The project was launched in 2016 by the Center and focuses on research related to the Black Sea region. Under the umbrella of this network initiative, various projects are carried out that explore and compare transcultural contact zones across the region.

The project examines how state-citizen relations in Ukraine are being reconfigured under conditions of Russia’s full-scale invasion, mass displacement, and occupation. Using qualitative and ethnographic methods, it investigates how people enact, contest, and redefine citizenship in times of crisis.