Advertise on podcast: Transformative Podcast

Who has the power of command over the (in)famous Azov regiment, which until recently defended the Ukrainian city of Mariupol under siege and was, at last, captured by the Russian forces? What kind of ideology is really followed by the Azov fighters? How popular are right-wing ideas in Ukraine in general, and how fascist is Russia? In this episode, Dr. Anton Shekhovtsov (Center for Democratic Integrity) talks to Irena Remestwenski (RECET) about the transformations of right-wing ideas both in Russia and in Ukraine. He explains the ambiguous history of the Azov regiment, breaks down the "de-nazification" narrative followed by Russia in justifying its war of aggression in Ukraine, and questions the ideology of both the Russian regime and its population.    Anton Shekhovtsov is the Director of the Center for Democratic Integrity, based here in Vienna. He acts an expert for the European Platform for Democratic Elections, edits the book series Explorations of the Far Right for the publishing house ibidem, as well as the open access journal Fascism: Journal of Comparative Fascist Studies. His last book is titled Tango Noir: Russia and the Western Far-Right (Routledge 2018).

Western non-governmental organizations such as the World Bank played a crucial role in China’s economic reforms during the 1980s and 1990s. They facilitated dialogues between Chinese economists and their western counterparts, as well as brought in western known-how on free market economy to China, where Soviet-style planned economy had dominated the economic activities since the 1950s. In this podcast, Dr. Federico Pachetti (RECET) and Dr. Sheng Peng (RECET) discuss both the expectations and realities, which western NGOs faced during their participation in China’s great economic transformations. Federico Pachetti is an associated researcher at RECET and a post-doctoral fellow at Corvinus Institute of Advanced Studies (CIAS), Budapest. Previously, he held positions at New York University (NYU) Shanghai and at London School of Economics (LSE). Federico researches and teaches 20th century international history, with a focus on how shifting dynamics in global political economy shaped the evolution of Sino-American relations during the final decades of the century.

Overshadowed by the military aggression against Ukraine, "Memorial" was banned and forced to close in Russia. The oldest non-governmental organization in the region, dating back to the late Soviet era and Andrey Sakharov's engagement, "Memorial" has been a prominent actor in Human Rights and memory politics.  Anna Dobrovolskaya is a former Executive Director of the Human Rights Center "Memorial". In this episode, she is talking to RECET's Managing Director Irena Remestwenski on roots, activities, heritage of the movement, and not the least on hope and perspectives for democracy in Russia. 

United Europe has many dimensions. In the history of European unification, liberal projects of economic integration have coexisted and competed with ideas of social justice & solidarity, but also of Europe as a power. In this episode, RECET's Scientific Director Jannis Panagiotidis discusses the book "Europe contre Europe: Entre liberté, solidarité et puissance" with its author Laurent Warlouzet.   Laurent Warlouzet is professor at Paris Sorbonne University, chair of European history. A former postdoctoral fellow at the European University Institute and at the London School of Economics, he has published a book entitled "Governing Europe in a Globalized World. Neolibearlism and its Alternatives after 1973" (Routledge 2018). Based on British, French, German and EU archives, it explores the debate between social-democratic, neoliberal and neomercantilist policies in Western Europe between 1973 and 1986. He has also published on the history of competition and industrial policies.

Putin´s aggression against Ukraine released a landslide change in international politics, economy, academia, and public culture. Within Russia itself, it triggered an avalanche of repressive policies, which are the culmination of Russia's long-term crackdown on any form of opposition to the regime. Russia's ideological program behind the invasion re-appropriates and re-writes history, while the country itself returns to its authoritarian past. In this episode, Anastassiya Schacht (RECET) is talking to Prof. Dr. Sergey Radchenko, Wilson E. Schmidt Distinguished Professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a scholar of Cold War and Sino-Soviet security politics.

Die russische Invasion in die Ukraine ist ein Angriff auf ganz Europa. In diesen bestürzenden Zeiten steht das Forschungszentrum RECET unseren ukrainischen KollegInnen bei, die gezwungen sind, sich in Luftschutzkellern zu verstecken und für Ihre Freiheit kämpfen.   In der heutigen Sonderausgabe veröffentlichen wir neu das Interview des preisgekrönten Osteuropa-Historikers und RECET-Gründers Philipp Ther mit Einordnungen zur Lage in der Ukraine, zu den historischen Hintergründen des Konflikts und zu den Ambitionen Russlands. Die Diskussion hat Ulrich Kühn geführt.   Zuerst veröffentlicht bei: "Das Gespräch"| NDR Kultur | 27.02.2022 

Ukrainians went from being a nation of occasional voters whose rights existed mainly on paper in the 1990’s to a society with strong civil society institutions and a vibrant democracy post Maidan Revolution of 2013/14. In this episode moderated by Irena Remestwenski (RECET), Valeria Korablyova (Charles University in Prague) reflects upon the concept of performative citizenship, the role of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the new empowered Ukrainian citizen who is willing to make a difference in the political field. Dr. Valeria Korablyova is Senior Research Fellow at Charles University, Department of East European Studies. She received her habilitation in 2015 from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, where she worked as Professor of Philosophy. Her research interests include post-Communist transformations in Ukraine and East Central Europe with a specific focus on mass protests and nation-building.

The Covid-19 pandemic has shown the world the importance of coordinating health policies at a global level. What can we learn from the history and politics of global health? In this episode, moderated by Anna Calori (RECET), Dora Vargha reflects upon the role of the socialist world in shaping the recent history of medicine, as well as current approaches to global health and epidemics.   Dora Vargha is Professor of History and Medical Humanities at the University of Exeter and at Humboldt University, Berlin. She is principal investigator of the ERC-funded project “Socialist Medicine: an Alternative Global Health History”, and the “Connecting3Worlds” Wellcome Trust collaborative project.

The first week of January 2022 was largely shaped by news of protests rapidly escalating all across Kazakhstan. In the span of only a few days, the situation changed from nationwide peaceful protests citing economic reasons, over demands for political change, violent rallies and lootings in the country´s largest city, to what appears as a coup, resulting from a power struggle between the former and the current presidents. With the latter calling in the foreign troops, and Russia significantly involved yet again - the week has seen a landslide change in the political landscape of the world´s 9th largest country - and of the whole Central Asian region.   Anastassiya Schacht is an associated researcher at RECET. Here, she speaks with Viktoria Morasch, a journalist working for newspapers Die Zeit and Tageszeitung. 

In the last days of the Habsburg monarchy, Vienna vied with Prague for the title of the largest Czech city. Today, a tiny fraction of the Austrian capital’s population would identify as Czech. Nonetheless, community centers and clubs established during the heyday of Czech migration continue to exist. In this episode of the Transformative Podcast, Rosamund Johnston (RECET) speaks to two of those most involved in their maintenance, Mojmír Stránský (RECET) and Dr. Věra Gregorová. Introducing Czech Vienna’s landmarks and associations, Stránský and Gregorová reflect upon why these spaces continue to be relevant, and indeed upon these sites’ new significance in a city once again characterized by multilingualism and migration.   Mojmír Stránský is completing a dissertation on voluntary organizations in Czechoslovakia and Austria (1980-2000) at the University of Vienna. He also works in the history department at the Komenský Gymnasium. Dr. Věra Gregorová is the director of Vienna’s Hotel Post and the Czech Heart association based in this building.

How did the discovery of oil in Persia transform Persian society and British imperialism in the Middle East at the turn of the century? In this episode moderated by Dr. Sheng Peng (RECET), Leonardo Davoudi explores the formal and informal dealings of politicians, investors, civil servants, and intermediaries during the development of the Persian petroleum industry from its uncertain beginnings to becoming one of British Empire’s most valuable pocessions in the Middle East.   Dr. Leonardo Davoudi is an associate member of Oxford University’s History Faculty and a researcher with the Global History of Capitalism project at the Oxford Centre for Global History. He is the author of “Persian Petroleum: Oil, Empire and Revolution in Late Qajar Iran” (Bloomsbury Academic, 2020). His research interests lie at the intersection of imperialism and capitalism.

How have technologies, politics, and social expectations transformed the work of journalists in Central Europe over the past three decades? And which journalistic practices and market forces might combine to characterize a “Central European” media environment?   In this episode of the Transformative Podcast, Rosamund Johnston (RECET) speaks to Gerald Schubert, a reporter on Central and Eastern Europe for Austrian newspaper Der Standard. He reflects on a career spanning 20 years in both the Czech Republic and Austria, and on a “worsening” situation for journalists today in both of these states, as well as elsewhere in Europe.