Round table “Helping Syrian Refugees: Humanitarian, Economic and Political Aspects”

The roundtable was attended by members of the Student Research Association of the MSU School of World Politics who have been sharpening their analytical skills studying the internationalization of the Syrian conflict throughout the Spring Semester of the 2019.

The lists of speakers (in order of presentation):

1. Konstantin Truevtsev (PhD in History, Senior Research Fellow of the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies, Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS); Associate Professor at the Chair of Regional Issues of World Politics at the School of World Politics, MSU) examined the impact of the internal and external migration of Syrians (since the beginning of conflict) on the ethno-religious composition of the Syrian society and its long-term political consequences.
2. Aleksandr  Demchenko(PhD in History, Academic Secretary, RAS Institute of Oriental Studies, RAS; Associate Professor at the Chair of Regional Issues of World Politics at the School of World Politics, MSU) – presented his assessment of the impact of a massive influx of Syrian refugees on demographics, economics, and politics of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
3. Altunay Aliyeva (Junior Research Fellow of the School of World Politics, the CSDS expert) shared her views on the Republic of Turkey’s policies towards the Syrian refugees, the challenges they have been facing in Turkey and the prospects for their return to homeland.
4. Aleksey Solomatin (the CSDS expert) examined the role of Gulf countries in providing assistance to Syrian refugees and the countries hosting them.
5. Olga Potemkina (Doctor of Political Science, Head of Department of European Integration at the Institute of Europe, RAS; Professor at the Chair of Regional Issues of World Politics at the School of World Politics, MSU) examined the data on number of Syrians who received refugee status in the EU, their social characteristics and a role in the labor market, and political consequences of the migration crisis in the European Union.
6. Luibov Bisson (PhD in Political Science, Senior Research Fellow at the Department of European Integration at the Institute of Europe, RAS) focused on the impact of influx of Syrian refugees on the public opinion and political discourse in the EU member states.
7. Lida Oganisyan (Lecturer at the Department of International Organizations and World Political Processes, the CSDS expert) examined the European Union’s role in supporting Syrian refugees in neighboring countries, namely in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey.
8. Olga Kulkova (Senior Research Fellow of the Center for the Studies of Russian-African Relations and Africa’s Foreign Policy at the Institute for African Studies, RAS; the CSDS expert) devoted her presentation to the particularities of the UK assistance to Syrian refugees within the United Kingdom and to the neighboring countries in the Middle East.
9. Oxana Popova (Senior Lecturer at the Chair of International Organizations and World Political Process, School of World Politics, MSU; the CSDS expert) examined the role of Germany on helping Syrian refugees both on its territory and in other countries.
10. Vladimir Bartenev (PhD in History, Director of the Center for Security and Development Studies, Associate Professor at the Chair of International Organizations and World Political Processes at the School of World Politics, MSU) examined the U.S. position on helping Syrian refugees in the broader context of its policy in the Middle East.
11. Luiza Khlebnikova (PhD in History, Deputy Director for International and Public Affairs of the Center for Security and Development Studies, Research Fellow of the School of World Politics, MSU) revealed internal political contradictions in the United States on helping Syrian refugees during the Obama and Trump administrations.
12. Aida Petrosyan (Post-graduate student of the Chair of Regional Problems of World Politics at the School of World Politics, MSU) assessed the impact of the armed conflict in Syria on the life of the Armenian community in the SAR, whose representatives – in large numbers - had to leave the country.
13. Vasiliy Kuznetsov (PhD in History, Director of the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies of the Institute of Oriental Studies, RAS and Associate Professor at the Chair of Regional Problems of World Politics at the School of World Politics, MSU) focused on political aspects of the return of Syrian refugees and the prospects for economic reconstruction of Syria, partial transformation of the Damascus, Moscow and key regional actors’ positions, as well as opportunities and risks each of the interested parties sees in these processes.