Research projects

The project HER-UKR: Challenges and opportunities for EU heritage diplomacy in Ukraine addresses the role of cultural heritage in the EU’s external action. The Regensburg team, among others, endeavors to illuminate the complex dilemma faced by literary museums founded in Soviet times who grapple with a Russia-centric narrative amidst the quest for post-Soviet nation-building and sovereignty affirmation. Secondly, it examines the manifestations and changes in the political cult of the dead in Ukraine since 2022 using a number of examples and, thirdly, investigates the threat to and handling of the cultural heritage of minority groups in Ukraine in more detail, also in comparison with Georgia.

During the First World War, the south of Ukraine was in the zone of geopolitical interests of the world powers, which considered the northern Black Sea region as an area of potential armed confrontation and economic preferences. The study presents archival documents and materials in Ukrainian and German, mainly kept in the Odesa archives, reflecting the presence of the Central Powers' troops in southern Ukraine, especially in Odesa and the surrounding areas.

After the end of a totalitarian (or colonial) regime, the question arises how to deal with the injustice committed by the former regime. The end of the Soviet Union is no exception to this rule. Ukraine, like most of the former Soviet republics, addressed this question at best half-heartedly. This omission now takes revenge because the open questions and wounds from the past are a leverage for Russian propaganda to disunite Ukrainian society. For this reason, Ukraine has paid more attention to coping with Soviet injustice since 2014. This pilot project takes stock of the legal mechanisms designed to address Soviet injustice, analyses weak spots and points at questions which have been left unanswered so far. This prepares a follow-up project which will aim at laying down the theoretical-academic basis for an improved Ukranian legislation in this field.

The department for Ukrainian law of the Institut für Ostrecht (Institute for East European Law) continuously monitors the legal development in Ukraine: legislation, court practice, and legal academia. This legal development is documented in quarterly reports within the „IOR-Chronik der Rechtsentwicklung“ (Institute for East European Law Chronicles on the Legal Development). The reports provide German-speaking legal academia, legal practice and politics with a timely overview of the most important points of legal life in Ukraine. The „IOR-Chronik der Rechtsentwicklung“ is published in the online journal „Wirtschaft und Recht in Osteuropa“ which can be read free of costs on the website of the Institut für Ostrecht.

The project analyses Ukrainian ICT (Information and Communication Technology) firms who have demonstrated remarkable resilience during the ongoing war, employing a range of strategies to adapt, survive, and even thrive in the challenging environment over the period from 2021 to 2025. Particularly escape-based internationalisation including a relocation of operations and shifts to becoming a footloose industry have proven successful. Many companies moved their staff and infrastructure to safer regions within Ukraine or to neighbouring countries. Due to their technological core competencies, Ukrainian firms are also forerunners in remote work adaptation. Leveraging the existing culture of remote work in the ICT industry, firms transitioned seamlessly to fully remote or hybrid models, ensuring continuity despite infrastructure disruptions.