Depending on the global, but also the European context, peace ethical perspectives on the Russian-Ukrainian war differ considerably. While many Northern, Western, Middle and South Eastern European states – among them Poland, Finland, the Baltic states, but also Great Britain, France, Italy or Germany – stress the illegitimacy and illegality of Russia's invasion in Ukraine according to international law, some European (among them Hungary) and many states in the global South and East take a very different stance. Thus, important international agents like South Africa, China or India have abstained from voting on UN resolution A/RES/ES-11/1 (March 2nd, 2022) and also the renewed resolution A/ES-11/L.7 (February 23rd, 2023); Brazil's president Lula da Silva claims neutrality in the conflict. South African officials understand Russia as a long-standing ally and the conflict as a recalibration of the global order – and they don't stand alone with that view.
Thus, an intercontinental public theological and interdisciplinary conversation on peace ethics that takes decolonial perspectives into account without giving up claims of universal validity of human rights issues is called for. The workshop aims to bring together theologians, political scientists and peace ethicists from three continents in Berlin for an engaging conversation.
From PRIF, Jonas J. Driedger will participate in Panel I “The Geopolitical Situation”.
When: February 19–20, 2024
Where: Humboldt University Berlin
Organized by the European Academy on Religion and Society (EARS) and the Berlin Institute for Public Theology (BIPT)
Please register until February 13 at bettina.schoen@hu-berlin.de.
For further information and the full program, please see the conference flyer (PDF download)