Religion and Politics in Orthodox world 2100-ERASMUS-REPO

The countries of Orthodox culture, where the Orthodox church traditionally holds a solid or dominant position, have become a site of the greatest unrest in Europe in recent decades. Just a few problems to mention: the large-scale geopolitical transformations, such as the collapse of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia; challenges of transition from the communist to the liberal-democratic system; series of military conflicts - from the Yugoslav Wars, occupation of parts of Moldova and Georgia to Russia's war against Ukraine.
Religion has a unique role in each of the mentioned aspects or processes. Countries of Orthodox culture are often seen as such, where religion is exceptionally closely connected with politics and national identity; the church occupies an important role in public life and acts as a kind of opponent of rationalisation and modernisation ('mysterious soul'). However, to what extent are these statements true?
This course examines the peculiarities of the relationship between religion and politics in countries dominated by the Orthodox church, like Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, etc.
It covers such issues as the complexity and multi-level connection between religion and politics in the Orthodox world; usage of religion as a soft power and a tool of political influence in domestic and foreign affairs; the role of religion in armed conflicts in Eastern Europe and the Balkans; ultimately, the political and geopolitical dimension of the struggle for the church's independence (autocephaly) that was intensified in various forms with the beginning of Russian aggression against Ukraine in several countries.

Topics:
- Religion in politics – inspiration, guide, instrument or actor?
- Eastern Orthodox’, ‘Greek Orthodox’, just ‘Orthodox’ or … what? : Discussion on the geopolitical identity of the Orthodox church and states of the Orthodox tradition
- “Is the Byzantine ‘Symphony’ Possible in Our Days?”: Models of state-church relations in countries of the Orthodox tradition
- Phenomenon of ‘political Orthodoxy’ and its implications
- Orthodox church(es) in international arena: role of religious organisations and faith-based NGOs in international secular organisations
- Military conflicts in the Orthodox world (selected cases of religious conflicts)
- Geopolitics of Ukrainian Autocephaly