CfP: The symposium “War in Ukraine - prospects for the interdisciplinary post-Soviet urban research”

from February 22-24, 2023

in Kongresszentrum Schloss Herrenhausen, Herrenhäuser Str. 5, 30419 Hannover, Germany

Dear colleagues,

Since the last year, we have all been influenced by the significant social, political and economic consequences of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine that equally affected interdisciplinary post-Soviet and postsocialist urban research. As an international academic community researching in this context, we have perceived these events as highly critical, which urged us to initiate a platform for identifying short- and medium-term research perspectives and exploring new possibilities for research dialogue with colleagues from the post-Soviet and postsocialist space.

The symposium “War in Ukraine - prospects for the interdisciplinary post-Soviet urban research”, supported by The Volkswagen Foundation, aims to offer a constructive and open atmosphere to reflect on and systematize the consequences of the current developments for interdisciplinary urban research related to Eastern Europe. In addition, we see this occasion as an opportunity to discuss existing chances and limits for cooperation and networking under the given circumstances. Based on this, and as far as possible, we will also identify socio-political and spatially relevant core topics for urban research and regional networking, and to provide solutions for methodological, organizational and ethical challenges of the "(Cold) War science".

Core issues that we have in mind so fare, are the new urban migration patterns, identity and cohesion structures, new infrastructural problems, war-related physical destruction, but also the increasingly authoritarian and neoliberal urban development policies as an expression of changed governance arrangements that newly exclude civil society and professional expertise. Looking forward an intense meeting, we would like to invite four further participants who are eager to discuss these and further issues at the symposium in Hannover, Germany!

If you are interested and able to participant in person, than please apply at short hand by December 20th, 2o22! Please keep your application short by briefly outlining your motivation and possible contribution to the symposium! Please send your application to

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All travel and accommodation expenses will be covered.

We are looking forward to welcoming you in Hannover next year!

Yours Sincerely,

Elena Batunova, Nebosja Camprag, Barbara Engel, Annegret Haase & Carola Neugebauer