Narratives on Civilization and Barbarity During the War in Ukraine

Russia’s war in Ukraine re-actualized the old opposition between civilization and barbarity, and modified it according to the current state of academic debate in security studies. In her presentation Dr. Yuliia Kurnyshova will discuss how the interwoven concepts of civilization and barbarity can be used as analytical categories for understanding the multiple political layers of Russia’s war against Ukraine and its repercussions for international security. The contrasting juxtaposition of these two concepts is instrumental not for reproducing simplistic political binaries, but rather for a more nuanced analysis of the emerging security discourses.

Dr. Yuliia Kurnyshova is a Project Researcher at the Centre for Baltic and East European Studies (CBEES), Södertörn University. Her research focuses on political and security implications of Russia’s war against Ukraine. A historian by training, she employs interdisciplinary approaches to analyze the political discourse surrounding the war. Prior to her current role, she worked as an analyst specializing in foreign policy and security issues at the National Institute for Strategic Studies and the Institute for Social and Economic Research in Kyiv. Following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, she held postdoctoral research positions at the University of Bremen (Germany) and the University of Copenhagen (Denmark).