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Moscow`s actions and new military, economic and political strategies have reinforced the need for an in-depth study of Russian geopolitics. Especially since Romania is situated in a challenging area, which creates and feeds complex political, historical and economic interests.
This was the conclusion of a team of specialists who proactively set the necessary framework for the development of solid expertise in the field.
Thus, Russia`s geopolitics has become the object of study and analysis for researchers from Romania and Norway, who have built a broader and deeper vision of Russia`s influence through the project "Interdisciplinary research on Russia`s geopolitics in the Black Sea and Arctic Ocean", carried out by the University of Bucharest (Romanian Center for Russian Studies) and the Fridtjof Nansen Institute in Norway.
Mihai Răzvan Ungureanu, Project Director at the University of Bucharest and Principal Researcher
"This project was a first for Romanian academia and came before Russia`s actions against Ukraine. What happened afterwards underlines once again the necessity and importance of the research topic. Both Romania and Norway share a common position in NATO`s geography, and both countries have serious, strategic interests in how Russia exploits its neighborhood", explained Mihai Răzvan Ungureanu, project director at the University of Bucharest and principal researcher.
Norway, recognized for its expertise in research on Russian geopolitics and behaviour with regard to the Arctic Ocean region, provided specialized support and the project team consisted of researchers from the University of Bucharest, representatives of the Norwegian partner and specialists trained through the doctoral and post-doctoral positions facilitated by the project.
By analyzing Russian policies, ranging from natural resource exploitation to territorial claims, this project opened the opportunity to understand Moscow`s strategies, with the main aim of investigating Russian geopolitics in the Black Sea and Arctic Ocean areas through a comparative method.
Russian propaganda, common factor of analysis for Romanian and Norwegian researchers
Among the similarities between Russia`s Black Sea and Arctic Ocean policies were Russian investments, the exploitation of oil and natural gas on the continental shelves, Russia`s claim to a larger portion of the continental shelf in the Arctic and Black Sea, Russian propaganda and the position of NATO states, including Romania and Norway, on Russia`s military strategy.
"We were interested in the Romanian project primarily because the two countries have a lot in common in relation to Russia, from their similar location and access to the sea, Romania to the Black Sea and Norway to the Bering Sea, the fact that both countries are NATO members, but especially because this initiative was supported with EEA Grants", explained Iver B. Neumann, Director of the Fridtjof Nansen Institute and Expert in Political Science and Social Anthropology.
In addition, other Russian political/military actions were also taken into account. For example, Russia`s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 was a major challenge for policymakers across Europe, who found that since the end of the Cold War in 1991 with the disintegration of the Soviet Union, academic research on Russia`s actions has dramatically reduced.
Knowledge of Russian geopolitics through interdisciplinary scholarly research has once again become necessary to provide a knowledge base for any analysis of Russian policy makers.
Norway has several research institutes studying Russia, as a result of the Russo-Norwegian dispute over Arctic resources. Today, research institutes such as the Fridtjof Nansen Institute play an important role in shaping policy towards Russia by Norwegian policy makers. This attribute as well as the expertise accumulated by the Fridtjof Nansen Institute over the years has created the favorable context for the exchange of experience and knowledge between Romania and the donor country to provide a knowledge base for any analysis of policy makers.
Ten post-doctoral research fellowships and three doctoral fellowships were awarded
With a broad approach (history, politics, anthropology), all the actions within this initiative aimed to deepen the knowledge of the complex dynamics around the Black Sea and the Arctic Ocean. The initiative paved the way for a discipline that would train specialists in the geopolitics of Russia`s Black Sea geopolitics in our country, becoming a veridical source for an effective understanding of Russian mechanisms.
In fact, the most important achievement of the project is the formation of a team of specialists with expertise in Russian relations, for which young researchers were recruited. Their selection was carried out by a team composed of representatives of both project partners.
Marius Diaconescu, scientific researcher at the University of Bucharest
„In order to understand the future and politics of Russia, political science and history research was necessary. The main gain of this project is that we had the opportunity to develop the scientific skills of young PhD and post-doctoral students on a topic that has never been tackled in Romania. They have already been trained as specialists and have had articles published in international specialized journals", underlined Marius Diaconescu, scientific researcher at the University of Bucharest.
Ten 12-month post-doctoral research fellowships and three 24-month doctoral fellowships were awarded to support the process.
"The project has been exceptional from my perspective, as it has given me the opportunity to learn and collaborate with the best in national and international academia that I would not have otherwise reached. Of course, the opportunity to study a field that I am passionate about and to benefit from the PhD scholarship was an equally important plus!", explained Laurențiu Plesca, project beneficiary and PhD student at the Doctoral School of Political Science at the University of Bucharest.
The fellows` participation in national and international conferences validated their professional training and the results of their research. The studies published by the team members, both in academic journals and in collective volumes, are visible results of the project and attest to its success. In addition, the young researchers benefited from Russian language courses, which contributed to the development of the skills and competences needed to conduct research in the Russian or former Soviet space, where Russian-language literature and information sources are most relevant.
In essence, the initiative has succeeded in creating a valuable human resource at the University of Bucharest, capable of conducting interdisciplinary research on Russia`s geopolitics, thus partially filling the lack of expertise on this topic.
Other impact actions include the comparative study through interdisciplinary analysis and the fully equipped Russian Studies Centre (specialized library, digital resources) established at the University of Bucharest.
With their help, an important data base has been established, providing a better insight into why things are going a certain way and the potential directions in which they may be heading, which are essential in a forward-looking strategy.
EEA grants have provided a sustainable research base
With the support of EEA Grants, the project has succeeded in creating a sustainable basis for further research and the development of a strengthened understanding of Russia`s geopolitics in the Black Sea and Arctic Ocean.
"EEA funding has been crucial in implementing the initiative, and the continuous flow of funding has supported our work. We have achieved clear results: articles have been published in peer-reviewed journals, two conferences have been organized in Bucharest with international participation, which gave us an overview of the policy of Romania, but also of the whole region of Central and Western Europe. We attracted young people to the topic of research and thus built and strengthened solid skills for the future", said Iver B. Neumann, Director of the Fridtjof Nansen Institute.
The partnership between the University of Bucharest and the Fridtjof Nansen Institute has lasted for more than three years, with numerous achievements such as the organization of joint conferences, papers written by members of the two partner institutions and joint scientific articles.
Romania and the donor state partners have actively supported a long-standing partnership between two academic institutions with expertise, implementing a research project in social sciences and humanities that responds to concrete societal challenges, such as the Russian interests that led to the war in Ukraine.
The financial support of the EEA Grants 2014-2021, awarded through the RO-Research Program, played a vital role in facilitating this project, with non-reimbursable funding of over €1.1 million.
The research spaces created by this initiative can continue to deliver results in the future, together with other forms of support provided, such as intensive Russian language courses, a dedicated library and online database. They will continue to make a relevant contribution to Romania. More details can be found at www.russianstudiesromania.eu/ro/proiect/
A new 10-month initiative has already been approved for funding through the Bilateral Relations Fund to develop interdisciplinary research on Russian geopolitics with a focus on the war in Ukraine.
The EEA and Norway Grants represent the contribution of Iceland, the Principality of Liechtenstein and the Kingdom of Norway to reducing economic and social disparities in the European Economic Area and to strengthening bilateral relations with the 15 beneficiary countries in Eastern and Southern Europe and the Baltic States. These funding mechanisms are established on the basis of the European Economic Area Agreement, which brings together the EU Member States and Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway as equal partners in the internal market. In total, the three countries contributed 3.3 billion euro between 1994 and 2014 and 2.8 billion euro for the 2014-2021 funding period.
More details are available at: www.eeagrants.ro and www.eeagrants.org.