War in Ukraine – crisis or rebirth for Europe?

A conversation presented as part of the Battle of Ideas Debate festival at Accelerator on November 16th 2022. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the return of war to Europe has shocked the world and appears to have upended many assumptions about how international politics operates. What are the roots of the crisis in Ukraine and what will be the implications for reshaping Europe? Is this a new moment of Western unity and a reassertion of ‘Western values’ or the return of History and deeper geopolitical tensions? If borders and nation states still need to be taken seriously, how can countries offer solidarity to others? Speakers: Alex Voronov, journalist and writer. Since Russia’s invasion he has done several trips to the Ukraine to report from the war zone. Voronov is a former political editor of Eskilstuna-Kuriren, and currently an editorial writer at Liberala Nyhetsbyrån. Maria Nilsson, Associate Professor of Journalism at the Institute of Media Studies, Stockholm University. Nilsson’s research interests include the politics of representation; questions of power, credibility and agency in visual media practices; and visual journalism and journalism in various historical and current contexts. Sabine Beppler-Spahl, author and journalist. Chair at the Freiblickinstitut, Germany correspondent for online publication Spiked.