Damian Szacawa

Dr. Damian Szacawa is a Lecturer in the Department of International Political Relations at the Faculty of Political Science and Journalism, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, Poland. His office is located in room A.5.62 at Głęboka 45 street in Lublin, where he holds regular consultations for students on Mondays and Wednesdays during academic semesters.

Dr. Szacawa earned his PhD in humanities in political science in 2012 with a dissertation titled "Rada Państw Morza Bałtyckiego" (Council of the Baltic Sea States), supervised by Professor Marek Pietraś. His primary research interests focus on international relations theory, international organizations, regional integration, international security, and specifically international relations in the Baltic Sea region and Central and Eastern Europe. He has developed particular expertise in the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS), HELCOM, and Nordic-Baltic security cooperation.

His recent publications demonstrate a clear trend toward analyzing the transformative impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on the Baltic Sea region's security architecture, with particular attention to Finland and Sweden's NATO accession. His work spans both theoretical analysis of regional organizations and practical policy implications for EU and NATO security frameworks in Northern Europe.

• NCN MINIATURA grant (2021/05/X/HS5/00521) for 'Potential of grounded theory in research on relations between international organizations'
• Ministry of Science and Higher Education research grant (N N116 369337) for 'Council of the Baltic Sea States' (2009-2012)
• Piotr Mroczyk scholarship for doctoral students

Dr. Szacawa currently teaches courses including EU Security and Defense Policy, EU Security Policy, Political Geography, International Economic Organizations, Regionalization of the International System, and International Relations in the Baltic Sea Region. He leads several significant research projects, most notably the NCN OPUS 22 project 'Science Diplomacy in Northern Europe' (2022-2026), and collaborates with researchers from University of Gdańsk, Kyoto Sangyo University, and Tampere University on projects examining critical junctures in Baltic Sea regional identity and the emerging 'New Cold War' dynamics.