Skip to content

Transformative Humanities

Transformative Humanities

War in Ukraine

Achim Klüppelberg,Posted on
Categories Categories: The DivisionTags Tags: ,
The current war in Ukraine is shocking. We hope that somehow there will again be peace – and that as soon as possible. Millions are fleeing as the first large-scale war in Europe since Yugoslavia sweeps away with all its might the hopes of a time, which by now already seems long gone. A Russian invasion has brought back the images of destruction and despair, sometimes reminiscent of the destruction created by World War II.

It is hard to stay unmoved by the fate of the people caught in the fighting, who try to escape the dread or desperately try to preserve what they hold dear. We witness now a new major wave of refugees, even though Europe is still working to come to terms with 2015 and the Syrian War. People from Ukraine will also come to Sweden to find safety. At least here we can act and help, where help is needed locally.

Naturally, with our division being to a large degree an international working place, the current situation poses challenges to our work environment. Right now it is in many cases impossible to cooperate with Russian or Belarusian Universities and many scholars. Travel to Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus might be impossible. We will have to establish a new normal in our institutional relationships, while making sure to keep personal connections and to avoid discrimination of any kind.

At this stage, we would like to point you to two links important here. First KTH’s President Sigbritt Karlsson has given an interview on the current academic situation in regard to Russia and Belarus, including the stop in cooperation.

You can find it here in English

– and here in Swedish.

Porträtt på KTH:s rektor Sigbritt Karlsson.
Sigbritt Karlsson, President of KTH

Second, we want to point you to the local division of Scholars at Risk, among others represented by Nina Wormbs from the division. If scholars need to flee from Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia, there might be a way to support them within the Swedish academic system. If need be, get in touch with Scholars at Risk, for example through Nina.

Scholars at Risk - Protecting scholars and the freedom to think, question, and share ideas

Working as a doctoral student in the Nuclearwaters-Project (ERC Consolidator Grant, PI Per Högselius), I focus on the nuclear history of Eastern Europe, especially on the territory of the former Soviet Union and its successor states. Furthermore, I investigate expert cultures in nuclear discourses, with a special interest in water-related issues in nuclear power plant decision-making. In addition, I am intrigued by the entanglement of the commercial, scientific and political interests concerning nuclear technologies, with its sometimes harsh consequences on human societies and the environment. Recently this interest has extended to energy systems as a whole in Eastern Europe, including fossil fuels and renewables. Questions of transition within international energy systems in the face of the climate crisis and recent political developments become more important, as my work progresses.