Petrach Program
Annual Online Conference 2025

Understanding Wartime Ukraine

Held April 15, 2025

The 2025 Petrach Program Online Conference focused on how war is reshaping Ukraine’s identity, institutions, social well-being, and international role, bringing together scholars for evidence-based discussion across disciplines.  Across five moderated panels, the program examined Ukrainian identity and culture at home and abroad, wartime threats to well-being, the relationship between war, peace, and society, the workings of domestic politics, and Ukraine’s world presence in wartime.  A core group of presenters, the Petrach Program Ukraine Studies Fellows, was joined by invited chairs, discussants, and speakers from partner institutions. 

Key Themes & Discussion Topics

Identity, Culture &
Decolonization

  • Ukrainian identity and culture beyond borders

  • Education and values formation in wartime

  • Minority politics and cross-border tensions

  • Decolonization debates and “imperial knowledge” narratives

Well-Being, Displacement & Societal Resilience

  • Migration intentions and displacement pressures

  • Health and human security in wartime 

  • Psychological dimensions of war and propaganda

  • Recovery visions across government, civil society, and communities

Politics, Governance & Ukraine’s Global Role

  • How wartime conditions shape domestic political behavior and informal institutions

  • Regional–national political dynamics under war

  • Public diplomacy, soft power, and foreign public opinion

  • Ukraine’s strategic meaning in foreign policy and international responses beyond Europe

Panel Speakers

Ukrainian Identity and Culture at Home and Abroad

Austin Garey,
George Washington University

Marian Lopata,
Ukrainian Catholic University

Mykola Riabchuk,
Institute of Political and Ethnic Studies

Taras Samchuk,
Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv

Henry Hale,
George Washington University

Chair

Andrew Wilson,
University College London

Discussant

Coping With Wartime Threats to Well-Being

Roman Molikevych,
Kherson State University

Valeriia Palii,
National Psychological Association of Ukraine

Judyth Twigg,
Virginia Commonwealth University

Oksana Yakushko,
George Washington University

Robert Orttung,
George Washington University

Chair

Gwendolyn Sasse,
Humboldt University Berlin

Discussant

War, Peace, and Society

Yuliya Bidenko,
Karazin Kharkiv National University

Yurii Latysh,
State University of Londrina

Pavlo Smytsnyuk,
George Washington University

Borys Kormych,
National University Odesa Law Academy

Peter Rollberg,
George Washington University

Chair

Dominique Arel,
University of Ottawa

Discussant

The Workings of Ukrainian Domestic Politics

Erik Herron,
National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture

Uliana Movchan,
CEPA, V .N. Karazin Kharkiv National University

Vadym Osin,
Dnipro University of Technology

Irina Rabotyagova,
V .N. Karazin Kharkiv National University

Sharon Wolchik,
George Washington University

Chair

Jordan Gans-Morse,
Northwestern University

Discussant

Ukraine’s World Presence in Wartime

Nadia Bureiko,
Foreign Policy Council ‘Ukrainian Prism’

Henry Hale,
George Washington University

Gerard Toal,
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Alla Zakharchenko,
Odesa Mechnikov National University

Michelle Kelso,
George Washington University

Chair

Paul D’Anieri,
University of California

Discussant

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