UNIVERSITY OF PÉCS

FACULTY OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

Group for Central and Southeast European Political Research

NAVIGATING SYSTEMIC CHANGE:

POLITICAL RESPONSES IN CENTRAL AND SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

International Symposium

May 9, 2025 Pécs, Hungary

Venues

Symposium Venue: Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Pécs Regional Committee
Address: 7624, Pécs, Jurisics Miklós u. 44.

Symposium Dinner: Fordan Centre, 7622 Pécs, Bajcsy-Zs. Endre utca 14-16.

Programme Schedule

WELCOME REMARKS AND PANEL 1.

9:00-10:30

Challenges of Academic Journals in the field of Political Science

Panelists:

Artur Adamczyk – Studia Europejskie/Studies in European Affairs (Poland)
Čedomir Markov – Filozofija i društvo/Philosophy and Society (Serbia)
Gábor Lux – Tér és Társadalom/Space and Society (Hungary)
István Tarrósy – Afrika Tanulmányok/Hungarian Journal of African Studies (Hungary)
Moderator: Péter Kacziba – Pólusok/Polarities (Hungary)

PANEL 2. TRANSFORMATION OF POLITICAL REGIMES AND SYSTEMS

10:45 – 12:15, Chair: Péter Szegedi

Michal Pink, Masaryk University
The shape of Czech local elections in a multi-level urban political environment
László Kákai, University of Pécs
Back to the past? Democracy fatigue in Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans?
Katarina Basel, Masaryk University
Foreign or Ours? Electoral Participation of Foreigners in the Czech Republic
Péter Szegedi, University of Pécs
Local Party Organizations as Social Intermediaries in the Case of The Hungarian TwoTailed Dog Party

PANEL 3. REGIONAL SECURITY
10:45 – 12:15, Chair: István Tarrósy
Tomasz Stępniewski, The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin

Shifting Security Landscape in Eastern Europe: Strategic Consequences of Russia’s Full-Scale Invasion of

Ukraine

Nicholaos Raptopoulos, University of Piraeus

The War in Ukraine, Turkey and the recent enlargement of NATO: a client’s strategy to settle accounts with

the western patron(s)?

Samat Kozhobaev – Danilo Lorenzo S. Delos Santos – Zoltán Vörös, University of Pécs

The Chinese presence in Southeast Europe in a Global Context

Andrea Schmidt, University of Pécs

Reshaped Integration Models in Central and Eastern Europe in the Crossroads of Changing Political

Environment

Lunch break (12:15 – 13:30)

 

PANEL 4. DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AND TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS

13:30 – 15:00, Chair: Péter Kacziba

Norbert Merkovity, University of Szeged

Digital Transformation in Political Campaigning: The Evolution of Online Strategies in Hungary and Serbia

Adam Szymański, University of Warsaw (online)

The impact of AI on contemporary democracy

Özgün Erler Bayır, University of Istanbul (online)

Digitalization and Transformation of the State: The Case of Türkiye

Anna Urbanovics, University of Public Service

The Role of Central Europe in the EU’s Cybersecurity Cooperation Landscape

PANEL 5. FOREIGN POLICY CONCEPTS AND SHIFTS

13:30 – 15:00, Chair: Viktor Glied

István Tarrósy and Márk Palócz, University of Pécs

Hungarian foreign policy in changing systemic contexts: Relations with South Africa

Viktor Glied, University of Pécs

From post-truth to superpragmatism – New foreign policy directions in Central Europe

Gabriella Thomázy, University of Public Service

Citizenship and Migrant Integration: A Comparison of Hungary and Spain

Deák Máté, University of Pécs

Hungarian and Central European political ties in a shifting Latin America

PANEL 6. GEOPOLITICAL CHALLENGES

15:15 – 16:45, Chair: Máté Deák

Zoltán Egeresi, University of Public Service

Rise of Turkey after the fall of Assad regime

Artur Adamczyk, University of Warsaw

Additional Political Criteria in the EU Enlargement Process – Challenges for the Balkan Countries

Zoltán Lechner, University of Pécs

Romania’s Black Sea Geostrategy in the context of Turkey’s Regional Role

Kata Murányi, University of Pécs

Popular Geopolitics – Research Perspectives

PANEL 7. ECONOMIC RESILIENCE AND COMPETITIVENESS

15:15 – 16:45, Chair: Andrea Schmidt

Attila Pánovics, University of Pécs

Environmental Sustainability and the Use of Nuclear Energy

Szintia Tamás, University of Public Service

The Economic Relations Between Poland and Hungary After Their European Union Accession

Anna Urbanovics, University of Public Service

Research Excellence and Competitiveness in Central Europe: The Case of ERC Grant Participation

Richárd Kószó, University of Szeged

Rule of law in the political system of the European Union

Polarities/Pólusok

Journal of Political and International Studies

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences