The British Association of the Study of Ukraine

The BASU Chairs and Working Group Chairs Committee want you to SAVE THE DATE.

We are thrilled to announce that thanks to a UoM Hallsworth Fund Grant, The British Association For The Study of Ukraine will be hosting the first ever all-UK wide BASU National Conference

“A Showcase of Research and Policy on Resistance Resilience and Recovery in the Context of Russia’s Hybrid War in Ukraine and Europe” September 23-26, 2026, hosted by BASU at the University of Manchester.

This will be the first conference to bring together scholars and practitioners from across serval disciplines (Social Sciences, Humanities, Arts & Culture, and STEM) that:

1) study key themes in Ukrainian politics, economics, industry, society, and technology,

2) conduct research on major themes in their discipline in Ukraine 

3) or conduct research in relation to Russia’s war in Ukraine and it’s impacts for the United Kingdom. 

The conference will be outlet for: 

• inter-disciplinary research 
• dissemination 
• expansion of research networks 
• and facilitating interdisciplinary co-authorship.

The BASU NATIONAL CONFERENCE will also bring British scholars into discussion with a group of major internationally recognised leading experts and specially invited major British, EU, and Ukrainian policy makers, politicians, diplomats, and industry leaders. Thus, the event will not only showcase cutting edge research but also foster pathways to impact in the United Kingdom and beyond. 

We plan for the event to host :

• A Data Hackathon – for all those who want to learn new data skills 
• A series of Work-in-Progress Research Panels with paper presentations from scholars at all career stages and across all of Social Sciences, Humanities, Arts & Culture, and STEM. CALL FOR PAPERS IN MAY
• 7 BASU Special Working Group Meetings 
• 4 State of the Art Expert Panels
  • Social Sciences State of the Art Expert Panel
    • Showcasing cutting edge research on democratic resilience, civilian resistance, and social cohesion in wartime.
  • Humanities State of the Art Expert Panel
    • Showcasing comparative research on histories of how wars end, experiences of resistance under occupation, and the [mis]use of history to divide populations to better understand hybrid warfare waged today.
  • Humanities State of the Art Expert Panel
    • Showcasing new research on cultural relations/diplomacy in wartime in Europe and the Global South, the destruction of cultural objects in wartime as a war crime and best practices of their protection.
  • STEM
    • New insights from medical experts, digital technology data science engineers, and phycologists who together will present research on the effects of PTSD and trauma in wartime, the use of digital technologies, and science solutions to environmental damage in wartime.
• 1 Keynote Lecture
  • A major diplomat, politician, and world leading public figure.
• Publishers meet and greet lounge – where UK based publishers can showcase books
• 1 Policy Roundtable
  • Discussing Key Questions:
    • How the War Ends (if no peace has been reached)?
    • What are is the UK’s role in Ukraine’s recovery?
    • How does Europe protect itself from hybrid war threats?
      • The participants will be key policy makers and commentators and a major UK based journalist/public intellectual will help moderate the roundtable.

Two further outputs are anticipated:

• a policy brief of research presented 
• the publication of the full-length articles in an edited volume/s. 

The full event will open to all BASU members, all registered scholar or practitioner/industry attendees, as well as, UoM Staff and Students.

The Keynote will be open to there wider Academic communities and public of the greater Manchester area.

Call for papers forthcoming May 2026

Deadline for paper proposals June 2026

Acceptance Notifications June/July 2026