Eröffnung und Grußworte
– Manuel Sarrazin, Präsident der Südosteuropa-Gesellschaft
– Botschafter Michael Reiffenstuel, Beauftragter für Südosteuropa, die Türkei, OSZE und Europarat, Auswärtiges Amt

Verleihung des Dissertationspreises der Fritz und Helga Exner-Stiftung
Preisträgerin:
– Dr. Claudia Laštro: „Do elite splits stabilise autocratic regimes? Case studies of Serbia and Montenegro“
Laudatio:
– Dr. Franz-Lothar Altmann, Universität Bukarest

Podiumsdiskussion
Ageing Societies and Immigration in Southeast Europe – Real Challenges and Imagined Threats

Speakers
– Prof. Dr. Florian Bieber, Center for Southeast European Studies, Universität Graz
– Ainur Kanafina, Regional Programme Specialist on Population and Development, UNFPA Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia
– Prof. Dr. Eva Fodor, Professor of Gender Studies, Central Eurpean University, Vienna/Budapest
– Prof. Dr. Maja Gerovska Mitev, Professor of Social Policy, University of Skopje

Chair
– Prof. Dr. Ulf Brunnbauer, Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies, Regensburg

About
Hardly any other region draws as much attention to demographic developments as Southeast Europe: when new census results are released, the media are full of reports about advancing depopulation and some commentators paint catastrophic scenarios of national demise. Indeed, emigration and low birth rates are causing the populations of the region to decline across the board. The UN predicts that this trend will continue over the coming decades. Such projections attract widespread media coverage, even though they have repeatedly proven retrospectively to be either too pessimistic or too optimistic.

The aim of the panel discussion is, first, to identify the social challenges that arise as societies adapt to changing demographics and an ageing population. These challenges concern not only pension and care systems but also the broader issue of migration, since immigration is the only realistic way to keep population numbers at least somewhat stable (yet, in Southeast Europe as elsewhere, there are strong critics of immigration). In this context, the discussion will also raise questions about Europe-wide interdependencies: How fair is it, for example, when care workers from Southeastern Europe are recruited to alleviate shortages in local care systems?

Secondly, the discussion will reflect on why demographic developments in Southeastern Europe—at times since the early 20th century—regularly provoke alarmist reactions, which repeatedly lead to the same political response: attempts to increase the birth rate (pro-natalism). Today, as in the 1970s, such efforts prove to be neither sustainable nor effective, and they have a negative effect on women’s emancipation. What role does demographic nationalism play in this, and how can it be overcome to pave the way for policies that prioritize welfare and rights instead of appeals to patriotic duty to have children?

The intention of the panel is to encourage an exchange of ideas among participants from different fields of expertise and to shed light on both political and social dimensions of the topic from various perspectives. The panel is organized by the research project “Anxieties of Ageing in Southeastern Europe,” funded by the Volkswagen Foundation, which recently conducted a comprehensive survey in the region on demographic perceptions.

ANMELDUNG
Die Veranstaltung findet am 28.02.2026 um 10:00-12:30 Uhr im hybriden Format statt. Wir bitten um Anmeldung bis spätestens 18. Februar 2026.