IGSD News

On 23-25 September in Brussels I participated in the final SHAPEDEM-EU project conference joined by a sister Embrace project. It is thrilling to see how much we have done over three years taking stock of local democracy perceptions in both neighbourhoods, and engagement from various stakeholders! I was also fortunate to have support from my two talented colleagues Asya Kudlenko & Aijan Sharshenova - indebted to them! I also thank the leadership team - Andrea Gawrich & Fabian Schöppner - for their unwavering determination in the face of so many challenges this project has had, and all my fellow researchers who made this project enjoyable and worthwhile!
As part of WP2 we are expecting a series of outputs, in addition to our reports. These among others, will include our article 'From the communities of practice' to the 'Community of Relations: lessons learned from Ukraine & Belarus' in Contemporary Politics SI, and a book chapter in a joint monograph. My own OUP book 'Complexity & Community in IR: nurturing resilience in Central Eurasia's (out on November 2025) will reference the project and our fieldwork too! Thank you all, especially the European Commission & University of Warwick for the financial & logistical support!!

Professor Korosteleva was invited to speak at the conference in Stockholm, organised by the Centre for Baltic and East European Studies, Sodertorn University. It focused on examining tendencies both in Russia, and its neighbours following its war of aggression against Ukraine. In addition to academic experts, the conference included representatives from Swedish SIDA, Swedish Defence Research Agency and various government representatives, and the Baltic states and Finland. In her presentation Elena focused on 'the Absent People NO MORE, of Central Eurasia', and how this may change the dynamics of Russian order-building in the short- and long-terms.

Professor Korosteleva also met with researchers from the Stockholm Resilience Centre to discuss options for collaborations.

Prof. Korosteleva is invited to join the World Bank's Advisory Board overseeing the design and implementation of the Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI). WGI describe broad patterns in perceptions of the quality of governance across counties and over time, and helps them increase their economic growth, build their human capital and strengthen their social cohesion, by examining over 200 economies worldwide.

Prof. Korosteleva and Prof. Tom Montenegro-Johnson organised an IGSD-CAMaCS all day workshop to develop a concept note for an ESRC large funding bid. It involved members of CAMaCS, and also Dr Feng Mao (IGSD) and Dr Adela Glyn-Davies (Design Studies), as well as members of PAIS and Psychology (Prof. Robin Goodwin) masterfully guided by Harbeena Lalli from RI&S.

Professor Korosteleva contributed to rhe AGMOW project's workshop on 1-2 September 2025 at the EUI titled 'Narratives of Orders: Resilience and Governance in the Multi-Order World'. The workshop focused on the preparations for a Special Forum to be published in Contemporary Security Policy in 2026, bringing together a group of researchers who are connected to the Anticipating Governance in the Multi-Order World (AGMOW) project. The Special Forum will revisit the multi-order world argument ten years after the publication of the award-winning article The Coming Multi-Order World. The workshop focused on the development and narratives of different orders in the multi-order world and the prospects of cooperation in selected policy domains (global health, climate change, AI and trade). The transformation of the global rules-based order into one consisting of several international orders represents more than “just” a return to multipolarity because it means that we must pay simultaneous attention to relations between the orders operating in the global (rules-based) order, and to relations and processes of self-governance within the individual orders. The Special Forum will pay attention to both by investigating the development and processes taking place within the international orders, and by focusing on relations between the international orders through a focus on policy domains and the future.

The workshop included scholars from EUI, Copenhagen University, Sheffield and Warwick, Southern Denmark University, Polish Academy of Sciences and Chinese Policy Institute.