Annual Lithuanian Political Science Conference “The Year of Elections: Lithuania, Europe, the World”

The Institute of International Relations and Political Science of Vilnius University is pleased to announce its annual Lithuanian Political Science Conference, themed “The Year of Elections: Lithuania, Europe, the World”, to be held on 5-6 December 2024. 

2024 may be called “the year of elections”: the Lithuanian voters are fulfilling their civic duty by voting in the presidential and parliamentary elections, and, along with the rest of the citizens of the European Union, has expressed their will by electing the new Members of the European Parliament. This year, people who cast their ballot are redrawing the political map in more than 70 countries around the world, from Taiwan or India to the United Kingdom and the United States of America. The campaigns and results of these elections have highlighted the challenges of democratic resilience and the changes in domestic and foreign policy in countries around the world.  

Where will Lithuania stand in this changing global context, and what impact will the outcomes of the national elections have on the country’s political, social, economic, and cultural future? What are the implications of the increasing polarization within countries and internationally for the state of democracy and decision-making processes? How are the 2024 elections affected by global processes and how will the outcome of these elections in different parts of the world affect the global order?   

To discuss these issues, we invite to submit applications for individual presentations and panel discussions on topics related to comparative politics, political economy, political behavior, political theory, international relations, state governance, public administration, foreign policy, security and defense policy, as well as interdisciplinary presentations. The conference welcomes presentations and panels that showcase research conducted this year, upcoming or already published publications, and ongoing projects.

Allan Sikk is a Professor of Comparative Politics at University College London (UCL) School of Slavonic and East European Studies. His research interests include electoral candidates, party switching in parliaments, and the evolution of party systems, with a particular focus on Central and Eastern Europe. He obtained his PhD from the University of Tartu and later served as the head of the Research Service at the Parliament of Estonia. Currently, he is a co-principal investigator of the “INSTAPARTY: Party Instability in Parliaments” project (2021-2025), funded by the Norwegian Research Council. He is also the regional coordinator for East-Central and Southeast Europe for the Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI). Allan Sikk has authored numerous publications, including articles in prominent journals such as Party Politics, European Journal of Political Research and Journal of Baltic Politics. His latest book, “Party People: Candidates and Party Evolution” (2023), co-authored with Philipp Köker, conceptualises candidates as ‘party genes’ and develops a candidate-based approach to party evolution.

Allan Sikk will deliver the keynote speech “Bringing the People Back In: From an Organisational to an Evolutionary Paradigm in Party Studies” on 5 December at 9:15 am in Room 402.

Jan Claas Behrends is a senior researcher at the Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History in Potsdam and a Professor of History at European University Viadrina in Frankfurt. His research interests include the modern history of Russia, Poland and Ukraine, Stalinism and modern dictatorships, war and violence as well as the post-Soviet era. The research of prof. Behrends features interdisciplinary approach that combines historical, political science, and sociological analyses to comprehensively examine the impact of authoritarianism and war on societal structures and dynamics. The researcher has authored multiple scholarly publications, including his recent monograph Postsowjetische Lebenswelten. The Post-Soviet Experience. Society and Everyday Life after Communism (2021) as well as papers in such journals as Nationalities Papers, European Review of History and Osteuropa. Currently, he is also one of the coordinators of the interdisciplinary research network “Legacies of Communism? Post‐Communist Europe from Stagnation to Reform, between Autocracy and Revolution” funded by a SAW-grant of the Leibniz Association.

Jan Claas Behrends will deliver the keynote speech “Russia going from Totalitarianism back to Totalitarianism – Stalin to Putin” on 6 December at 5 pm in Room 402.

The conference organizing committee consists of scholars and administrative staff from the Institute of International Relations and Political Science, Vilnius University: 

• Prof. Dr. Ainė Ramonaitė
• Prof. Dr. Gediminas Vitkus
• Assoc. Prof. Dr. Justinas Dementavičius
• Dr. Vilius Mačkinis
• Dr. Ieva Giedraitytė
• Rasa Bortkevičiūtė
• Emilija Grigaitytė