Eurasia Unit for Border Research (Japan)

UBRJ Seminar "Visualizing the Aral Sea crisis and the resurrection of the Small Aral"

Professor Nikolai Aladin has headed the movement of saving the Aral Sea since the time of Perestroika. In this UBRJ Seminar, he will talk about his experience during the Aral Sea crisis and the contemporary situation of the Northern Small Aral Sea in Kazakhstan, which was partially restored by the construction of the Kok-Aral Dyke in 2005. His talk will be followed by a movie showing about the Aral Sea expedition in September 2011, recorded and visualized by Ivan Aladin, son of Prof. Nikolai Aladin.

Time & Date: 15:00-16:30, August 1, 2015
Venue: Room 401, Slavic-Eurasian Research Center, Hokkaido University
Speakers: Professor Nikolai Aladin (Zoological Institute, Russian Academy
　　　　　　　of Sciences)
　　　　　　　Ivan Aladin (Video camera operator, Library of Russian Aacdemy of Sciences)

Language: in Russian (Russian-Japanese translation will be provided if required)
Everybody interested in this topic is welcome.

Contact: Tetsuro CHIDA (Assist. Prof. SRC)
　　　　　　　tetsuroch[at]slav.hokudai.ac.jp ([at] should be @),　Ext. 4809

[Event] The 3rd Asia-Pacific Border Studies Seminar: Lessons from European and Central Asian borders for Asia-Pacific Future Studies

Date: August 9, 2015, 14:00-18:00

Venue: 21 Century Plaza I, Kyushu University (Hakozaki Campus)

Co-hosted by Center for Asia-Pacific Future Studies (CAFS), Kyushu University & Eurasian Unit for Border Reserach (Japan) (UBRJ), Hokkaido University in cooperation with EU Institute-Kyushu (EUIJ)

14:00-14:30

Opening Remarks by Kaoru Izumi (CAFS, Kyushu University) and Akihiro Iwashita (SRC/UBRJ, Hokkaido University)

14:30-16:00

Session I: Geopolitical Realities for the European Union: Views from Finland

Moderator: Machiko Hachiya (EUIJ, Kyushu University)

Ilkka Liikanen (University of Eastern Finland)
"EU Neighborhood Policies and Visions of the Post-Cold War International Order"

James W. Scott (University of Eastern Finland)
"The Renaissance of Geopolitical Realism: Repercussions for the Reconceptualization of European Neighborhood"

Discussant: Paul Richardson (University of Manchester)

Discussant: Edward Boyle (CAFS, Kyushu University)

16:15-17:45

Session II: Cooperation or Conflict? Trans-boundary Water Issues in the Aral Sea Basin

Moderator: Serghei Golunov (CAFS, Kyushu University)

Nikolai Aladin (Zoological Institute, RAS)
"The Partial Restoration of the Aral Sea and the Biological, Socio-Economic and Health Conditions in the Region"

Ekaterina Borisova (Institute of Oriental Studies, RAS)
"The Trans-boundary Water Problems in the Aral Sea Basin"

Discussant: Tetsuro Chida (SRC, Hokkaido University)

17:45-18:00

Closing Remarks

18:30- Reception

The Seminar Program can be downloded here.

[Event] UBRJ Seminar: BOOK TALK "Reproductive States: Global Perspectives on the Invention and Implementation of Population Policy"

Time & Date: 16:30-18:00, March 3, 2016
Venue: Slavic-Eurasian Research Center, Room 401

Content: Book Talk on "Reproductive States: Global Perspectives on the Invention and Implementation of Population Policy" (New York: Oxford University Press, 2016), eds. Rickie Solinger and Mie Nakachi.

Presenter: Mie NAKACHI (Research Associate, SRC)
Commentator: Dr. Paula MICHAELS (Senior Lecturer, Monash University, Australia)
(Dr. Paula Michaels is the author of "Curative Powers: Medicine and Empire in Stalin's Central Asia" and "Lamaz: An International History.")
Moderator: Akihiro IWASHITA (Professor, SRC/UBRJ Leader)

　　　　　"Reproductive States" brings together works by experts from around the world, illuminating the reproductive politics of some of the most populous countries in the world: Brazil, China, Egypt, Germany, India, Iran, Japan, and Nigeria, as well as USSR/Russia, and the United States . Each chapter analyzes specific characteristics of national population policies after World War II. The demographic policies of these countries are often categorized differently in terms of the level of economic development (i.e. "developing," "developed" nations; or the "First," "Second," or "Third" worlds), and ideological, political, or religious orientations (capitalist, socialist, communist, Catholic, or Muslim). At the same time the book goes beyond the boundaries of these categories and demonstrates the common denominator of all reproductive policies--the perception of women's bodies as a political resource.

　　　　　At the seminar Dr. Nakachi, coeditor, will present some of the key findings from this book project. She will also discuss the role of socialism in the contexts of Soviet/Russian and Chinese family and demographic policies, a subject that is often overlooked in the discussion of postwar development of World population control.

Working language: English
Everyone interested in this topic is welcome to join.

Contact: Tetsuro CHIDA (Assistant Professor, SRC) tetsuroch[at]slav.hokudai.ac.jp

[Event] Brookings Institution seminar: "The emerging China-Russia axis: The return of geopolitics?"

The head of UBRJ, Prof. Akihiro IWASHITA, will give a research talk at the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C. on March 24, 2016. The title of the seminar is "The emerging China-Russia axis: The return of geopolitics?" Please see the link below about more details of the seminar.

http://www.brookings.edu/events/2016/03/24-china-russia-axis-geopolitics