Zeitenwende Conference - Panel 1: The Evolution of German Approaches to the Baltic

Zeitenwende: The Changing Role of Germany in the Baltic
This 1-day conference - organised by the Baltic Geopolitics Programme of the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Geopolitics and the University of Greifswald’s Interdisciplinary Centre for Baltic Sea Region Research (IFZO) - investigates Germany’s changing geopolitical orientation in the wake of the Zeitenwende and its impact on the relationships between Germany, the other Baltic Sea states, and the security of the region as a whole.
In recent decades, Germany has had to re-evaluate its position following a series of transformative events, from the fall of the Berlin Wall, German reunification, the eastwards expansion of NATO and the EU, to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. This conference focuses on the impact of this reassessment for international security and relationships in the greater Baltic Sea region.
This event is generously sponsored by the German Academic Exchange Service’s (DAAD) Cambridge Research Hub for German Studies.
PANEL 1: The Evolution of German Approaches to the Baltic
The Baltic in the German cultural imagination since 1800
• Dr Anita Bunyan, Fellow and Director of Studies in Modern Languages, Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge
Germany’s historical relations with the East Central European region of the Baltic Sea
• Prof Karolina Wigura, Member of the Board, Kultura Liberalna Foundation and Associate Professor, Faculty of Sociology, University of Warsaw
Germany’s look at Estonia: From ignorance to partnership
• Christian Schlaga, German Ambassador to Estonia (2015-2019)
German public perceptions of the Baltic region since the 1980s
• Prof Jörg Hackmann, Professor at the Institute of History and Director of the International Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Szczecin
Chair: Dr Alexander Drost, Scientific Director of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Baltic Sea Region Research (IFZO), University of Greifswald