On Thursday, June 18, 2026, Professor Dr. Dirk Linowski will give a guest lecture on the topic “USA and China: A Struggle for World Domination?” as part of the course “250 Years United States: History, Society, Politics”. Professor Linowski has been a visiting professor at various Chinese universities (including among others Shanghai Normal University) since 2002 and is the author of numerous relevant publications. His most recent work is the second edition of his book “German-Chinese Relations: Economy, Politics, Society” (UVK 2026). The lecture will take place from 3:15 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. in the Arno Esch Lecture Hall II (Ulmenstraße 69, Building 8) and is being held in cooperation with the Center for Eurasian Studies (ZEUS). All interested parties are cordially invited!

Abstract:

The resurgence of China is the dominant geopolitical event since the collapse of the Soviet Union and German reunification in 1990. It is a fact that the US and China are currently the only superpowers; Russia is merely a military power, and we have seen in the tariff negotiations with the US and the talks to resolve the war in Ukraine what the much-vaunted regulatory power that the EU believed it possessed actually means.

The Chinese government’s 2015 strategy “Made in China 2025” which stated that China aims for technological leadership in virtually all relevant modern technologies (including electromobility, artificial intelligence, robotics, and renewable energies), was countered by Donald Trump in his first term in 2016. Trump declared an economic war on China, asserting that there could only be one number one, and that it was the US. Since the late 2010s, we have been in a period of open political, economic, and military rivalry, in which the two superpowers, the US and China, are attempting to stabilize and expand their spheres of influence. The EU half-heartedly followed the US lead in 2019 by declaring China a “partner, competitor, and systemic rival”.

The escalation of the tariff conflict triggered by US President Donald Trump in the spring of 2025 demonstrated that China, or rather the Chinese government, was well-prepared at all levels for a major non-military conflict with the US: For decades, technology had been promoted, markets diversified, and international alliances expanded. One must be able to afford dominance: We have witnessed that the US is currently reaching material limits regarding its ability to shape international politics. Of particular importance for China as a potential challenger is the demographic development: China does not currently, nor in the foreseeable future, possess the resources to replace the US as the sole global superpower. And the Chinese leadership knows this. It publicly proclaims a multilateral order but clearly prefers a “divide and rule” approach, i.e., spheres of influence for both superpowers.

Flyer (pdf)

On November 4, 2025, Dr. Jakob Kullik gave a guest lecture on the topic “Rare Earths, Lithium, and Co.: Who Will Win the Race for the Strategic Raw Materials of the Future?” as part of the seminar “Politics and International Relations of the Asia-Pacific Region” (Prof. Dr. Jörn Dosch) in cooperation with the Center for Eurasian Studies (ZEUS).

The lecture began with an introduction to raw material types, their global deposits, and key trade relationships. It then examined the significance of strategic raw materials for civilian and military applications and analyzed the respective raw material policy strategies of the major players: the USA, China, the EU, Russia, and Japan.

Dr. Jakob Kullik is a research associate at the Chair of International Politics at Chemnitz University of Technology. His research focuses on topics including geopolitics and raw materials, raw material policy and security of supply in Germany, the EU, Russia and China, political relations between Germany, the EU and Russia, and foreign, security and defense policy in Germany, the EU and Russia.

Flyer (pdf)

The Department of Political Science and the Centre for Eurasian Studies (ZEUS) at the University of Rostock, Germany, in cooperation with the School of Humanities and Liberal Arts at Chandigarh University, India, and with the University of Aarhus, Denmark, conducted an international conference on “South Asian Migration and the Conditions of Precarity” at the University of Rostock June 27-28, 2025.

The conference was an open and interdisciplinary event that brought together various perspectives on South Asian migration from different academic disciplines. The connecting overarching concept was the idea of “Precarity” understood as conditions of vulnerability and insecurity in the life of migrants from South Asia. Precarity may refer to migratory status, citizenship, identity, work, politics, and all spheres of everyday life.

Key notes were delivered by Om Prakash Dwivedi (Professor and Founding Director, Institute of Liberal Arts and Humanities at Chandigarh University, Lucknow Campus, India) and Tabish Khair (Associate Professor, School of Communication and Culture, Department of English at the University of Aarhus, Denmark). Presentations and participants came from Germany, Denmark, Poland, and India. It is planned to publish the conference papers in an edited volume or in a special issue of a fitting journal.

Conference Program (pdf)

In March 2025, Dr. Pierre Gottschlich (ZEUS Spokesperson and Senior Lecturer and Research Associate at the Chair of International Politics and Development Cooperation) travelled to India to foster contacts and initiate cooperation programs with universities in Lucknow and Hyderabad. 

In Lucknow, capital of the state of Uttar Pradesh in North India, Dr. Gottschlich was hosted by the School of Humanities and Liberal Arts at Chandigarh University Uttar Pradesh. In a guest lecture on March 24, he gave a talk on the topic of “International Conflict Resolution”. Also, Dr. Gottschlich participated in a national level Corporate Board meeting of Chandigarh University and had the opportunity to meet several members of the academic faculty and the administration. Among many other things, a Memorandum of Understanding between the School of Humanities and Liberal Arts at Chandigarh University and the Department of Political Science at the University of Rostock was discussed and prepared. Chandigarh University is also a cooperation partner for the international conference “South Asian Migration and the Conditions of Precarity” which is going to take in place in Rostock June 27-28, 2025.

In Hyderabad, capital of the state of Telangana in the south-central part of India, Dr. Gottschlich was guest of the Human Sciences Research Centre at the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Hyderabad. On March 26, he gave a guest lecture on the topic of “The Indian Diaspora in Germany”. The visit of the unique and impressive IIIT campus was also aimed at preparing the international conference on migration in June, where two researchers from Hyderabad will present their findings in Rostock, hopefully leading to further collaboration between the institutions.

On March 4, 2025, a team of researchers from the Institute of Public Service and Management of the Odesa Polytechnic National University, Ukraine, once again visited their partner institution in Rostock within the framework of the Eurizon Fellowship Programme. Prof. Dr. Natalia Kolisnichenko and PhD students Olena Lypach and Yuliia Slobodianiuk met with representatives of the University of Rostock including Prof. Dr. Jörn Dosch (Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences and Chair of International Politics and Development Cooperation at the University of Rostock) and Dr. Pierre Gottschlich (Senior Lecturer and Research Associate at the Chair of International Politics and Development Cooperation and ZEUS Spokesperson). 

During the meeting, the results of the project on the restoration and reconstruction of post-war territories, in particular Ukrainian communities, were presented. Also, views were shared on Rostock’s experience in organizing and financing restoration and reconstruction projects after World War II and after the reunification of Germany. The city tour of Rostock included a visit to the main building of the University and its treasury with several historical artifacts and a visit to the University’s impressive zoological collection. Overall, the visit was another important step for deepening the cooperation between the universities and for exchanging experiences in the field of post-war reconstruction.

In December 2024, a team of researchers from the Institute of Public Service and Management of the Odesa Polytechnic National University, Ukraine, visited their partner institution in Rostock within the framework of the Eurizon Fellowship Programme. An academic workshop was conducted on December 12, 2024, at the Center for Eurasian Studies (ZEUS) at the University of Rostock. Participants included Prof. Dr. Jörn Dosch (Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences and Chair of International Politics and Development Cooperation at the University of Rostock), Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Muno (Chair of Comparative Politics), Prof. Dr. Peter Christoph Lorson (Chair of Accounting, Management Control and Auditing) and Dr. Pierre Gottschlich (Senior Lecturer and Research Associate at the Chair of International Politics and Development Cooperation and ZEUS Spokesperson).

In the workshop, Olena Lypach (PhD student of the Odesа Polytechnic National University) presented her research on “Regional Mechanism of Planning and Development of Cities in the Conditions of Modern Challenges”. Yuliia Slobodianiuk (PhD student of the Department of Public administration and regional studies of the Odesа Polytechnic National University) gave a presentation on “The Role of Local Communities as Important Subjects of International Inter-Territorial Cooperation in the Process of Ukraine’s Reconstruction: International Grants as One of the Ways of Financing Reconstruction in Communities”. Both presentations showed impressive research insights and were discussed intensively.