The Second Session of the XVII USPS programme

The Second Session always directs our participants to deepen further and study the surrounding reality. Whether it is a conversation about the post-colonial discourse in Ukrainian literature or a discussion about the trials of society by war and the right to justice – it is not easy to cover the entire spectrum of modern challenges. Still, we try to do it in every educational Session.

Working in the format of seminars always adds new meanings, thoughts and visions, which brings all the programme participants together. After all, the Second Session is also about a unique intellectual experience that they create among themselves and guest lecturers.

So what topics were in focus this time?

The first discussion was devoted to literature: the participants discussed the origins and manifestations of colonialism in literature with the literary critic Yevhenii Stasinevych. They discussed classical Ukrainian literature and the importance of working with these optics in modern conditions. Is it possible to get rid of the symptoms of colonialism or can they only be absorbed and incorporated into our lives is a key question to which the participants eagerly sought an answer.

Together with Ivan Gomza, PhD in Political Science, associate professor, Head of the Department of Public Governance at Kyiv School of Economics and a permanent lecturer of the USPS, our group dealt with the issue of asymmetric wars. The post-war nature of military-civilian relations, episodes of the politics of discord, the nature of political regimes and their impact on the war, and cases of asymmetric wars — collected extensive and complex questions. But we tried to understand them more deeply.

The impunity of some and the inaction of others are the fundamental elements of the modern war between russia and Ukraine. It appears against the background of an apparent asymmetry of capabilities, and the inaction of the third party — the international community — gives rise to russian impunity and even encourages the continuation of aggression. We cannot deal with this injustice alone, so we must reach out to the world and decide how to stop it together.

About how and whether we will be able to realise our right to justice at all in a world in which force still prevails over truth, participants of the 2023 USPS programme discussed with literary critic Tetyana Ogarkova.

Our appearance is always a choice and a statement, whether we realise it or not. The body reflects our internal state – physical and mental. And this is especially important for people who choose the path of public politics because then their “body” appears before the eyes of the masses. After all, apart from the body, we have nothing.

The concept and role of the body in politics were analysed with Svitlana Matviienko, executive director of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives and director of the Ukrainian School of Political Studies.

Despite the existing negative trends, currently, Ukraine is a stronghold of democratic values. Ukraine is giving the world a new wave of de-imperialism. Although the civilizational war between democracy and authoritarianism is not yet over, we are making a significant contribution to the victory of democracy and the values of freedom and justice.

Actually, what are the features of Ukrainian political culture that give us strength? And which, on the contrary, are a threat? What is Europe, and how is Ukraine changing it? Our participants talked about this with Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, writer, journalist, director of analytics at Internews Ukraine and president of PEN-Ukraine.

The role of courts in establishing justice and protecting values has been central since Antiquity, but the most important court was and remained – the trial of Christ. Even without a religious context, this event still tremendously impacts culture.

With Mykhailo Koltsov, PhD in Philosophical Sciences, analyst and a permanent lecturer at USPS, the group considered this event from the point of view of Pontius Pilate, who embodied a system of norms designed to protect values and establish justice. The group sought an answer to a topical challenge – how can we protect values and implement justice in the modern world?

Indeed, humans create increasingly complex structures to normalise social relations within their species and have even resorted to creating artificial forms, such as AI. But how does it affect the general political context and determine societal interaction?

The poverty of ideologies, the philosophy of oracles, possible global visions of what a person is and geopolitics in a global world – the group discussed all this with Vakhtang Kebuladze – a philosopher, essayist, translator and professor of the Department of Theoretical and Practical Philosophy of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv.

Short essays on the history of Christianity in the world and in Ukraine, and in particular how religious affiliation shaped the political context, were revealed to the participants by Andriy Andrushkiv, executive director of the NGO “Center for Joint Actions” and a serviceman of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Several important points were also discussed: how religious issues affect the values, principles and daily behaviour of the citizens of our country, and in fact, how the full-scale invasion of Russia changed the religious landscape.

That’s what ended our Second Session – with global considerations and non-obvious thoughts on finding a solution to a significant layer of issues. A stormy week full of learning is over, but the desire to explore and learn something new is not, so we are already waiting for a new meeting with our participants!