Dr Aijan Sharshenova, SHAPEDEM-EULink opens in a new window Research Fellow, discussed the launch of a reportLink opens in a new window on harnessing the democratising potential of the EU foreign policy agenda with one of the report's authors Dr Nathan Vandeputte.

MORDORLink opens in a new window is an Erasmus+ project, co-funded by the European Union focusing on improving general education on authoritarianism and to prepare recommendations for EU foreign policy stakeholders regarding democracy support.

Professor Elena KorostelevaLink opens in a new window and Dr Aijan SharshenovaLink opens in a new window, SHAPEDEM-EULink opens in a new window team at the University of Warwick, participated in the 2nd Annual Progress Meeting of the SHAPEDEM-EU Consortium. Professor Korosteleva reported on the progress of the deliverables under the Working Package 2 "Democratic practices and democracy support in the Eastern Neighbourhood and discussed prospects of future collaborations with the consortium members.

SHAPEDEM-EULink opens in a new window is a consortium of 12 research, policy and civil society institutions set out to rethink, reshape, and review the EU’s democracy promotion policies, while elaborating and pilot testing a novel model of a Democracy Learning Loop. The project is funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe funding framework.

Dr. Aijan Sharshenova, research fellow at the SHAPEDEM-EULink opens in a new window Horizon-funded project, participated in a closed dinner discussion of the policy briefLink opens in a new window "The EU support to democracy: Recognising the democratising potential of the EU's foreign policy agenda" published by Mapping and Organizing Research on Dictatorships EU-funded projectLink opens in a new window. The discussion was organised by the European Partnership for DemocracyLink opens in a new window and included EU officials, civil society and academia.

SHAPEDEM-EU, an EU-funded Horizon project with the participation of the University of Warwick, produced a new publication by Richard Youngs and Elena Ventura (Carnegie Europe). "The EU pushes back a new democracy plan: A mistake? A review of the Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy" critically assesses the EU's 2020-2024 Action Plan and its mid-term review, examining the implications of their design and implementation. The publication is available as open access at the linkLink opens in a new window.

Professor Korosteleva and Dr Hansbury represented the WUB-hub on 28 August at the Foreign Office London when briefing a new Head of Mission appointed for Belarus. During the roundtable inter alia the issues of democratic political structures, foreign policy, and civil society developments were discussed.