The BEAR network – “Between the EU and Russia: Domains of Diversity and Contestation” – was originally created as an EU-funded Erasmus + Jean Monnet Network bringing together 26 scholars from 11 universities in six countries to explore attempts to mobilize, influence, protect, and claim regional minority groups on the EU’s eastern borders, as well as to investigate how societal actors in the region draw upon, react to, and engage with the overlapping influences of the EU and Russia. Hosted by McGill University, it brought together KINPOL members from Glasgow, Queen’s University, Tartu University, University of Montreal and University of Wroclaw.
The network’s key objective is to promote a better understanding of how the EU and Russia influence and inspire minority politics, integration efforts, and societal contestation on the EU’s eastern borders by: 1) stimulating knowledge development through academic collaborations and connections; 2) conducting high-quality teaching activities across Europe, North America and Russia; and 3) disseminating our knowledge to policymakers, the public, and other key constituencies.
Researchers
Professor Zsuzsa Csergő
Professor Magdalena Dembinska
Dr Kristina Kallas
Professor Ireneusz Paweł Karolewski
Professor David J Smith