CENTREPEACE Hosted Dr Helge Blakkisrud for Lectures on Academic Writing and De Facto States

Between 4 and 5 March, Masaryk University hosted Dr Helge Blakkisrud from the University of Oslo. During his visit, he delivered a lecture for PhD students focused on academic writing as well as a public lecture addressing the topic of de facto states and their patron–client relations in the context of the war in Ukraine.

The lecture on academic writing, held on 4 March, offered practical advice for doctoral students on how to approach the process of writing academic texts. As Helge Blakkisrud noted, “most of us struggle with writing,” and the aim of the session was therefore to provide guidance that could help researchers structure their work more effectively. In the first part of the lecture, he addressed questions such as how to write an academic article and how to select a suitable journal for publication. He discussed how to develop a productive writing mindset and explained the purpose of the different parts of an academic article, highlighting the key information that should be included in each section.

The second part of the lecture focused on the peer-review process and strategies for increasing the visibility and impact of published research. Helge Blakkisrud explained how the review process typically works, how authors can respond to reviewers’ comments, and how the outcomes of the review process influence the final version of a publication. He also discussed ways to increase potential readership and citations once an article has been published.

On 5 March, Helge Blakkisrud delivered a public lecture titled “Patronage in Peril: the Ukraine War and Patron-Client Relations in Eurasian De Facto State Conflicts.” At the beginning of the lecture, he introduced the concept of de facto states, explaining that such entities must fulfil several conditions: secessionist leaders must control the territory they claim, they seek but have not achieved international recognition, and they must exist in a state of non-recognition for more than two years.

In the following part of the lecture, he discussed different types of patron–client relations and analysed how Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has significantly reshaped these dynamics. The war has raised new questions about Russia’s ability and willingness to act as a patron providing security and other forms of support to de facto states. These developments were illustrated through examples from Donetsk, Luhansk, Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Transnistria.

In his conclusion, Helge Blakkisrud argued that the war has disrupted established patron–client relations and caused reputational damage to Russia. He also noted that three of the six de facto states discussed have effectively disappeared, while the future of the remaining entities will largely depend on the outcome of the war in Ukraine.

The visit of Dr Helge Blakkisrud provided an opportunity for experience exchange in academic writing and enabled an in-depth discussion of his research on de facto states. At the same time, the visit contributed to strengthening international cooperation within the project.