NEWS
Event on Security and Defence in the South Caucasus
Friday, January 31st, 2025 at 9:00 am to 12:30 pm
Partner David Sichinava will speak at an event held at the Ottawa Art Gallery, titled: “Security and Defence in the South Caucasus: Armenia and Georgia on the Edge”.
Event Description: The South Caucasus have emerged as a geopolitical fulcrum since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, engaging emergent and existing global powers in this complex ethnic and political landscape. Security and defence issues remain paramount since Russia’s invasion of Georgia in 2008, Ukraine in 2014 and 2022, and the conflicts over Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) in 2020 and 2023. Armenia and Georgia, the focus of this workshop, each balance efforts to maintain sovereignty with the realization that regional and global powers—including Turkey, Russia and China— retain significant interest in their territories, resources and populations. Armenia has turned towards the West for military assistance, even if its efforts to pivot from Russia are challenged by legacies of economic and military interdependence. Georgia’s government has made a hard turn from Europe and towards Russia, against the wishes of its population. This workshop will examine multiple facets of regional security and defence, from military capabilities and alliances to cybersecurity and domestic issues that include food security and climate change.
This will be a hybrid event with a limited number of in-person spaces. Please register using the form below to secure attendance either an in person or online. EETN will notify those who are able to attend in person prior to the event. Preferences for in person attendance will be taken into consideration but cannot be guaranteed due to limited capacity.
For more information, see the website…
Newly Released Publication
5 December 2024
We are pleased to announce that partner David Sichinava, in collaboration with EURUS Professors Jeff Sahadeo and MA student Baia Kotrikdaze, has published a policy brief titled 'Power and Protest: Georgians Fighting for their European Dream'through the Eastern European and Transatlantic Network (EETN).
See:
Sahadeo, J., Sichinava, D., & Kotrikdaze, B. (2024). Power and protest: Georgians fighting for their European dream [Policy brief]. Eastern European and Transatlantic Network.
Workshop - The Impact of the War in Ukraine on the EU and its Eastern Policy
5 December 2024
Partner David Sichinava will speak at a workshop held by Carleton’s Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence, titled: “The Impact of the War in Ukraine on the EU and its Eastern Policy”.
About the workshop: European and Canadian experts will explore how Russia’s war on Ukraine is affecting the European Union, both in its domestic and foreign affairs, including enlargement, agricultural and energy policies, internal unity/disunity, transatlantic relations, and relations with neighbouring countries.
This workshop is an in-person event only.
Newly Released Publication
September 2024
We are pleased to announce that work by partners Suzanne Harris-Brandts, David Gogishvili, D., & David Sichinava has recently been published!
See:
Harris-Brandts, S., Gogishvili, D., & Sichinava, D. (2024). #SpendYourSummerInGeorgia: Popular Geopolitics and Tourism Marketing in Georgia-Russian Relations, Social and Cultural Geography, 1-19.
Event on Elections in Georgia
30 October 2024
Partner David Sichinava will speak at the event held by Carleton’s Institute of European, Russian and Eurasian Studies, titled: “Elections in Georgia: Between Europe and Russia”.
Event Description: Elections in Georgia on October 26 will determine its path: a pro-European orientation or one linked to Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Georgian Dream, the ruling party, has taken steps to stifle civil society and turn Georgia into an illiberal democracy along the lines of Victor Orban’s Hungary. A divided but strong opposition seeks to continue to the path of European Union integration. The War in Ukraine casts a long shadow as do pocketbook issues. The outcome is impossible to predict, as is how various parties will react especially given the possibility of election manipulation. A roundtable of speakers that include Carleton experts and those on the ground in Georgia will discuss the election results and post-election fallout.
Panel on Unban Influx in Tbilisi
16 November 2023
Hosted by The Institute for Russian, European and Eurasian Studies and the School of Public Affairs, University of South Florida, Suzanne Harris-Brandts and David Sichinava participate in a panel discussion alongside fellow researchers Dr. Stephen Jones and Dr. Joseph Salukvadze, focused on the impact of Russian urban influx on Tbilisi.
Newly Released Publication
October 2024
We are pleased to announce that work by partner Suzanne Harris-Brandts has recently been published!
See:
Harris-Brandts, S. (2024). Heritage Diplomacy, Neo-Ottomanism, and a Local Quest for a New Place of Worship: The Politics of Mosque Building in Batumi, Georgia. Fabrications, 34(2). Special issue: What is “shared”? Architectural Heritage in Conflict, (Guest Editors: Savia Palate and Panayiota Pyla), 1-22.
SSHRC Insight Grant
2021 - 2026
Assistant Professor Suzanne Harris-Brandts, alongside colleagues at Trent University and Ilia State University, has been awarded a five-year Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) 2020 Insight Grant.
The $152,000 grant will fund research titled Gardens Otherwise and Elsewhere: A Historical and Ethnographic Study of Georgian Gardens. It brings together a multidisciplinary team to study six landscape typologies in the Republic of Georgia.
This research builds on Harris-Brandts’ existing scholarship investigating the socio-political dimensions of architecture and urbanism in Georgia. It also expands her work to include a closer reading of the role of landscape in the country’s politics and social relations.
Public Roundtable Discussion on Ukraine
March 2, 2022 at 1:00 PM to 2:30 PM
David Sichinava contributes to a roundtable discussion on Wednesday March 2 at 1 pm (EST) at Carleton University’s EURUS program, entitled: “Russia’s War on Ukraine.” After months of military and rhetorical escalation between Ukraine, Russia, and the West, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine early on February 24. While the outcome remains unclear, it is certain that relations between all parties are likely to be irretrievably changed for the long term. This roundtable will assess the implications of Russia’s war from a variety of perspectives including the response of Ukraine and Ukrainians, Russian domestic politics, Europe’s role and response, and the lessons learned from the 2008 Russian-Georgian war.
The roundtable will feature Joan DeBardeleben, Paul Goode, Milana Nikolko, and David Sichinava.
Registration is required: please register below to receive the Zoom link before the event..
Newly Released Publication
October 2021
David Sichinava contributes a chapter to the book Eastern Block Stories: Visualising Large Housing Estates From Post-Socialist Cities, which features a dozen articles and over 60 unique hand-picked images about mass-housing estates in former communist states. The book aims to address the blind spots to take a closer look at the major challenges for post-socialist housing estates today and imagine what could be their future. Besides stories from Georgia, Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, and Germany, unique photographic material—which covers cases from more than ten countries—is included. The book unveils the diversity of the Eastern bloc and the richness of its urban context, beyond a stigmatizing and alienating gaze.
Panel on Sustainable Construction
03 December 2021
Hosted by Bosch Alumni Network, Suzanne Harris-Brandts participates in an online panel discussion alongside fellow urban planners, researchers, and advocates Dr. Levente Polyak and Dr. Iuliia Eremenko, focused on sustainable construction.
Research Roundtables in Methodology
23 September 2021
September 23rd, at 18:00 Tbilisi time, the project: “Tbilisi as an Urban Assemblage” (Funded by the Rustaveli Foundation) and the Doctoral Program of Anthropology at Ilia State University invite you to a talk by Suzanne Harris-Brandts Assistant Professor, Carleton University and David Sichinava Instructor, Carleton University
Public Lecture - Trialog Annual Conference
09 September 2021
Join Suzanne Harris-Brandts for an online panel discussion on “In-Between World”: Cooperation and collaboration between Western actors and Eastern European urban initiatives and NGOs,” organized by Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, Netherlands. The event is hosted as a part of the Trialog Annual Conference 2021: Changing Voices? European Civil Society in the Global Urban Development Discourse. It also featured presentations by six other participants.
Public Lecture - Land and Memory
January 2021
Partner Suzanne Harris-Brandts moderates a panel discussion on land and memory organized by D.Talks . The evening was hosted in partnership with the Calgary Public Library. It started with an introduction by Kelli Morning Bull and a blessing by Elder Treffrey Deerfoot who brought forward ideas of not wanting to over-harvest resources and of welcoming newcomers. There was much in this blessing that started the discussion on the right foot, that of revealing a connection to the land.
Newly Released Publication
December 2020
We are pleased to announce that work by partner Suzanne Harris-Brandts was recently interviewed for the publication .galt! Find it here in Issue 3: Burning
Newly Released Publication
September 2020
We are pleased to announce that work by partner David Sichinava has recently been published!
See:
Sichinava, D. (2020). Elections, Political Parties and Social Change in Georgia (2003-2016). In Jones, S.F., & MacFarlane, N. (Eds.), Georgia: From Autocracy to Democracy. University of Toronto Press
Newly Released Publication
September 2020
We are pleased to announce that work by partner David Sichinava has recently been published!
On Urban Activism, see:
Rekhviashvili, L., Sichinava, D., & Berikishvili, E. (2020). Urban protest movements in Tbilisi: movements are strong, but big capital is stronger. In Dariyeva, T., & Neugebauer, C.S. (Eds.), Urban Activism in Eastern Europe and Eurasia. DOM Publishers.
Collective Domain Selected to Participate in the 2020 Tbilisi Architecture Biennial
August 2020
We are pleased to announce that we will be participating in this year’s Tbilisi Architecture Biennial under the category of ‘Educational activity / Workshop,’ with our project entitled: ‘Build it and they will come.’
Collective Domain Conducts Six Focus Groups in Batumi
January 2020
As a part of project “Socio-Spatial Georgia: The Social Impacts of Large Urban Development Projects on Batumi and Tbilisi” our team conducted six focus groups with local Batumi residents. Stay tuned as this research further develops!
Collective Domain Participates in Green Mobilisations in the Cities of Central Asia and South Caucasus (GreeMo)
November 2019
As a part of the GreeMo research collaboration, Collective Domain will present research on “Opportunities for Activist-Academic Collaboration in Soviet-era Mono-towns” and will lead a day of city tours in Tbilisi for event participants.
Collective Domain Conducts Six Focus Groups in Tbilisi
August 2019
As a part of project “Socio-Spatial Georgia: The Social Impacts of Large Urban Development Projects on Batumi and Tbilisi” our team conducted six focus groups with local Tbilisi residents. Stay tuned as this research further develops!
Collective Domain Participates in the International Forum ‘Land-Use and Urban Planning Practices in Cities of EU Associated Countries’
1-2 March 2019
As a part of the 2019 U-Forum, Collective Domain will present research on “Understanding Social Restructuring and Urban Renewal Strategies” and will lead the discussion sessions of a number of panels.
GRANT ANNOUNCEMENT
Collective Domain Wins 2019 Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation Grant
FEBRUARY 2019
Under the project Title: “The Social Impacts of Large Urban Development Projects on Batumi and Tbilisi” our team will conduct three years of qualitative and quantitative research.
Collective Domain Conducts Eight Focus Groups in Tskaltubo
FEBRUARY 2019
As a part of our ongoing research on place meanings, building re-activation, and support for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Georgia, we conducted eight focus groups with local residents and IDPs. The idea is to get a sense of local impressions regarding urban renewal and resettlement.
Our Database of Infographics is Now Online!
June 2018
As a part of our ongoing research on the erosion of public space, we have just launched our online database of infographics related to Tbilisi. Be sure to check it out! Our data is available for fair use under Creative Commons (cc).
https://www.kolektiuri.com/media
Our Database of Tbilisi Public Space Infringements is Now Online!
June 2018
As a part of our ongoing research on the erosion of public space, we have just launched our online database mapping infringements in Tbilisi. Be sure to check it out! Our data is available for fair use under Creative Commons (cc).
Collective Domain Website Launched!
20 February 2018
We are excited to announce that the Collective Domain website is now online! Stay tuned for further content updates.