The Mineral Deal: The Price of Partnership in the Trump Era
While Ukraine fights for its survival, this economic agreement will shape its future. In the latest episode of the Ukraine the Possible podcast, we analyze the complex "mineral deal" between the U.S. and Ukraine — an arrangement that links future natural wealth to the promise of aid. We examine the questions surrounding the deal's transparency […]
Land Stripped of the Right to Harvest: War and the Crisis of Small-Scale Farming in Ukraine
War leaves its mark on everything: land, water, and people. But perhaps its consequences are felt most acutely by small-scale agricultural producers. In this article, we examine how the war has changed Ukrainian agriculture, focusing on the needs of small farms, which were actively developing before the war but are now facing an unprecedented crisis. […]
“Drill, Baby, Drill”: How the Extraction and Export of Critical Raw Materials Can Exacerbate Ukraine’s Resource Trap
Interest in Ukraine’s mineral wealth has surged against the backdrop of global competition for critical raw materials needed for the transition to green energy and new technologies. This transition, presented as a path to sustainable development and the fight against climate change, is increasingly masking a fierce geopolitical struggle over resources, with various players striving […]
Land Reform and Agriculture in Ukraine During Wartime – Interview with Dr. Natalia Mamonova
What is the state of agriculture during wartime in Ukraine? What effects does the land reform have on the future of the country? And what a socially and ecologically just approach to postwar recovery of agriculture can look like? We discuss these and other questions with Dr. Natalia Mamonova – Senior Researcher at RURALIS, Institute […]
Estonia’s losses on the way out of the periphery: lessons for Ukraine
A development plan organized around capital can never be just. Similarly, the creation of democratic institutions can only be meaningful if grave inequalities don’t sabotage them. In Estonia, the process of democratization began at the same time as capitalist economic reorganization, a large-scale neoliberal experiment. Exactly this path of economic change poses a danger to […]
Ukrainian economy and society: whither the (postwar) country?
On February 24, 2022, when Russia yet again invaded Ukraine, it was already one of the poorest and most indebted countries in Europe, at war since 2014. Its needs and losses have grown exponentially – dislocation of the labour force, infrastructure destruction, ecological damage, etc. This article argues a case for large-scale multi-faceted international assistance, […]
Swimming Upstream: Stories of people who challenged employer tyranny in Ukraine
In the current Ukrainian context, the demand of society for fairer living conditions and the demand of the people who are ready to promote and defend them is increasingly strong. And experience shows that there are more and more people in Ukraine who put the pursuit of truth and the protection of public interest above […]
Where have Eastern Europeans gone? Made-in-Italy Agribusiness, Mobility Control, and the Great Resignation
Recent limitations to the freedom of movement imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19, led farmers’ organisations (as well as other employers) across Europe to sound the alarm, lamenting the sudden dearth of workers needed for highly time-sensitive harvesting. These restrictions cut across workers’ nationalities and legal statuses and were especially strict between March […]
Drifters in the Making: Labour Migration from Serbia and the (Re)production of (Trans)national Inequalities
Sourcing labour from Serbia has never been easier. But the recruitment channels are not managed or monitored. With fake information circulating and actors willing to profit from migration flows, Serbian labour migrants are in danger of over-exploitation. Nevertheless, many people want to leave Serbia because they are fed up with a system that has […]
Together We Stand: Enforced Single Motherhood and Ukrainian Refugees’ Care Networks
With the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, approximately 7.8 million Ukrainians have fled to European countries[1], searching for safety abroad[2]. According to UNHCR Regional intentions report, approximately 87%[3] of Ukrainian refugees are women and children. Some recalculation of the report results allows an estimation of 35% or approximately 2.7 […]
