Institute of International Relations and Political Science

Sukurta: 08 July 2018

tspmi 10 Vokiečių, LT-01130 Vilnius

Tel. 251 4130, fax 251 4134

E-mail:

Director – Prof. Dr. Ramūnas Vilpišauskas

STAFF

44 teachers (incl. 30 holding research degree), 4 research fellows (incl. 2 holding research degree), 17 doctoral students.

DEPARTMENTS OF THE FACULTY

Department of European Studies
Department of International Relations
Department of Political Theory

RESEARCH AREAS

Transformations of Lithuanian Political life: Theory and Practice
Development of the European Union after Lisbon Treaty
International Politics: Problems, Research Methods and Challenges for Lithuanian Foreign Policy

DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS DEFENDED IN 2017

V. Beržiūnas. Lithuanian foreign policy formation and the factors of identity.

A. Pūras. The many faces of Jean Monnet: European identity projects in scholarly narratives.

MAIN CONFERENCES ORGANIZED IN 2017

International conference Bridging Gender Research and Policy Making (At-Gender Annual Conference)
International conference The EU and Eastern Partnership Countries: An Inside-Out Analysis and Strategic Assessment (EU-STRAT Mid-term conference)
National conference Meeting the Centenary: The Trajectories of Lithuanian Statehood

DEPARTMENT OF EUROPEAN STUDIES

10 Vokiečių, LT-01130 Vilnius

Tel. 251 4142, fax 251 4134

E-mail:

Head – Prof. Dr. Gediminas Vitkus

STAFF

Professors: Dr. V. Nakrošis, Dr. V. Radžvilas, Dr. R.Vilpišauskas, Dr. G. Vitkus.
Associate professors: Dr. E. Barcevičius, Dr. V. Kuokštis, Dr. Ž. Martinaitis.
Lecturer: Dr. D. Jonavičienė.
Assistants and junior research fellows: I. Giedraitytė, L. Jurkonis, A. Mozūras, V. Pukinaitė, R. Stasiukynaitė.
Doctoral students: M. Bernatavičius, I. Giedraitytė, L. Kojala, D. Skusevičienė.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Europeanization process in the EU member states
EU enlargement and EU institutional reforms
Public administration reforms and public policy change

RESEARCH PROJECTS CARRIED OUT IN 2017

National Research Projects

Research Council of Lithuania. Good Governance and Trust in Public Institutions Creating Welfare Society in Lithuania (No. GER-003/2015). Assoc. Prof. Dr. L. Gudžinskas. 2015–2017.

This project aims at uniting three important concepts of social sciences – institutions, trust and good governance – and explaining the welfare society development in Lithuania as well as providing a policy brief for decision‐makers. Three objectives are identified: to construct a theoretical model which substantiates the impact of public policy on social and political trust; to generate a regression analysis which explores correlation between interpersonal trust and trust in political institutions and to use process‐tracing analysis to compare key public policies and their impact on political trust in Lithuania and Estonia; to provide recommendations how to fix public policies and ensure higher political trust in Lithuania.

Main publications:

Gudžinskas, L. 2017. Trends in confidence in public institutions: a comparative analysis of the Baltic countries. Politics in Central Europe, vol. 13(1), p. 7–33.

Gudžinskas L. et al. 2017. Pasitikėjimas valstybe: prielaidos, iššūkiai, sprendimai. Vilnius: Vilniaus universiteto leidykla.

International Research Projects

COST action project. Local Public Sector Reforms: An International Comparison. Prof. V. Nakrošis. 2013–2017.

The action will generate coherent data bases for systematic comparison of local governments with a view to streamlining analytical approaches and synthesizing research outcomes using methodological triangulation (qualitative/quantitative techniques). The Action will provide a platform for establishing a new set of comparative (descriptive, explanatory, and evaluative) knowledge on local public sector reforms and for integrating the fragmented research activities in this neglected area of investigation. It aims to enhance the scope of the conceptual foundations as well as the methodological rigour of comparative public administration.

Main publication:

Nakrošis, V. 2017. The quantitative and qualitative analysis of public administration reforms in post-communist countries. Baltic Journal of Political Science, vol. 6, p. 7–28.

Horizon 2020. The EU and Eastern Partnership Countries: An Inside-Out Analysis and Strategic Assessment. Prof. R. Vilpišauskas. 2016–2019.

The main goal of the project is to investigate under what conditions the EU strategies and instruments for its Eastern neighbours can be more effective.

Ten years after its inception, the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) has fallen short of accomplishing its mission. The war in Ukraine and the rising tensions with Russia have made a re-assessment of the ENP both more urgent and more challenging. This project will address two questions: first, why has the EU fallen short of creating peace, prosperity and stability in its Eastern neighbourhood? Second, what can be done to strengthen the EU transformative power in supporting political and economic change in the six Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries? The findings will be submitted to the European Commission.

Main publication:

Dragneva, R., Delcour, L., Jonavičius, L. 2017. Assessing legal and political compatibility between the European Union engagement strategies and membership of the Eurasian Economic Union. EU-STRAT working paper, (7), 1-32. (EU-STRAT Working Paper Series).

Erasmus +. Jean Monnet Networks: Enhancing Visibility of the Academic Dialogue on EU-Turkey Cooperation (VIADUCT). Assoc. Prof. K. Andrijauskas. 2017–2020.

VIADUCT’s general objective is to foster policy dialogue and to contribute in the exchange of views among academics and practitioners on recent developments in both the EU and Turkey. The aim is to improve and to enhance the teaching and research on this topic. VIADUCT’s target groups are academics, students and practitioners, civil society and general public.

Core of the project are three VIADUCT Weeks each consisting of an Annual Conference, a Working Turkey/PhD seminar and an Informal Policy Debate.

Erasmus +. Jean Monnet Networks: Navigating in the Storm. Prof. R. Vilpišauskas, Assoc. Prof. V. Kuokštis. 2017–2020.

VIADUCT’s general objective is to foster policy dialogue and to contribute in the exchange of Baldur Thorhallsson, Professor of Political Science at the University of Iceland leads the project on behalf of the University of Iceland in cooperation with Pia Hansson, Director of the Institute of International Affairs and Tómas Joensen, Project Manager at the Centre for Small State Studies. During the next three years the ten higher education institutions will develop close cooperation in the field of small state studies. The grant will be used to host workshops, roundtables for young researchers, publish academic papers, policy recommendations, and at the end of the project an academic book.

MAIN R&D&I (RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION) PARTNERS

Centre of European Integration Studies
TransEuropean Policy Studies Association (TEPSA)
EPIN - European Policy Institutes Network
European Social, Legal and Economic Projects (Lithuania)
Public Policy and Management Institute (Lithuania)

OTHER SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITIES

Prof. G. Vitkus –

editor-in-chief of the yearbook Lithuanian Annual Strategic Review;
editorial board member of the journal Politologija (Political Science);
member of Humanities and Social Science Committee of the Lithuanian Research Council.

Prof. R. Vilpišauskas –

editorial board member of the journals and series: Journal of Baltic Studies, Lithuanian Foreign Policy Review, Lithuanian Strategic Annual Review, Baltic Journal of Political Science, Politics and Society in the Baltic Sea Region;
member of the Sunset Commission, State Progress Council.

Prof. V. Nakrošis –

editorial board member of the journal Administrative Culture.

DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

10 Vokiečių, LT-01130 Vilnius

Tel. 251 4139, fax 251 4134

E-mail:

Head – Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tomas Janeliūnas

STAFF

Professor: Dr. D. Jakniūnaitė, Dr. T. Janeliūnas.
Senior research fellow: Prof. Dr. R. Lopata.
Associate professors: Dr. K. Andrijauskas, Dr. V. Sirutavičius, Dr. M. Šešelgytė, Dr. D.Šlekys.
Lecturers: Dr. L. Jonavičius, Dr. L. Koreivaitė-Sadauskienė, Dr. E. Leonaitė, Dr. R. Paulauskas.
Research fellow: Dr. N. Maliukevičius.
Assistants and Junior research fellows: G. Biržytė, V. Jurkonis, , R. Švedas.
Doctoral students: M. Antonovič, G. Bartusevičiūtė, N. Bladaitė, J. Jachovič, A. Raginytė, N. Stankevičius, I. Skurdauskaitė, A. Tumkevič.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

International security
Transatlantic relations
Regional studies: Belarus, Ukraine, and Kaliningrad Oblast
Geo-strategic transformation: old and new challenges for Central and Eastern Europe
Lithuanian foreign and security policy

RESEARCH PROJECTS CARRIED OUT IN 2017

National Research Projects

Research Council of Lithuania. Conceptualizing Borders in 21st Century: Discourses and Practices in Central Eastern Europe. (No. MIP-027/2015). Prof. Dr. D. Jakniūnaitė. 2015–2017.

Project seeks to analyse the conflict, crisis situations, and as an object of analysis choose the Central Eastern European region, the territorial conflicts of Ukraine and Georgia in particular and also Lithuania as a different kind of conflict situation, and also includes the analysis of Russia, the significant actor in all contexts. The goal is to analyse the 21^st century bordering practices in Central Eastern Europe in conflict situations (the cases of Ukraine, Georgia and Lithuania) by demonstrating the connection between and the role of political, historical, and day to day practices.

Main publications:

Jakniūnaitė, D. 2017. Kaip tapti valstybe: sienos ir erdvės Gruzijos teritoriniuose konfliktuose. Vilnius: Vilniaus universitetas.

Jakniūnaitė, D. 2017. When State lose territory: Georgia’s post-2008 adjustment. Baltic Journal of Political Science, vol. 6, p. 60–74.

Research Council of Lithuania. The Lithuanian Perception of War during the Interwar Period (1918–1940). (No. LIP – 001/2016). Prof. Dr. D. Šlekys. 2016–2018.

The aim of this project is to write and publish monograph about Lithuanian perception of war during the interwar period (1918–1940). The history of Lithuania it is clear that Lithuanians were a warring state. To prove the point it is enough to think about such historical moments like defence of Pilėnai, battle of Žalgiris, Wars of Independence and Resistance. The so-called heroic historical interpretation is a very good example of this narrative of belligerent nation. Therefore, this project aims to provide concise and clear picture of debate about the war in interwar Lithuania by analysing numerous articles in intellectual journals (Naujoji Romuva, Židinys, Varpas, Vairas) and major works of the influential thinkers and public figures of that time.

Main publication:

Šlekys, D. 2017. Lithuania’s balancing act. Journal on Baltic Security, vol. 3(2), p. 43–54.

International Research Projects

Marie Curie Actions. EU-PREACC: Possibilities and Limits, Challenges and Obstacles of Transferring CEE EU Pre-Accession Best Practices and Experience to Moldova’s and Georgia’s Pre-Accession Process. Project manager Assoc. Prof. D. Jakniūnaitė. 2013–2017.

The research covers areas of the EU-Moldova and EU-Georgia cooperation, linked to both, the European Neighbourhood Policy Action Plan and the EU conditionality. It looks at Moldova’s and Georgia’s economic, legal and political situation and development. The focus of the project and project-related research is structuring the CEE states’ reform experience and analysing the possibilities and limits of transferring the best practices and experience to Moldova’s and Georgia's (possible) EU pre-accession process. It analyses the situation in Moldova and Georgia and suggests benchmarking opportunities best suitable for Moldova and Georgia. The results of the analysis and researchers/lecturers exchange are wrapped up via regular thematic workshops and publications. The output of the research results is also used in improving and developing the European Union-related curricula and courses in all participating universities: in Tartu, Vilnius, Moldova and Georgia.

Main publications:

Janeliūnas, T. 2017. Gruzijos saugumo politikos pokyčiai po 2012 metų ir kintanti saugumo tapatybė. Politologija, vol. 1, p. 56–101.

Jakniūnaitė, D. 2017. When State loses territory: Georgia’s post-2008 adjustment. Baltic Journal of Political Science, vol. 6, p. 60–74.

Horizon 2020. The EU and Eastern Partnership Countries: An Inside-Out Analysis and Strategic Assessment. Prof. R. Vilpišauskas. 2016–2019.

The main goal of the project is to investigate under what conditions the EU’s strategies and instruments for its Eastern neighbours can be more effective.

Ten years after its inception, the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) has fallen short of accomplishing its mission. The war in Ukraine and the rising tensions with Russia have made a re-assessment of the ENP both more urgent and more challenging. This project will address two questions: first, why has the EU fallen short of creating peace, prosperity and stability in its Eastern neighbourhood? Second, what can be done to strengthen the EU’s transformative power in supporting political and economic change in the six Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries? The findings will be submitted to the European Commission.

Main publication:

Dragneva, R., Delcour, L., Jonavičius, L. 2017. Assessing legal and political compatibility between the European Union engagement strategies and membership of the Eurasian Economic Union. EU-STRAT Working Paper, vol. 7, p. 1–32. (EU-STRAT Working Paper Series).

Erasmus +. Small States Winter School Small States in Europe: Towards a Cross-Disciplinary Approach. Assoc. Prof. M. Šešelgytė. 2016–2018.

The primary objective of this partnership is to create a pan-European consortium of experts in small state studies that will train young teachers and researchers from International Relations and Political Science as well as other disciplines, such as Economics, Business, Public Administration and Law, in applying insights from small state studies to their research and teaching. As part of this project the partners organized two summer academies in Reykjavík, and intensive study programs in Ljubljana and Vilnius. At the end of the project the consortium will develop four new and innovative inter-disciplinary curricula in small state studies based on four teaching and research themes (TRT’s). TRT 1: Small states: Foreign policy and economic security; TRT 2: Small states addressing the migration crisis; TRT 3: Small states in international law; TRT 4: Small states and the challenges of good governance.

MAIN R&D&I (RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION) PARTNERS

Military Academy of Lithuania (Lithuania)
Higher School of Economics (Moscow)
Baltic Defence College (Tartu)
Institute of International Affairs and Centre for Small States Studies, University of Iceland (Iceland)

OTHER SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITIES

Prof. T. Janeliūnas -

editor-in-chief of the journal Politologija (Political Science).

Prof. R. Lopata -

editorial board member of the journal Politologija (Political Science), Lithuanian Foreign Policy Review, Lithuanian Annual Strategic Review.

DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL THEORY

10 Vokiečių, LT-01130 Vilnius

Tel. 219 3154, fax 5 251 4134

E-mail

Head - Prof. Dr. Alvydas Jokubaitis

STAFF

Professors: Dr. N. Arlauskaitė, Dr. V. Davoliūtė, Dr. A. Jokubaitis, Dr. A. Ramonaitė.
Associate professors: Dr. J. Dementavičius, Dr. K. Girnius, Dr. L. Gudžinskas, Dr. A. Jankauskas, Dr. M. Jastramskis, Dr. I. Vinogradnaitė.
Senior research fellow: Dr. N. Putinaitė.
Lecturers: J. Kavaliauskaitė, Dr. I. Petronytė.
Assistants and junior research fellows: R. Bakutis, A. Dementavičienė, G. Karalius, V. Mačkinis, P. Skirkevičius, J. Ulinskaitė.
Doctoral students: R. Bakutis, A. Dementavičienė, G. Karalius, A. Pūras, V. Rimaitė, P. Skirkevičius, J. Ulinskaitė, L. Vervečkienė.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Modern political theory and methodology
Political communication and public relations
Party system and electoral process
Democratization process in Lithuania

RESEARCH PROJECTS CARRIED OUT IN 2017

National Research Projects

Research Council of Lithuania. Good Governance and Trust in Public Institutions Creating Welfare Society in Lithuania (No. GER-003/2015). Assoc. Prof. Dr. L. Gudžinskas. 2015–2017.

Main publications:

Gudžinskas, L. 2017. Trends in confidence in public institutions: a comparative analysis of the Baltic countries. Politics in Central Europe, vol. 13(1), p. 7–33.

Gudžinskas L. et al. 2017. Pasitikėjimas valstybe: prielaidos, iššūkiai, sprendimai. Vilnius: Vilniaus universiteto leidykla.

Research Council of Lithuania. Lithuanian National Election Study 2016 (LIP-023/2016). Prof. Dr. A. Ramonaitė. 2016–2018.

Lithuanian National Election Study 2016 is conducted by the team of the International Relations and Political Science of Vilnius University and the Baltic Institute of Advanced Technologies. It will include a post-election survey with integrated CSES Module 5, a survey of the candidates to the Lithuanian parliament and a qualitative study of political attitudes and reception of strategic political communication.

Main publications:

Ramonaitė, A. 2017. Polinkis balsuoti už partiją kaip naujas elgesio per rinkimus analizės būdas: galimybės ir metodologinės problemos. Politologija, vol. 2, p. 44–83.

Jastramskis, M. 2017. 2016 metų Seimo rinkimų iššūkis partinei sistemai ir politologams: kaip numatyti žemės drebėjimą? Politologija, vol. 2, p. 3–43.

Research Council of Lithuania. Soviet Life as Oral History: Challenges In Memory (Re)Construction (No. APP-10/2016). Assoc. Prof. Dr. I. Vinogradnaitė. 2016–2018.

The aim of the project is to develop theoretically and epistemologically justified guidelines for collecting, archiving and analysing ‘oral histories’ as a source of memory about Soviet life, and to collect new oral history data on the logic, experience and memory of Soviet social engineering projects. The objectives are (1) to develop theoretically and epistemologically adequate methodology of oral history on Soviet times, where “adequacy” means that methodological tools take into account the challenges of reconstructing memory of life in Soviet regime; (2) to conduct interviews with direct witnesses and survivors of Soviet regime (especially its early stages in the Baltic states) in order to preserve currently available information which is on the brink of disappearance, and to prepare this material for secondary analysis; (3) to analyse the interviews (their contents, structure, the process of interviewing, the process of the analysis of interviews) with an aim to identify social mechanisms and memory regimes which have to be taken into account in collecting and archiving ‘oral history’ as a source of information about Soviet life.

Research Council of Lithuania. Political Catholicism and Conservatism: (Trans)Formation of Tradition International Research Projects. (No. S–MOD 17–8). Assoc. Prof. Dr. J. Dementavičius. 2017–2019.

The main goal of this project is to analyse Lithuanian political Catholicism as a specific political ideology and to show its interrelation with contemporary conservatism. It is done by exploring its development since 19th century until present days and by researching its links with current trends in conservative ideology in Lithuania. Analysis will be done by using tools of hermeneutic interpretation, researching historical as well as contemporary trends in moderate right wing ideological worldviews. The main approach to this object will follow along the Oxford school of analysis of ideologies. One of the main features of it is attempt to research ideologies by studying their core ideas. But thick historical description can also help to link the most important right-wing representatives and their ideas with a wider European political context and intellectual debates.

Research Council of Lithuania. Voice of the Memory on the Screen: Poetics, History, and Politics. (No. S–MIP–17–39). Prof. Dr. N. Arlauskaitė. 2017–2019.

Three principal questions of the research may be formulated: 1) How does the disembodied voice on the screen participate in producing and conveying personal and/or historical memory in relation to existing cinematic, cultural, and political conventions? 2) What kind of personal and historical memory speaks, to paraphrase Nabokov, through the multifariously invisible voice on the screen and by this – paradoxically – becomes present? 3) What viewing subjects are claimed by these narrative voice strategies?

MAIN R&D&I (RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION) PARTNERS

Creighton University, Nebraska (USA)
Public Policy and Management Institute (Lithuania)
Lithuanian Institute of History (Lithuania)

OTHER SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITIES

Prof. A. Jokubaitis -

editorial board member of the journals Politologija (Political Science), Politeja and Horyzonty Polityki (Horizons of Politics).

Prof. A. Ramonaitė -

editorial board member of the journals Baltic Journal of Political Science and Politologija (Political Science).
member of the State Progress Council.

Assoc. Prof. A. Jankauskas -

editorial board member of the journals and series: Lithuanian Foreign Policy Review, Lithuanian Strategic Annual Review, Politologija (Political Science).

Dr. L. Gudžinskas -

editor-in-chief of the journal Baltic Journal of Political Science;
President of the Lithuanian Political Science Association.