NEWS

In June 2024, EUVIP team organized two major events, the Summer School “Navigating Geostrategic Dynamics in the Indo-Pacific: Focus on Southeast Asia and Myanmar” (17 – 21 June 2024) and the Interdisciplinary Myanmar Conference “Myanmar's International Role: More Than a Buffer State” (21 – 23 June 2024). After both events, satisfaction surveys were sent to the participants. The purpose of these surveys was twofold: to gather valuable feedback on various aspects of the events and to identify areas for improvement in future events.

The full report summary and detailed reports with visualized data are available here: https://cloud.ff.upol.cz/index.php/s/SmeqdM2gNLEGDHr

The Myanmar Studies Center (MSC@UP) was established on 15 May 2024 at the Department of Asian Studies at the Faculty of Arts, Palacký University Olomouc. The Center is dedicated to promoting interdisciplinary research and teaching focused on Myanmar. Moreover, it will organize events and activities to deepen awareness of Myanmar's culture, society, and politics in the Czech Republic and beyond. Meet the team behind the MSC and check out the latest activities or published blog posts on the MSC website: https://msc.upol.cz/en/.

The Department of Asian Studies at Palacký University Olomouc is looking for postdoctoral researchers who wish to develop their research on:

1) EU’s role in the Indo-Pacific as a strategic, security or economic actor or as a normative power,

2) Myanmar or a Southeast Asian or global topic of relevance to Myanmar.

Apply for MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships 2024 at UP under the supervision of Alfred Gerstl or Kristina Kironska, and start preparing your application with EUVIP key researchers — outstanding experts in the field — and a dedicated team of research support managers.

Submit a research outline, CV and a separate list with 5 most important publications of the 5 last years to alfred.gerstl@upol.cz or kristina.kironska@upol.cz by 31 May 2024.

See flyers for details on both topics and application procedure.

Three years after the failed military coup in Myanmar, there is genuine hope within the country for democratic resistance. By the end of 2023 and into the beginning of 2024, Myanmar reached a turning point, with significant successes achieved by the revolutionary movement, particularly on the battlefield. For the first time since the coup, there is a growing possibility that the resistance movement may prevail against the military dictatorship.

Read the new article summarizing the perspectives of the political situation in Myanmar, written by Kristina Kironska for ResetDOC: https://www.resetdoc.org/story/myanmar-struggle-freedom-three-years-after-military-coup/.

The Dalai Lama’s absence from Taiwan since 2009, attributed to mounting pressure from China, has not deterred the persistent calls from the Taiwanese populace for his visit. However, the extent to which this desire represents a mainstream or minority viewpoint remains unclear. This raises questions about the motivations behind the Taiwanese people’s appeals for the Dalai Lama to visit the country. Is this driven by religious sentiments, or is it politically motivated? A new research article by Kristina Kironska and Mei-Lin Pan, published by Brill in the International Journal of Taiwan Studies (01 Feb 2024, pp. 1-27, E-ISSN: 2468-8800) delves into these inquiries.

Can the Chinese digital currency challenge the US dollar’s global dominance? The new article by Monique Taylor explores the purpose, progress, and strategic political motivations driving China’s development of the digital yuan in the context of China’s broader economic and political strategies, including enhancing financial inclusion, centralising the nation’s payment ecosystem—currently dominated by private fintech players—and potentially challenging the US dollar’s global dominance. It also assesses its possible impacts on international trade, while addressing the challenges it faces in gaining global acceptance.

New publication: Explore the rapid expansion of China's fintech landscape and its far-reaching consequences for both the financial markets and the broader Chinese society. Read the full article by Monique Taylor, published by the Institute for Security and Development Policy in November Asia Paper edition here: https://www.isdp.eu/publication/from-alipay-to-the-digital-yuan-chinas-fintech-revolution/.

On 16 October, EUVIP invited guest Heribert Dieter gave a lecture on the evolution of the political and economic systems of India and its current challenges. The lecture took place at Palacký University Olomouc, both in physical and online format. The recording is now available to download.

The new normal, as defined by the EISA PEC conference in Potsdam, Germany (5–9 September 2023), represents an "altered political, economic, and social order arising out of a period of crisis". The invited speakers, including EUVIP researcher Monique Taylor, discussed what a new normal could look like in (geo)political, social, economic, ethical, and also scientific terms. Monique contributed with two presentations on the topic of 1) The Geoconomics of ICT in a Changing Global Order and 2) The Indo-Pacific Concept and Non-Traditional Security. Both presentations can be downloaded under "Read more" button. See more about the conference here: https://pec2023.eisa-net.org/. 

Journal of Chinese Political Science (JCPS), of which Julie Yu-Wen Chen (UH) is an editor, is a high ranking academic journal that publishes articles on Chinese politics with focus on domestic politics, foreign policy and related aspects. JCPS’ impact factor is now 4.4. and it ranks 18 in Political Science and top 1 in Area Studies. Read more about JCPS here: https://www.springer.com/journal/11366.

See a new article by Monique Taylor published for the Institute for Security & Development Policy, Stockholm. The text analyses the aims and strategic rationale of the partnership AUKUS with focus on its attitude towards China and its attemps to develop and equip partners with leading-edge military technologies under a minilateral institutional arrangement. Read the full article here: https://isdp.eu/publication/aukus-advanced-capabilities-and-defense-integration-in-the-indo-pacific/

The Working Group for Scientific Economic Policy (Arbeitsgemeinschaft für wissenschaftliche Wirtschaftspolitik, WIWIPOL) is a non-profit association focusing on identification and anaysis of actual economic policy issues. On 4 July, Alfred Gerstl participated as a panelist at the conference organized by WIWIPOL to discuss strategies to reduce economic dependencies on China by diversifying investments in Southeast Asia. Watch the full video here: https://fb.watch/mhJOKCyRBj/.

A new book chapter published by Routledge in the book titled Taiwan and Southeast Asia: Soft Power and Hard Truths Facing China’s Ascendancy, eBook ISBN: 9781003320463, was published on June 16, 2023 and made available online: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003320463 Read the full chapter on Zenodo: https://zenodo.org/record/8048088 Congratulation to the author and EUVIP researcher Kristina Kironska!

A week full of talks on Open Science and Research Data Management. Experts from both universities met and discussed strategies, support services and further plans developed at both institutions with one simple aim – to establish future joint goals.