About Global SSH study regions

The Global SSH Action aims at strategically enhancing capacities for high-quality research in the social sciences and humanities (SSH) and for transnational research co-operation between the Europe, Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries, and China.

Commonwealth of Independent States countries

Use of the term Commonwealth of Independent States or CIS countries to denote a group of twelve independent states – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan that were established as a result of disintegration of the former Soviet Union[1] - is undoubtedly problematic. Use of this term was heavily critisized by different authors and this critics is quite justified: the twelve countries today are quite different from each other in terms of their population, economies, cultures and religions; they have quite different political situations and far greater ties with countries beyond the borders of the former Soviet Union than with countries within those borders: Moldova to Romania, Ukraine to Poland, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to China, etc. As of today most of the international organisations have switched to “Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia” to denote the twelve post-Soviet countries that is a more accurate and closer to reality definition. The Action uses the historical term CIS as it looks into institutional conditions for the development social sciences and humanities in the region that were formed during the history of the existence of the former Soviet Union.

China

China is a very large country with a population of 1,307. mln inhabitants (Economist, 2005). The People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949 by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). More information is available at www.chinatoday.com, www1.chinadaily.com.cn.