A Just Peace for Ukraine? Positions on a Current Debate

The panel discussion "A Just Peace for Ukraine? Positions on a Current Debate" explores the evolving global perspectives on the ongoing Russian war against Ukraine. Experts will examine the complexities surrounding efforts for peace, addressing the challenges of diplomacy, territorial integrity, and international responses considering recent developments. The event will offer insights into the key debates shaping the future of Ukraine and its path toward peace amidst ongoing geopolitical tensions.

Participants

Cindy Wittke

Prof. Dr. Cindy Wittke is head of the Political Science Research Group at the Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies (IOS) in Regensburg. Her research is situated at the intersections between international law, international politics, peace and conflict research, and area studies. In “Denkraum Ukraine” / “Think Space Ukraine”, she is co-coordinator of the thematic line “War, Peace and Post-War Order”. Cindy Wittke is the author of a monograph on peace agreements published by Cambridge University Press, as well as numerous articles in peer-reviewed international journals. In the fall of 2024, her first nonfiction book for a wider audience was published by Quadriga Verlag/Bastei Lübbe: Frieden verhandeln im Krieg. Russlands Krieg, Chancen auf Frieden und die Kunst des Verhandelns (co-author: Mandy Ganske-Zapf).

Gerhard Gnauck

Dr. Gerhard Gnauck is a researcher at Mykola Haievoi Center for Modern History, founded by LMU Munich and UCU Lviv, as well as the Center’s coordinator of public relations. After studies at Mainz University and FU Berlin, Gnauck was the “Die Welt” correspondent in Warsaw, for Poland, Ukraine, the Baltic states (and temporarily Belarus). 2018-2024 he was the Frankfurter Allgemeine (FAZ) correspondent in the same capacity. His books: “Parteien und Nationalismus in Russland” (1996), „Marcel Reich-Ranicki’s Polish-Jewish-German life“ (2009), „Polen verstehen“ (2018) etc. 

Nikolai Klimeniouk

Nikolai Klimeniouk, born in Sevastopol, Ukraine, studied English and Russian literature in Moscow and Berlin. Since mid-1990ies he has been writing for German and Russian media. Since 2000, while living in Moscow, he was editor and writer with Forbes Russia, Bolshoy Gorod, Snob.ru. After his return to Berlin in 2014, he has been contributing to Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, FAZ, Neue Zürcher Zeitung and other media on Russian and Ukrainian society and politics.

Guido Hausmann

Prof. Dr. Guido Hausmann is Head of the History Division at the Leibniz-Institute for East and Southeast European Studies and Professor at the University of Regensburg. Guido Hausmann is Co-Chair of the DAAD Center for interdisciplinary Ukrainian Studies “Denkraum Ukraine” / “Think Space Ukraine”, co-chair of the German-Ukrainian Historical Commission and a member of the Jean Monnet Network “Challenges and Opportunities for EU Heritage Diplomacy in Ukraine”, coordinated by Catholic University Leuven (2023-2026). Guido Hausmann is project leader of “Commodity Frontiers in Eastern Europe. Environment and Societies at Global Risk (16th-21st Centuries)”, and subproject leader of “The Rise of a Manganese Ore Frontier in Western Georgia and Southeast Ukraine, end of 19th Century – 1950s” (Leibniz Collaborative Excellence Programme, 2025-2028).
His scientific interests encompass modern history of Ukraine in comparative perspective, in particular state building (1918, 1991), urban history, social and economic history.

This event is part of the Winter School “Ukraine’s Cultural Heritage: EU Diplomacy and Regional Perspectives”. The Winter School is part of the initiatives of the project “HER-UKR: Challenges and Opportunities for EU Heritage Diplomacy in Ukraine“ that is co-funded by the European Union within the framework of the ERASMUS+ Jean Monnet Policy Debate action and of the Center for Interdisciplinary Ukrainian studies “Denkraum Ukraine” / “Think Space Ukraine” funded by the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) with funds from the Federal Foreign Office (AA). The event is organized in close cooperation with the following partner universities: the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy (Kyiv, Ukraine), Södertörn University (Stockholm, Sweden), Ilia State University (Tbilisi, Georgia) and in Germany with the Ukrainian Free University (UFU, Munich), the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, and the Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies (IOS) Regensburg.