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March 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
City View Room, 7th Floor |
U.S. Influence and the Informal Rules of the IMFRandall W. Stone, Professor of Political Science, University of Rochester
Please join us for a discussion of Controlling Institutions: International Organizations and the Global Economy with presentation by Randall W. Stone and commentary by Alex Mourmouras. The book shows how a combination of formal and informal rules explains how international organizations really work. It shows that U.S. interests influence the size, terms, and enforcement of IMF programs. New data, archival documents, and interviews reveal the shortcomings of IMF programs in Mexico, Russia, Korea, Indonesia, and Argentina. PONARS Eurasia is generously supported by the International Program of the Carnegie Corporation of New York. RSVP: novikova@gwu.edu Sponsored by the Institute for European, Eurasian, and Russian Studies (IERES), and the Program on New Approaches to Research and Security in Eurasia (PONARS Eurasia) |
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Lindner Family Commons, Room 602 |
Security Policy Forum: Egypt: After the RevolutionMichele Dunne, Co-chair, Bipartisan Working Group of Egypt; Senior Associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Lunch will be served.
Sponsored by the Security Policy Forum, the Institute for Middle East Studies, and the Institute for Security and Conflict Studies |
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Monroe Hall, Kendrick Conference Room, Room 321 |
Quantifying Vulnerability to Climate Change: Implications for Adaption AssistanceDavid Wheeler, Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development Trade and Development Workshop Series
Sponsored by the Institute for International Economic Policy |
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
The Chung-wen Shih Conference Room, Room 503 |
Conversations with Scholars: Thoughts on US-China Relations with Bruce ReynoldsBruce Reynolds, Professor of Economics, University of Virginia; Visiting Scholar, Institute for International Economic Policy, GW This event is an informal luncheon and Q&A session on US-China relations with Bruce Reynolds for OAS members and GW students.
This event is only open to GW students.
Sponsored by the Sigur Center for Asian Studies and the Organization for Asian Studies |
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Room 505 |
Yanukovych's Ukraine: Results from the First YearErik Herron, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Kansas
President Viktor Yanukovych came to power in Ukraine one year ago. His rule marked a dramatic shift away from the 2004 Orange Revolution. Under his leadership, Ukraine has greatly improved its relationship with Russia. However, it has suffered significant setbacks in terms of democratic institution building. Similarly, it remains dependent on the International Monetary Fund to boost and reform its ailing economy. To provide an overview of the past year in Ukrainian politics and economics, IERES will present a panel of speakers marking Yanukovych's first year in office. Each speaker will make a short presentation to be followed by questions from the audience. Erik Herron will discuss the quality of the local elections held on October 31. Randall Stone will examine the evolving relationship between the IMF and Ukraine. Robert Orttung will give an overview of the democratic setbacks over the last year. Andriy Pekhnyk will give the view from Lviv. Henry Hale will chair the discussion. Part of IERES Petrach Program on Ukraine. RSVP: ieresgwu@gwu.edu Sponsored by the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies |
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Lindner Family Commons, Room 602 |
Reforming U.S. Foreign Assistance: Dream or Reality?Connie Veillette, Director, Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance Program, Center for Global Development
Please join the International Development Forum for a panel discussion on the current efforts to reform U.S. foreign aid and development assistance. Light refreshments will be served.
Sponsored by the International Development Studies Program and the Organization for International Development (OID) |
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Voesar Conference Room, Suite 412 |
Bolivia: Competing Worldviews and AgendasSimon Yampara, Delegate, International Affairs, Office of the Mayor, La Paz; Professor of History, University of El Alto
Simón Yampara is a well-know Aymara intellectual who has published various books and articles on Andean cosmovision and civilizatory roots, the most recent being an essay on "Links Between the Civilization of Tiwanaku and the Bolivian Constitution." Dr. Yampara is currently the Delegate for Intercultural Affairs in the mayor's office in La Paz and history professor at the University of El Alto.
Light refreshments will be provided.
Sponsored by Latin America Hemispheric Studies Program and the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) |
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Room 505 |
Fair and Rules-based: A New Trade Policy for EuropeLucian Cernat, Chief Trade Economist, European Commission Please RSVP at: http://tinyurl.com/iieppolicyforum Sponsored by the Institute for International Economic Policy and International Economic Policy Forum |
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Voesar Conference Room, Suite 412 |
Selling a Western Way of Life? The Politics of Popular Culture in Cold War YugoslaviaSabina Mihelj, Visiting Scholar, Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies, GW Western popular culture is often credited with contributing to the collapse of communism. As the Cold War division of the world was crumbling apart, Western radio broadcasts, popular tunes, fashions and youth cultures were praised for nurturing the hope of a different way of life, one presumably associated with the West. Recent research on the nature of everyday life in late socialism, however, calls for a more careful assessment of the role of Western cultural imports. This presentation contributes to this debate by examining the politics of popular culture in Cold War Yugoslavia.
This event is part of IERES' Visiting Scholar Roundtable Series RSVP: ieresgwu@gwu.edu Sponsored by Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies |
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Voesar Conference Room, Suite 412 |
The Russian Presidential Election of March 2012: Its Impact on Current PoliticsPeter Reddaway, Professor Emeritus of Political Science and International Affairs, GW In 2005-2007, high politics in Russia was heavily influenced by largely covert struggles over who should become president and prime minister in 2008. Putin was subjected to powerful pressures. Sergei Ivanov was evidently dropped by the Putin circle as its presidential candidate only in September 2007. Medvedev was only chosen as his replacement at the last minute - in December. Also, it seems unlikely that Putin was happy to feel he had to become prime minister.
RSVP: ieresgwu@gwu.edu Sponsored by Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies |
Friday, March 4, 2011
Voesar Conference Room, Suite 412 |
Deadly Communities: Anti-Jewish Pogroms in the Shadow of the HolocaustJeffrey Kopstein Professor of Political Science; Director, Centre for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies, University of Toronto
Why, after the outbreak of World War II in Eastern Europe, did the inhabitants of some communities erupt in violence against their Jewish neighbors? Mr. Kopstein will argue that the greater the degree of preexisting intercommunal polarization between Jews and the titular majority group, the more likely it was that a pogrom would occur. Where Jews supported ethnic parties that advocated minority cultural autonomy, the local populations perceived the Jews as an obstacle to the creation of a nation-state in which minorities acknowledged the right of the titular majority to impose its culture across a country's entire territory. These communities became toxic. Where determined state elites could politically integrate minorities, pogroms were far less likely to occur. The results of Mr. Kopstein's study point to the theoretical importance of political assimilation and are also consistent with research that extols the virtues of interethnic civic engagement. Part of the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies' European Politics Series. RSVP: ieresgwu@gwu.edu Sponsored by the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studes |
Friday, March 4, 2011
Voesar Conference Room, Suite 412 |
Environmental Cooperation in Northeast Asia: Challenges and ProspectsElizabeth Wishnick, Associate Professor of Political Science and Law, Montclair State University
In Northeast Asia, environmental degradation and competition over scarce resources have the potential to contribute to political tension in a region that still has many remaining territorial disputes and where distrust among neighboring countries is still an issue. Recently, the region has seen new efforts to improve inter-regional cooperation between states, such as Russia, China and Japan. Joint monitoring, cooperative research, and harmonization of standards and processes can serve the dual function of resolving common environmental problems and improving relations among states. On the other hand, it is pointed out that in most issue areas, the states of Northeast Asia have not yet developed a shared understanding of common environmental problems.
RSVP: ieresgwu@gwu.edu Sponsored by the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies, the Sigur Center for Asian Studies, the Slavic Research Center, and Hokkaido University |
Friday, March 4, 2011
Lindner Family Commons, Room 602 |
CANCELED: Alter(ed)natives
Professor Ulysse explores the border zones between ethnography and performance, and discusses as she puts it, why we need the visceral in the structural to participate in the decolonizing project of accessing and reclaiming a full subject.
Please RSVP at: http://bit.ly/g8Np0K Sponsored by the Institute for Global and International Studies, the Culture in Global Affairs Program, and the Global Gender Initiative Program, and the University Seminar in Performance |
Friday, March 4, 2011
Lindner Family Commons, Room 602 |
CANCELED: Because When God is too Busy: Haiti, Me, and the World
Professor Ulysse's training as a cultural anthropologist informs this dramatic monologue about how Haiti's past occupies its present. She weaves history, personal narrative, theory, and statistics in spoken-word with Vodou chants to reflect and deconstruct childhood memories, social (in)justice, spirituality, and the dehumanization of Haitians.
A reception will follow the event.
Sponsored by the Institute for Global and International Studies, the Culture in Global Affairs Program, and the Global Gender Initiative Program |
Monday, March 7, 2011
Lindner Family Commons, Room 602 |
Women Working for WomenOpening Remarks by:
In honor of the International Women's Day Centenary, this panel will explore the diverse experiences of women working for women's empowerment. Light snacks will be provided.
Sponsored by the Global Gender Initiative, the Institute for Global and International Studies, and The Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Washington |
Monday, March 7, 2011
Room 113 |
The Joseph Cedar Film Retrospective: Time of FavorYaron Peleg, Associate Professor of Hebrew, GW
Yaron Peleg and Dan Schwartz will speak before presenting Time of Favor, Israeli writer-director Joseph Cedar's debut film. The movie plays out a psychologically complex love triangle in the middle of terrorist conflict in Israel's West Bank. Please RSVP at: http://tinyurl.com/aTimeOfFavor Sponsored by the Middle East Policy Forum, which is presented with the generous support of ExxonMobil, and Gelman Library |
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Monroe Hall, Kendrick Conference Room, Room 321 |
Magic Transition? Intergenerational Economic Mobility in Rural China from 1988 to 2002Yan Sun, The George Washington University This event is part of the Trade and Development Workshop Series.
Sponsored by the Institute for International Economic Policy |
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Media and Public Affairs building, Room 306 |
Film Screening: Act of DishonorNelofer Pazira, Director, Act of Dishonor Join the Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication and Nelofer Pazira, director of Act of Dishonor for a special screening and discussion about the film.
Please RSVP at: http://gwactofdishonor.eventbrite.com/ Sponsored by the Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication and E1 Entertainment |
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Room 505 |
The Promotion of Sustainable Mining and Energy Activities in PeruPedro Sanchez Gamarra, Minister, Ministry of Energy and Mines, Peru Mr. Sánchez Gamarra became Peru's Minister of Energy and Mines in October 2008. He has led numerous institutions in Peru, including COPRI and ElectroPerú. He holds M.A. degrees from GW and the Escuela de Administración de Negocios para Graduados (ESAN). Please RSVP at: http://tiny.cc/406al Sponsored by the Latin American and Hemispheric Studies Program |
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Lindner Family Commons, Room 602 |
Remembering Indonesia's War of Independence: Identity, Politics, and Military HistoryRonald Spector, Professor of History and International Affairs Professor Spector received his B.A. from Johns Hopkins University and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Yale University. He has served in various government positions and on active duty in the Marine Corps from 1967-1969 and 1983-1984, and was the first civilian to become Director of Naval History and the head of the Naval Historical Center. He has served on the faculties of Louisiana State University, Alabama, and Princeton and has been a senior Fulbright lecturer in India and Israel. In 1995-1996 he was Distinguished Visiting Professor of Strategy at the National War College and was the Distinguished Guest Professor at Keio University, Tokyo in 2000. At the Elliott School, Professor Spector offers undergraduate and graduate courses on US-East Asia Relations, World War II, and the Vietnam War as well as a graduate seminar on Naval history and one on strategy. Please RSVP at: http://tinyurl.com/SpectorMar9
Sponsored by the Sigur Center for Asian Studies |
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Room 505 |
Rock and Roll, Disco Mafia, and the Collapse of CommunismSergei Zhuk, Associate Professor of History, Ball State University
How did rock and disco music contribute to the fall of communism and the rise of post-Soviet capitalism? Why did Westernization during the two decades before the USSR collapse lead to Russification? This presentation and discussion will analyze the cultural history of an important closed Soviet city, home to the 'Dnipropetrovsk mafia' that ran the USSR and Soviet Ukraine from the 1960s to the 1980s, the rise of a new post-Soviet business and political elite from the Komsomol-run discos and businesses (including Yulia Tymoshenko, Sergei Tigipko, and others) and the language question and Westernization in the media environment of independent Ukraine.
This event is part of the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies' Petrach Program on Ukraine RSVP: ieresgwu@gwu.edu Sponsored by the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies |
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Room 505 |
Bloodlands: Europe between Hitler and StalinTimothy Snyder, Professor of History, Yale University In the lands between Berlin and Moscow, some fourteen million people were killed from 1933 to 1945 by German and Soviet policy. Professor Snyder will discuss the major killing policies, from Soviet terror through the Holocaust, with special attention to the overlap and interaction of Soviet and German power in the Bloodlands : western Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, and the Baltics.
RSVP: ieresgwu@gwu.edu Sponsored by Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies |
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Room B-17 |
Targeting Arab Cities: Military and Architectural Expertise and the Moralization of the Politics of EmpireAhmed Kanna is the Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of the Pacific School of International Studies. His publications include Dubai: The City as Corporation (2011, University of Minnesota Press), "Flexible Citizenship in Dubai: Neoliberal Subjectivity in the Emerging City Corporation," Cultural Anthropology, 2010 and Rethinking Cities and Communities in the Global Era, co-edited with Xiangming Chen (forthcoming, Routledge Press). Ahmed Kanna will discuss a contemporary, post-neoliberal and Global War on Terror conjuncture in which the issue of urbanism and, in particular the global south city, is becoming a central object expertise. In particular, cities in the Middle East and South/Central Asia have become central in Western, and particularly U.S., discourses of security, neoliberalism, and cultural representation. The first decade of the 21st century seems to have created two Middle Eastern archetypes in the imaginations of Western military and architectural experts: Dubai and Baghdad/Gaza, or, the urban blank slate/architectural laboratory versus the city as object of military discipline. In this paper, he will look at the ways in which cities, or the image of cities, do "cultural work" in the moralization of the politics of U.S. and neoliberal empire. The IMES Lecture Series is supported by the U.S. Department of Education Title VI grant for National Resource Centers. RSVP: http://tinyurl.com/66rjg3n Sponsored by the Institute for Middle East Studies |
Friday, March 11, 2011
Lindner Family Commons, Room 602 |
Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS)Maggie Chen, Assistant Professor of Economics and International Affairs, GW
The Washington Area International Trade Symposium (WAITS) is a forum that highlights cutting edge trade research at leading economic institutions in the Washington D.C. area. Its primary activity is sponsoring an annual research conference where scholars present their latest work. Researchers from The George Washington University, University of Maryland, Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins University (SAIS), the World Bank, and the Federal Reserve are all participants in the symposium. Please RSVP at: http://tinyurl.com/WAITSconference Sponsored by the Elliott School of International Affairs, University of Maryland, Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins University (SAIS), the World Bank, and the Federal Reserve |
Thursday, March 17, 2011
2nd Floor |
19th Annual Symposium of the Society for Nonlinear Dynamics and EconometricsJames Bullard, President and Chief Executive Officer, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
The aim of the conference is to present and discuss recent developments in theoretical and empirical analysis of nonlinearity in economics and finance. Please join us for the second part of the conference:
Sponsored by the Institute for International Economic Policy and the Society for Nonlinear Dynamics and Econometrics |
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
John W. Kendrick Seminar Room, Room 321 |
Is There Surplus Labor in Rural India?Andrew Foster, Professor and Chair Department of Economics; Professor of Community Health, Brown University
Please RSVP at: http://tinyurl.com/iieptradeworkshop Sponsored by the Institute for International Economic Policy (IIEP), and the Department of Economics |
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Voesar Conference Room, Suite 412 |
Why Do Governments (Really) Join the International Criminal Court?Medlir Mema, Guest Scholar, Swedish National Defense College Why do governments join the International Criminal Court? Some argue that governments ratify the Rome Treaty to appear as members in good standing of the international community. Citing the risks associated with the ratification of the treaty, others have suggested that governments join the ICC to make their commitment to reduce civil disobedience credible by tying their own hands not only to prosecute fairly but also to be prosecuted. Medlir Mema will argue that while joining the ICC can be potentially costly, given the principle of complementarity and the Court's need for the protections guaranteed under the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities, states still have many safeguards against the Court. Moreover, participating in the negotiations and deliberations of the Court's jurisdiction provides two important benefits for these states. At the domestic level, they can use the ICC to legitimize the prosecution of their political opponents as well as use the possibility of a self-referral to the ICC for leverage in negotiations; while at the international level, the establishment and strengthening of the Court is seen as a means to weakening the UN Security Council's hold on the trigger for situations involving the crime of aggression.
RSVP: ieresgwu@gwu.edu Sponsored by Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies |
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Harry Harding Auditorium, Room 213 |
Thirst: Long Term Solutions to the Global Clean Water CrisisRoberto Lenton, Former Co-Chair, UN Millennium Project Task Force on Water and Sanitation; Former Director, UNDP Sustainable Energy and Environment Division
A panel to celebrate World Water Day and discuss challenges to achieving clean water. Refreshments to follow. RSVP: oidgwu@gmail.com Sponsored by the Organization for International Development and the International Development Studies program |
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Voesar Conference Room, Suite 412 |
The Problem of National Identity and Ethnic Tolerance in UkraineLarysa Zasekina, Fulbright Scholar, University of Central Arkansas; Professor and Department Chair of General and Social Psychology, Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University, Lutsk, Ukraine Ukraine is a multi-cultural country and the issues of national identity and ethnic tolerance are of considerable importance today. This lecture will lay out a personality-centered approach to national identity and ethnic tolerance. It will then examine the results of empirical research among students in western, eastern, and southern regions of Ukraine, with a specific emphasis on Crimea. It will highlight the balance between ethnic tolerance and xenophobia in the Ukrainian media. Additionally, it will examine the impact of bilingualism and the Soviet past on contemporary understandings of national identity and ethnic tolerance in Ukraine.
This event is part of IERES' Petrach Program on Ukraine RSVP: ieresgwu@gwu.edu Sponsored by Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies |
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Lindner Family Commons, Room 602 |
A Strategy of Nuclear Disarmament: Envisioning a World Free of Nuclear WeaponsAnne Harrington de Santana, Nuclear Security Fellow, Stanford University In this presentation, Harrington de Santana demonstrates that any plan to eliminate nuclear weapons must start from the premise that nuclear disarmament is a strategy, not a goal or a destination defined as zero nuclear weapons. Rather than concentrating on what a world free of nuclear weapons, it is necessary to begin by articulating a positive description of what it contains. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, she argues that nuclear weapons are destructive because they explode, but they are powerful because the practices of deterrence and nonproliferation link their destructive capacity to rational political ends. By filling the void at the center of current U.S. nuclear strategy with an account of how our experience of nuclear weapons as powerful is created and maintained by the institutions of deterrence and nonproliferation, and therefore not reducible to the material characteristics of nuclear weapons alone, it becomes possible to imagine maintaining our current confidence in the social institutions while slowly reducing the relative importance of the material characteristics of the nuclear weapons themselves. Please RSVP at: http://bit.ly/hmI24E Sponsored by Nuclear Policy Talks, the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, and the Institute for Security and Conflict Studies |
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Voesar Conference Room, Suite 412 |
Russia's Energy Strategy AbroadAdnan Vatansever, Senior Associate, Energy and Climate Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Adnan Vatansever will examine Russia's role as the world's leading fossil fuel exporter, focusing on Moscow's oil export strategy, highlighting the principal developments with regard to its export capacity, and examining the key challenges faced by Russia's gas industry amidst increasingly competitive global and regional gas markets.
RSVP: ieresgwu@gwu.edu Sponsored by the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies |
Monday, March 28, 2011
Lindner Family Commons, Room 602 |
After the Earthquake and Tsunami: Japan's Nuclear, Economic, and Political ChallengesAnalysis of the Nuclear Threat: This event will be available via a live webcast at http://elliott.gwu.edu/news/events/tsunami.cfm
Sponsored by the Sigur Center for Asian Studies |
Monday, March 28, 2011
Room 505 |
Spent Fuel ReprocessingThomas Shea, Nuclear Consultant The relevance of non-proliferation, international safeguards, energy security, environmental protection, the prevention of nuclear terrorism and nuclear disarmament on national and global policies affecting whether, when and how reprocessing should go forward. Please RSVP at: http://bit.ly/gfmySc Sponsored by Institute for Security and Conflict Studies and the Nuclear Policy Talks |
Monday, March 28, 2011
Jack Morton Auditorium, |
Libya: The Road Map to FreedomMarah Bukai, Founder and President, Al Waref Institute
Doors open at 5:30 PM and attendees must be seated by 6:20 PM. ID required.
Sponsored by the International Affairs Society, with support from the Institute for Middle East Studies |
Monday, March 28, 2011
Sigur Center, Suite 503 |
Asian Film Week: Homerun (Singapore)Homerun is a drama about two poor siblings and their adventures over a lost pairs of shoes. Set in 1965, the year Singapore separated from Malaysia, the film satirizes political relations between the two countries, which lead to its banning in Malaysia. It was nominated for two awards at the 2003 Golden Horse Awards; Megan Zheng, then 10, became the first Singaporean to win a Golden Horse. Please RSVP at: http://tinyurl.com/OASasianfilmweek Sponsored by the Organization of Asian Studies and the Sigur Center for Asian Studies |
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Lindner Family Commons, Room 602 |
Peru's 2011 Elections: Perspectives on the Campaign and Prospects for the First RoundCarlos Indacochea, Professorial Lecturer, GW
Discussion of the upcoming Peruvian presidential and congressional elections. Please RSVP at: http://tiny.cc/peru2011election Sponsored by the Latin American and Hemispheric Studies Program |
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Lindner Family Commons, Room 602 |
Princes, Brokers, and Bureaucrats: Oil and the State in Saudi ArabiaSteffen Hertog, Lecturer of Comparative Politics, London School of Economics and Political Science Steffen Hertog will present remarks on his latest book: Princes, Brokers, and Bureaucrats: Oil and the State in Saudi Arabia. A wine reception will follow the event at 6:00 PM.
Sponsored by Project on Middle East Political Science (POMEPS) and the Institute for Middle East Studies (IMES) |
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Sigur Center, Suite 503 |
Asian Film Week: Love of Siam (Thailand)A groundbreaking teen love story, Love of Siam is a moving gay romance that took Thailand by storm. When childhood neighbors and friends Mew and Tong are reunited after several years, they must decide if their feelings for one another are as friends, or something more. The film dominated Thailand's 2007 film awards season, winning the Best Picture category at all major national film award events, including the Thailand National Film Association Awards. Please RSVP at: http://tinyurl.com/OASasianfilmweek Sponsored by the Organization of Asian Studies and the Sigur Center for Asian Studies |
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Lindner Family Commons, Room 602 |
The Oracles of ProliferationBenoît Pelopidas, Postdoctoral Fellow, James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies
By examining via a case study the political authority of US proliferation experts since the 1960s, this article contributes to nuclear weapons proliferation studies and to the growing literature on the role of expertise in democracies. First, it argues that policy choices are determined by an understanding of history and that approaching nuclear history as a history of nuclear weapons proliferation is a presumption shared by both US experts and policy makers. Second, it shows that this understanding of history, relying on the metaphorical use of the term proliferation (which was imported from biology), strongly distorts the facts. Third, the article shows that nuclear experts are plagued by a conservative bias as a result of this use of the proliferation metaphor. Instead of challenging the faulty proliferation narrative, most experts have backed it without question. Fourth, the legitimacy that experts lend to this view of history has important political effects: it provides an authoritative assessment of past policies and limits the possibility of political innovation. Policy initiatives tend to be restricted to changes in speed or intensity. The article suggests three changes that might restore room for informed political innovation in nuclear weapons policies. RSVP: NonproliferationReview@gmail.com Sponsored by Institute for Security and Conflict Studies, Nuclear Policy Talks, and the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies |
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Room 505 |
Human Rights and the European Union: Immigration PoliciesFrank Schmiedel, First Secretary of Political, Justice and Home Affairs, Delegation of the European Union Frank Schmiedel will discuss immigration policy in the European Union giving focus to the immigration situation as a result of the unrest in the Middle East and North Africa.
RSVP: peers@gwu.edu Sponsored by Professionals in European, Eurasian, and Russian Studies (PEERS), the Human Rights Law Society, and the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies |
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Lindner Family Commons, Room 602 |
Muslims in AmericaJonathan Hayden, Program Coordinator, School of International Service, American University
Please join the Conflict Resolution Forum and the Graduate Student Forum for excerpts and discussion from the documentary, Journey into America. Led by documentary principles, Jonathan Hayden and Frankie Martin, we will be discussing the role and diversity of Muslims in the United States. Refreshments will follow. RSVP: crf@gwu.edu Sponsored by the Conflict Resolution Forum and Graduate Student Forum |
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Sigur Center, Suite 503 |
Asian Film Week: Mongolian Ping Pong (Mongolia)A ping pong ball, found floating in a stream, becomes the source of wonderment for three young boys who live in the remote grasslands of Mongolia. Bilike, the ball's discoverer, assumes it's a bird's egg. His wizened grandmother proclaims it a magic pearl. Unconvinced, the boys take the ball to the monastery, but even the grasslands' most knowledgeable inhabitants are stumped. When a television show reveals that the object is the "national ball of China," the determined young scouts decide to embark upon a journey to return the precious talisman to the Chinese capital. Please RSVP at: http://tinyurl.com/OASasianfilmweek Sponsored by the Organization of Asian Studies and the Sigur Center for Asian Studies |
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Room 505 |
Women, Reconstruction, and the Challenges of Civil Society in AfghanistanRangina Hamidi, Founder, Kandahar Treasure
This roundtable features speakers from Afghanistan, Canada, and the U.S. who will discuss the challenges, successes, and failures of various aspects of reconstruction in Afghanistan as it relates in particular to women and girls. The war in Afghanistan has become a staple of daily news in the US, yet there has been comparatively less discussion about the successes and failures of non-military strategies for stabilizing and rebuilding Afghanistan that are being pursued. Even less discussion has revolved around the question of how women have contributed to these pursuits, and with what results.
Please RSVP at: http://womenandreconstruction.eventbrite.com/ Sponsored by Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication, Department of Religion, the Women's Studies Program, the School of Media and Public Affairs (SMPA), the Afghan Students' Association (ASA) |
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Lindner Family Commons, Room 602 |
Rabindranath Tagore Memorial ConcertSudeshna Basu, Vocal and Harmonium
Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) was an Indian poet, philosopher, academician, composer, visionary and much more. He wrote 12 Novels, 3000 poems, 2025 songs, innumerable short stories, essays, letters and plays. He was the first Asian to win the Noble prize in 1913.
Please RSVP at: http://tinyurl.com/TagoreMar31 Sponsored by the Sigur Center for Asian Studies |
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Voesar Conference Room, Suite 412 |
Collapse: Why Some Asylum Systems Succeed While Others FailRidvan Peshkopia, Visiting Scholar, Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies (IERES), GW A comparison between the poorly functioning Greek asylum system and the highly regarded Albanian system leads to the question: Why do some asylum systems succeed while others fail? Ridvan Peshkopia will argue that, unless countries need asylum systems to deal with an influx of asylum seekers, they have no incentives to establish such institutions. As an alternative to building asylum systems, governments prefer to allow and even encourage asylum seekers to leave for more lucrative countries. When that is not possible, governments prefer to tighten their border controls. Therefore, establishing operational and efficient asylum systems is governments' least preferred alternative. Governments are willing to abide their countries' international obligations as long as such obligations do not require excessive efforts and resources; in cases where respecting the 1951 Geneva Convention becomes more economically and politically expensive than defecting, governments defect by switching their focus from refugee protection to border control. This argument applies to the EU as well.
This event is part of the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies' Visiting Scholar Roundtable Series RSVP: ieresgwu@gwu.edu Sponsored by Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies |
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Harry Harding Auditorium, Room 213 |
A Night of Film from Haiti's Ciné InstituteThe International Affairs Review is excited to host a screening of selected works from Haiti's Cine Institute including their latest documentary, Maswife: Life in Camp Pinchinat, a collective film from a group of five students who lived for months in Camp Pinchinat, one of Haiti's 1200 tent cities and Jacmel's largest camp, amongst over 1000 families displaced by the January 2010 earthquake. The documentary recently premiered at the 2010 International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, one of the leading documentary festivals in the world, where it received critical acclaim.
Refreshments available from 6:00 PM. RSVP: iar@gwu.edu Sponsored by International Affairs Review and the Ciné Institute |
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Sigur Center, Suite 503 |
Asian Film Week: The Battle of Narayama (Japan)In a small village in a remote valley, everyone who reaches the age of 70 is banished to the top of Mt. Narayama to die, so as not to be a burden on the village and bring disgrace upon their family. Old Orin is 69, and despite being in good health, in the coming winter it will be her turn to leave. But first, there are a few things that need doing. The Battle of Narayama won the 1983 Palm d'Or and is one of the most important works of celebrated Japanese filmmaker Shohei Imamura. Please RSVP at: http://tinyurl.com/OASasianfilmweek Sponsored by the Organization of Asian Studies and the Sigur Center for Asian Studies |