International Conference "The Black Sea region after 2024’s pivotal elections"

Conference Programme

Date and place: Thursday, November 7^th, 09.00 a.m. - 3.00 p.m. (Bucharest time), Continental Forum Hotel (39B-41 Mircea cel Batran Bld) – Ovidius Hall, Constanta, Romania

Organizer: Black Sea House Association, Constanta, Romania

Participants: Experts from Belarus/Poland, Georgia, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Türkiye, Ukraine

Working languages: English and Romanian

Thursday, November 7^th, 09.00 a.m. - 3.00 p.m. (Bucharest time)

09.00 - 09.10: Opening of the Conference. Welcome address, introductory remarks

09.10-11.40: Section I, “The Pivotal Elections on the Black Sea. Pontus Euxinus, quo vadis?”

Moderator: Professor Valentin Naumescu, Babeș-Bolyai University Cluj, Faculty of European Studies, President of the ICDE think-tank, Director of the EUXGLOB Center, Romania

Speakers:

1. Mihai MOGÎLDEA, Deputy Director, Institute for European Policies and Reforms (IPRE), Chisinau, Republic of Moldova, "The role of the presidential elections and the constitutional referendum on Moldova's EU accession process"

2. Dr Marin GHERMAN, Director, Institute of Political Studies and Social Capital, Chernivtsi, Ukraine, lecturer, Stefan cel Mare University, Suceava, Romania, "Fear of war in post-Soviet electoral contexts (Ukraine, Georgia, Republic of Moldova)"

3. Gela VASADZE, Director of Regional Programs, Georgian Strategic Analysis Center, Tbilisi, Georgia, "Post-Electoral European Georgia, today and tomorrow"

4. Ion TĂBÂRȚĂ, Executive Director, Information and Documentation Center on NATO / CID NATO, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova, "Challenges to the security of the Republic of Moldova in the current regional geopolitical context"

5. Zmicier MICKIEWICZ, Analyst, research fellow, journalist and editor, Belsat TV, Belarus/Poland (originally from Belarus, currently based in Warsaw, Poland), "Pseudoelections in Belarus vs the background of Russia’s war against the West"

6. Dr Natalia ALBU, Associate Professor, “Alexandru cel Bun” Military Academy of Armed Forces of the Republic of Moldova, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova, "The Russian hybrid threat toolbox in Moldova in the context of EU accession"

12.40-13.10 Coffee Break

13.10-14.40: Section II, “The war and the possible new US policies in the Black Sea region”

Moderator: Ass. prof. Yevhen Mahda, Igor Sikorsky Polytechnic Institute, the National Technical University, Executive Director at the Institute of World Policy, Kyiv, Ukraine

Speakers:

1. Professor Valentin NAUMESCU, Babeș-Bolyai University Cluj, Faculty of European Studies, President of the ICDE think-tank, Director of the EUXGLOB Center, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, "What changes and what remains the same in the policy of the new US President towards the Black Sea region"

2. Associate professor Yevhen MAHDA, PhD, Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, the National Technical University, Executive Director at the Institute of World Policy, Kyiv, Ukraine, "Toward 1.000 days since the beginning of Russia’s large-scale invasion. Unexpected results"

3. Professor Corneliu BJOLA, Digital Diplomacy, the Head of the Oxford Digital Diplomacy Research Group, University of Oxford, Great Britain / Romania, "The hybrid war against the West: Implications for Romania"

4. Associate Professor Marin ZIDARU, Expert, Black Sea House Association, Constanta, Romania, "The balance of naval power in the Black Sea region, in the post-conflict era of the Russian-Ukrainian war"

5. Iryna AVRAMENKO, Expert, Pylyp Orlyk Institute for Democracy (POID), University of Customs and Finance, Dnipro, Ukraine, "Deconstructors of Truth: Why opposition Russian media equate the aggressor and the victim"

6. Associate professor Muzaffer ŞENEL, Visiting Scholar, SUNY Binghamton University, Department of Politics, Türkiye / USA, "The Place of the Wider Black Sea Security and Türkiye and the US Presidential Elections"

7. Dorin POPESCU, president, Black Sea House Association, Constanta, vice-president, Initiative for European Democratic Culture / ICDE, Romania, "Simultaneous geopolitical earthquakes in the extended Black Sea region"

14.40-15.00: Closing of the Conference. Conclusions