains the real intentions of the state and non-state actors in the region more than statements or commitments, more even than small geopolitical "disturbances". It is extremely important to analyze the nature and collisions of these languages in order to prevent further deterioration of the regional security situation.

Sub-themes and sub-areas of interest:

Who are the state and non-state actors who are acting geopolitically in the wider Black Sea region?

What are the forms, means and tools (languages) of expressing their interests in the region?

Can the recent trends (to change these languages) become substantial or even systemic (new languages, new hybrid language elements, high level of assertiveness and / or aggression, etc.)?

What are the major collision risks between the interests of political actors in the Black Sea region?

What is the most dangerous scenario for the deterioration of the security situation in the region?

How can we produce a geopolitical harmonization of these languages? What is the “secret formula” for recovering the lost peace in the Black Sea basin?

Working languages of the Round Table: English and Russian.

The round table will have two sections; the first (Black Sea Hybrid Power Languages) will identify the hybrid power languages in the wider Black Sea region, and the second (Conflict Scenarios and Peace Solutions) – its collisions.

The two sections will be moderated by Mr. Radu Carp, president of the European Democratic Culture Initiative Association, Bucharest branch (English language) and Mr. Yevhen Mahda, director of the Institute for World Politics, Kyiv, Ukraine (Russian language).

PROGRAMME

Monday, June 29, 2020, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m

10.00 - 10.05: Opening of the Round Table

10.05-10.10: Greeting message / introductory word (Vergil Chițac, Senator, president of Romanian delegation at NATO Parliamentary Assembly)

10.10-11.40: Section I, Black Sea Hybrid Power Languages (English)

Moderator Radu Carp, president of the European Democratic Culture Initiative Association, Bucharest branch, Romania

1. Leonela Leca, Researcher, Global Studies Center, Sibiu, Romania, The role of regional cooperation in enhancing cyber resilience (indicative time 10.10-10.20)
2. Tengiz Pkhaladze, Associate Professor, Head of BA Program in Political Science, Georgian Institute of Public Affairs, Tbilisi, Georgia, The Russian disinformation, “soft power” and hybrid technologies toward Georgia (indicative time 10.20-10.30)
3. Marian Zidaru, Associate Professor, Black Sea House Association, Constanța, Romania, Balance of power and hegemony; The problem of modernizing the armed forces of the riparian states (indicative time 10.30-10.40)
4. Muzaffer Şenel and Bekir Turan, Istanbul Şehir University, Center for Modern Turkish Studies, Istanbul, Turkey, Turkish-Russian Rapprochement and Its Impact on the Wider Black Sea Region (indicative time 10.40-10.50)
5. Natalia Nechaeva-Yuriychuk, Associate Professor, Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, Ukraine, Historical and Political Stereotypes as the Instrument of Political Influence (indicative time 10.50-11.00)
6. Radu Carp, Professor, University of Bucharest, president of the European Democratic Culture Initiative Association, Bucharest branch, România, The role of civil society in promoting the Black Sea area cooperation initiatives and the partnership with the institutions – the case of Romania (indicative time 11.00-11.10)
7. Zmicier Mickiewicz, expert, Belarus Security Blog, Minsk, Belarus, The main narratives of Russian propaganda in Eastern Europe (indicative time 11.10-11.20)
8. Laura Zgibarta, expert, Foreign Policy Association, Republic of Moldova, Russia’s and NATO’s political approaches towards Moldova in the context of the Black Sea region and the issues there (indicative time 11.20-11.30)

Time for discussion: 10 min.

11.40-12.50: Section II, Conflict Scenarios and Peace Solutions (Russian) Moderator Yevhen Mahda, director of the Institute for World Politics, Kyiv, Ukraine

1. Andre Kamenshikov, regional coordinator, East Europe GPPAC (Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict) Network, The tasks of civilian peacekeeping in the region and the main challenges facing civilian peacekeeping activity / Задачи гражданского миротворчества в регионе и основные сложности перед гражданской миротворческой деятельностью (indicative time 11.40-11.50)
2. Marin Gherman, Institute of Political Studies and Social Capital, Editor-in-Chief of BucPress Media Center, Political Analist, Ucraina, Ukraine-Romania-Moldova Triangle face to the "geopolitical storm" caused by hybrid languages / Треугольник Украина - Румыния - Республика Молдова - перед "геополитической бурей", вызванной гибридными нарративами (indicative time 11.50-12.00)
3. Natalia Stercul, Program Director, Foreign Policy Association, Republica Moldova, Black Sea Security: possibilities for building comprehensive approach to countering hybrid threats / Безопасность Черного моря: возможности для построения комплексного подхода к противодействию гибридным угрозам (indicative time 12.00-12.10)
4. Gela Vasadze, director of Regional Programs, Georgian Strategic Analysis Center, Tbilisi, Georgia, Covid-19 and the threats to Georgia's security / Covid-19 и вызовы безопасности Грузии (indicative time 12.10-12.20)
5. Yevhen Mahda, Associate Professor, Executive Director of the Institute of World Policy, Kyiv, Ucraina, The language of delegitimization: the verbal aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine / Язык делегитимизации: вербальная агрессия РФ против Украины (indicative time 12.20-12.30)
6. Dorin Popescu, Black Sea House Association, Constanta. Romania, The “matryoshka” of power in the Black Sea region / Матрёшка власти в Черном море (indicative time 12.30-12.40)
7. Serhii Hakman, Associate Professor, deputy director of Chernivtsi Regional Center for Retraining and Advanced Training of Employees in Public Authorities, vice-president of Charity Foundation ”Public Resource and Initiative”, Cernivtsi, Ukraine, Minimizing the role of ethnonational stereotypes - key to mutual understanding of political actors in the Black Sea region / Минимизация роли энонациональних и исторических стереотипов как клюк к взаимопониманию политических акторов Черноморского региона (indicative time 12.40-12.50)

Time for discussion: 5 min.

12.55-13.00: Conclusions