New challenges and opportunities in a transforming Europe

Senior Lecturer Ayca Arkilic is coordinating a Jean Monnet Module focusing on European Union affairs.

A building facade with a flag displaying on a large wall of glass.

Following the outbreak of the 2011 Syrian war, the migrant crisis has served as a litmus test for European integration. In the following years, Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have triggered mobility, food, and energy crises in Europe and beyond. However, new opportunities have also arisen, such as growing cooperation among EU member states, the EU-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement, and the Christchurch Call.

The project

A logo, with the text Co-funded by the European Union on the right . The logo is a blue flag with a circle of yellow stars.

NECOTE - New Challenges and Opportunities in a Transforming Europe, supported by the European Commission between 2023–2026 (Project ID 101126961), provides a unique learning opportunity to students of Victoria University of Wellington and wider society in the country’s capital and political centre.

Themes

Led by a European politics expert, NECOTE covers key themes, including:

  • the EU’s history
  • challenges of European integration and migration
  • climate action
  • promotion of democracy in the rules-based world order
  • EU-New Zealand relations.

Activities

The project comprises:

  1. An undergraduate (POLS 205: The New Europe) and a graduate course (POLS 416: Borders, Migrants and States) that will attract students beyond political science, law, and economics
  2. Guest lectures by diplomats from the Delegation of the EU to New Zealand and various European embassies
  3. Guest lectures by EU studies scholars from New Zealand and Europe
  4. Study visits to the Delegation of the EU to New Zealand
  5. Research outputs
  6. A pedagogy roundtable on the teaching, learning, and research of sensitive topics pertaining to EU affairs, which will result in a special issue
  7. Public talks on EU-New Zealand relations by diplomats and scholars.

About NECOTE

NECOTE advances EU studies by:

  1. creating the first Jean Monnet module at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand’s top research university
  2. bringing scholars, students, diplomats, and wider society together
  3. improving students’ career prospects by honing their critical thinking and networking skills, and enhancing their comprehension of EU-New Zealand relations.

News

  • Professor William Hoverd gave a guest lecture on the Christchurch Call and security partnership between Europe and Aotearoa New Zealand in POLS 205 on 9 October 2024.
  • On 2 October 2024, Dr Sam Crawley discussed climate policy in the EU with POLS 205 students.
  • On 1 October 2024, with POLS 416 students, we had a great discussion on arts and migration with case studies from Europe. Guest speakers from the ChangeMakers Resettlement Forum and the National Youth Refugee Council joined the discussion.
  • NECOTE's second public lecture took place on 27 September 2024. Dr Nicholas Ross Smith, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Canterbury and the Research Leader of the Jean Monnet Network project, "What role for the EU in the Indo-Pacific?" gave a talk titled "EU Crisis Response: From Yugoslavia to Ukraine."
  • On 18 September 2024, the European Union's Ambassador to New Zealand, HE Lawrence Meredith, met with POLS 205 students to discuss EU-Aotearoa New Zealand relations.
  • On 6 September 2024 Andrew Wilford from the New Zealand Contemporary China Research Center gave a guest lecture on EU-China relations for POLS 205 students.
  • NECOTE's first public lecture took place on 11 September 2024. Dr Hamish McDougall, Executive Director of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs (NZIIA) gave a talk titled "Anglo-New Zealand Relations Post World War Two." The lecture attracted students and lecturers.
  • On 16 August 2024, NECOTE hosted Mr Eric Soulier, Head of Culture, Education, and Science at the Embassy of France, who discussed public diplomacy and France-Aotearoa New Zealand relations in POLS 205.
  • The first book of the NECOTE project has been promoted by Observatoire de la Turquie in France.
  • NECOTE is supporting two University courses in T2 2024 (July-October 2024): New Europe and Borders, Migrants and States.

Cultivating Seeds Abroad: Turkey's Diaspora Youth Diplomacy

  • Project leader Dr Ayca Arkilic spent her sabbatical in Spring 2024 at Harvard Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies with the support of NECOTE funding, where she gave a research talk on Turkey's diaspora youth diplomacy and its implications for Europe. Image credit: Harvard Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies.

Publications

Routledge Handbook of Turkey's Diasporas

  • NECOTE funding has supported the publication of this first Handbook on Turkey's diasporas. Consisting of 37 chapters, it provides a rich overview of the socio-political issues and dynamics impacting Turkey’s diasporic groups and diaspora policymaking. Taken together, the historical and contemporary analyses presented in this volume provide readers a multi-lens perspective on the trajectories of Turkey’s diasporic communities and diaspora policymaking in a wide range of regional contexts, including Europe, North America, and Oceania. It is endorsed by prominent scholars of migration, including Thomas Faist, Riva Kastoryano, and Thijl Sunier as well as a stellar editorial board, including Fiona Adamson, Eva Østergaard-Nielsen, and Harris Mylonas.

    • Routledge Handbook of Turkey's Diasporas

  • The first peer-reviewed journal article of NECOTE has been published open access in the high-impact journal, Globalizations. You can access it on the journal website: Cultivating seeds abroad: China’s and Turkey’s diaspora youth diplomacy

Contact

If you're interested in knowing more about this module and its activities, contact:

Ayca profile picture

Dr Ayca Arkilic

Senior Lecturer

School of History, Philosophy, Political Science and International Relations