Event Recap: Former Finnish Prime Minister, Alexander Stubb, Visits Stanford

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In his April visit to Stanford University, Alexander Stubb, former Prime Minister of Finland and current member of the Finnish Parliament spoke on the state of geopolitics following Brexit and the election of Donald Trump. A self-described "liberal internationalist", Stubb argued that no matter what happens in the world, it is important to "remain cool, calm, and collected" as people have a tendency to exaggerate the events of the time in which they live. In order to understand the current epoch, Stubb highlighted the importance of three key dates and two key events. The first date, 1945, marked not only the end of World War II, but also the beginning of the structure of international organizations that prevails today and the beginning of bipolarity. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 marked the end of bipolarity, broader and deeper integration within the structure of international organizations, and a reconciliation of East and West. The final date, 2016, is significant because of its two key events: the British vote to leave the European Union and the election of Donald Trump as the President of the United States. These two events constituted a shock to the international order and symbolized a repudiation of the prevailing liberal international order. These two events, Stubb argued, have weakened the West. Brexit, he stated, will not only be an event of historical significance, but it is an inescapably lose-lose situation; both the European Union and the United Kingdom will be weakened as a result of Brexit. Trump's election, in his view, while a shock to the international order, is likely to be less damaging than Brexit as his term is limited and American institutions are remarkably resilient. However, Trump's presidency has ushered in the greatest instability in foreign policy that we have seen in decades. Stubb argued that the events of 2016 are likely to result in an international power vacuum.

In the remainder of his talk, Stubb explored whom would be likely to fill this power vacuum. His answer pointed to different entities taking leadership in different domains. In the realm of free trade, Stubb hypothesized that China will take the lead, and was quick to note the irony of a communist state becoming the global leader in free trade. He stated that U.S. military power will not disappear. Rather, he expects that the U.S. and Russia will jointly lead the world militarily. Finally, he argued that the values power vacuum is likely to be filled by the EU, particularly under German leadership. Yet, this would have been far less likely if Marine Le Pen had prevailed in the second round of the French presidential elections. He made clear, however, that the international system is still quite messy and these anticipated outcomes are far from certain.

To listen to this talk, please visit the FSI podcast station "World Class" on SoundCloud.

Alexander Stubb has served as Prime Minister, Finance Minister, Foreign Minister, Trade and Europe Minister of Finland. He was a Member of the European Parliament from 2004-2008 and in the national government from 2008-16. He was the Chairman of the National Coalition Party from 2014-16 and is currently a Member of the Finnish Parliament. Stubb's background is in academia and civil service. He holds a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics and Political Science and has published extensively. His expertise includes European and International Affairs, Foreign and Security Policy, and the Euro and the Global Economy. His current interests include Brexit, global affairs, the Fourth Industrial Revolution (digitalization, robotization and artificial intelligence), and health and exercise science. Stubb is a frequent commentator on international affairs for many global news channels and writes a regular column for the Financial Times and for Dagens Industri, the Swedish business journal.

Featured Faculty Research: David Holloway

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We would like to introduce you to some of The Europe Center’s faculty affiliates and the projects on which they are working. Our featured faculty member this month is David Holloway. David is the Raymond A. Spruance Professor of International History, a professor of political science, and an FSI senior fellow. He earned his Ph.D. from Cambridge University and joined the faculty at Stanford in 1986. During his time at Stanford, David has been co-director of CISAC (1991-1997), director of FSI (1998-2003), chair and co-chair of the International Relations Program (1989-1991), and associate dean in the School of Humanities and Sciences (1997-1998).

In his research, David is interested in the international history of nuclear weapons, science and technology in the Soviet Union, and the relationship between international history and international relations theory. He is the author of Stalin and the Bomb: The Soviet Union and Atomic Energy, 1939-1956 (1994), which was chosen by the New York Times Book Review as one of the 11 best books of 1994, won the Vucinich and Shulman prizes of the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, and has been translated into six languages. David is also the author of The Soviet Union and the Arms Race (1983) and co-author of The Reagan Strategic Defense Initiative: Technical, Political and Arms Control Assessment (1984). In his current research, David is interested in the international history of nuclear weapons as well as the current state of the nuclear world. Related to these interests, David recently organized a meeting of retired senior military officers at Stanford to discuss ways of enhancing strategic stability and reducing the risk of nuclear war and, in the Winter quarter, he co-taught a course on European Security in the Cold War. His most recent scholarly articles have been on totalitarianism and science and on the creation of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Featured Graduate Student Research: Anne Duray

We would like to introduce you to some of the graduate students that we support and the projects on which they are working. Our featured graduate student this month is Anne Duray (Classics). Anne is a Ph.D. candidate in Classical Archaeology in the Department of Classics at Stanford University.

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In her research, Anne is interested in the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age in the Aegean, as well as the history of archaeology in Greece, and the relationship between archaeological practices and knowledge production, interpretation, and narrative creation. In her dissertation, preliminarily entitled The Idea of Greek (Pre)history: Archaeological Practice and Knowledge Construction in the Case of Early Greece.”, Anne examines both final publications and archival material in order to understand the relationships between archaeological fieldwork, interpretation, and historical narratives during the period of transition from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age (c. 1200-950 BCE) in Greece, which has been viewed as a pivotal turning point in Greek history. Using a framework that draws upon the field of science studies and reflexive approaches to archaeological fieldwork, she focuses on the specific community of practice of Anglo-American scholars and their excavations during the 1950’s-1970’s. Her working hypotheses are, first, that archaeological practice and disciplinary development during these decades was in some ways a response to late-19th to early-20th century legacies, but at the same time laid the groundwork for the study of the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age in the following decades into the present and, second, that difficulty in reaching consensus and the nature of the discourse surrounding understanding the Late Bronze Age-Early Iron Age transition is a result not only of disciplinary divides, but also of the specific way and period in which they converge.

Funded by The Europe Center, Anne spent six weeks during the winter quarter in Athens conducting archival research for her dissertation. During her time in Athens, Anne conducted research at the library of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens and at the archival collections at the British School at Athens. She spent the majority of her time in Athens examining the correspondence preserved in the archive of Vincent Desborough, a prominent British archaeologist active during the mid-20th century. She processed nearly 700 pieces of correspondence received by Desborough from 1939 to 1968. Her analysis of Desborough’s correspondence not only contributed important insights in support of her two hypotheses, but also offered significant information concerning the network of scholars and knowledge exchange practices during these decades. While a significant portion of the correspondence Desborough maintained was with a core group of colleagues, Anne found the overall internationalism of Desborough’s network to be noteworthy: over these years he was in contact with British, American, Greek, Swedish, German, Italian, Czech, French, and Polish scholars. An additional point of significance in light of her research questions is that he was also in contact with not only fellow Early Iron Age archaeologists, but also with historians and Bronze Age scholars. The correspondence Anne was able to examine in the Desborough archive provided a wealth of fruitful material for her dissertation. The disciplinary tensions, research agendas, and scholarly networks that arise from the correspondence can be traced and connected not only with contemporary publications, but also with excavation archives. Desborough had connections to two sites in particular that she is studying for her dissertation: Lefkandi/Xeropolis (first excavated 1964-66) and Nichoria (1969-1975). Correspondence from the Desborough archive reveals that the directors of both sites were in communication with Desborough concerning the origins and motivations for undertaking these projects, both of which yielded archaeological material from the Late Bronze Age-Early Iron Age transition.

Anne has been awarded an advanced student fellowship at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens for the 2017-2018 academic year. During that time, she will be conducting additional archival and on-site analysis in Greece. She plans to complete and defend her dissertation during the 2018-2019 academic year.

Please visit our website for more information about our Graduate Student Grant program.

Spring 2017 Graduate Student Grant Competition Winners Announced

Please join us in congratulating the winners of The Europe Center Spring 2017 Graduate Student Grant Competition:

• Edward Barnet, History, "Homo Musicus: The Early Modern Musical Science of Human Beings."
• Alberto Comparini, Italian literature, "Literature and Existentialism in Italy."
• Brooke Durham, History, "'An unforgettable experience': French Students Working Abroad and The End of Empire."
• Christopher Hutchinson, German Studies, "Going Viral: Illness and Mediality in Sixteenth-Century Germany."
• Friederike Knüpling, German Studies, "The German Adam Smiths?"
• Hans Lueders, Political Science, "Explaining Persistent Differences in Democracy Satisfaction in Post-Reunification Germany."
• Iris Malone, Political Science, "Insurgency Formation and Civil War Onset."
• Rachel Midura, History, "The Published Courier: The Culture of the Imperial Post, 1550-1720."
• David Pickel, Classics, "Disease and the Ancient Roman Economy."
• Nicola Pierri, Economics, "Credit Constraints and Firms' Productivity Growth."
• Michael Pollmann, Economics, "Hospital Provision of Care in the German Diagnosis Related Group System."
• Michael Schwalbe, Psychology, "Improving Literacy and Numeracy in the UK: Evidence from a Large-Scale Field Experiment."
• Daniel Smith, Art and Art History, "Volgete Gli Occhi: Depicting Seeing and Surveillance in Medieval Siena."
• Alexandra Sukalo, History, "Surveillance's Double-Edged Sword: Intelligence and Soviet Identities in Soviet Ukraine, 1918-1953."
• Beata Szymkow, History, "Power in Transition, Nations in Transition: Poles, Ukrainians, Jews, and State-Building in a Central European City, 1918-1939."
• Michael Webb, Economics, "How Does Automation Destroy Jobs? The 'Mother Machine' in British Manufacturing, 1990-2015."
• Matthew Wormer, History, "Opium Empire: Economic Thought, Corporate Power, and the Rise of Free Trade Imperialism."

Please visit our website for more information about our Graduate Student Grant program.

The Europe Center Sponsored Events

May 12-13, 2017 
Iberian Studies Program Conference
Inscribed Identities: Writing as Self Realization
Stanford Humanities Center 
Please visit our website for more information.
This conference is co-sponsored by the Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages, the Stanford Humanities Center, and The Europe Center's Iberian Studies Program.

May 25, 2017 
9:30AM – 12:30PM 
"From Emigration to Post-Migration and the “Refugee Crisis”: Historical Perspectives on Migration in Austria and Germany" 
Open to Stanford faculty, students, visiting scholars and staff.
RSVP by 5PM May 24, 2017.
Please visit our website for more information.

Save the Date: June 5, 2017 
11:30AM - 1:00PM 
Daniel Stegmuller, University of Mannheim
Room 400 (Graham Stuart Lounge), Encina Hall West 
No RSVP required. 
This seminar is part of the Comparative Politics Workshop in the Department of Political Science and is co-sponsored by The Europe Center.

Save the Dates: Wednesdays, June 14, 2017 – September 6, 2017 
7:00PM – 9:30PM 
SGS Summer Film Festival 
“Finding Place: Immigration, Refugees and Borders Across the World "

European Security Initiative Events

Save the Date: May 15, 2017 
12:00PM - 1:15PM 
Ivo Daalder, Former U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO
Oksenberg Conference Room, Encina Hall, 3rd Floor 
RSVP by 5:00PM May 10, 2017.

May 22, 2017 
12:00PM - 1:15PM 
Mark Leonard, Director of the European Council on Foreign Relations
"The Connectivity Wars: European Security and the Weaponization of the Internet, Trade, Migration, and International Institutions" 
Reuben Hills Conference Room, Encina Hall, 2nd Floor 
RSVP by 5:00PM May 17, 2017.

We welcome you to visit our website for additional details.

Event Recap: First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, Visits Stanford

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In her April visit to Stanford University, Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland and leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), spoke to over 300 members of the Stanford community about Scotland's place in the world. An additional 4475 people viewed the talk remotely via live stream. With many Scottish voters choosing to remain a part of the United Kingdom in order to ensure continued membership in the European Union, Sturgeon argued that the June 2016 Brexit vote posed a "fundamental question for Scotland" and that the Scottish populace had a right to decide whether to pursue independence in order to continue to be a part of the European Union. Furthermore, Sturgeon argued that Scottish priorities of inclusivity, equality, openness, fairness, climate protection, and economic prosperity are at odds with a decision to prioritize "immigration curbs above all else." She contrasted the 2014 independence referendum with the 2016 Brexit vote: "[The independence referendum] was a debate that had a high level of understanding about the issues at stake. The EU referendum by contrast had none of that. The information that people had was reduced to a lie on the side of double decker bus." Adding, however, "I fervently hope for the independence of my country. I wouldn't want it to be won on the basis of a campaign that was as dishonest as the EU referendum campaign." Sturgeon stated that she is "fairly certain" that there will be a second referendum on Scottish independence.

Voted into the Scottish Parliament in 1999, Nicola Sturgeon became the First Minister of Scotland in 2014 and is the first female to hold the position. She led her party to success in the Westminster and Holyrood elections, with the SNP becoming the first party in Scotland to secure a third term in government. Following the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom, the First Minister has been a leading voice arguing for a continuing relationship between Scotland and the European Union and an open and welcoming approach to immigration. She was ranked as the 50th most powerful woman in the world in 2016 and 2nd in the United Kingdom by Forbes magazine.

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In her dissertation, Playing to the Point: Weimar-Era Agitprop and the Aesthetics of Progressive Popular Performance, Jessi examines political street theater. Throughout the dissertation, she first focuses on Weimar-era "agitprop" and then uses the findings from the first part to rethink standard assumptions about contemporary forms of activist street theater.

Funded by The Europe Center, Jessi spent August and September 2016 in Berlin, Germany conducting archival and site-specific research for her dissertation. While in Germany, Jessi's research centered on the agitprop troupes of Weimar-era Germany. Agitprop was a popular form of live entertainment that was generally both created and performed by amateur artists from Germany’s working classes. Today, the texts are generally unavailable in published form and are primarily available in the Agit-Prop-Sammlung at the Akademie der Künste Archiv in Berlin. Moreover, as Jessi learned from the head of the archive’s Performing Arts division, with the exception of a single volume from 1961, little of the material has been referred to in academic work. Jessi notes that the materials in this collection are extraordinarily diverse, and have allowed her to begin to reconstruct aspects of this fascinating theatrical tradition that have largely escaped the attention of performance scholars. An important part of this research focuses on the Bildsprache, or iconography, developed by agitprop troupes throughout the 1920s. Jessi argues that contrary to popular thought, the “heavy-handedness” and simplicity of these performances paradoxically helped to constitute a space for critical reflection, dialogue, and dissensus among spectators and performers alike.

Jessi has been awarded a DAAD Research Grant and will therefore be returning to Berlin for the 2017-2018 academic year. During that time she will conduct additional archival research and will embark upon an ethnographic exploration of contemporary performances. At this time, Jessi intends to return to Stanford for the 2018-2019 academic year in order to complete and defend her dissertation.

Please visit our website for more information about our Graduate Student Grant program.

40 Years of the Distinguished Visiting Austrian Chair Professor Program at Stanford

An "Amerika-Sterne" Token

2017 marks the 40th anniversary of the Distinguished Visiting Austrian Chair Professor program at Stanford. Administered by The Europe Center and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, this program has brought an Austrian scholar to Stanford each year since 1977.

The history of the program begins in 1976. In honor of the 200th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and to demonstrate its appreciation for America’s support following WWII, a committee chaired by Chancellor Bruno Kreisky appealed “to the Austrian public to make donations for an Austrian contribution from people to people on the occasion of the American Bicentennial.” Through donations, the purchase of "Amerika-Sterne" (“America Stars," which were car stickers showing the Bicentennial emblem that worked as lottery tickets), and matching by the Austrian government, the committee raised an endowment of $1.5 million designed to support Austrian studies at an American university.

Fifteen American universities had signaled an interest in the program, nine submitted formal applications, and three finalists were considered: Yale, Minnesota, and Stanford. All three had proposed to use the money differently, and Stanford’s proposal would bring an Austrian scholar to the U.S. each year, with alternating professional backgrounds in the humanities, social sciences, and the arts. The decision was taken to split the endowment between Stanford and Minnesota, which would install a permanent Chair for Austrian Studies within a Center for Austrian Studies.

In order to choose the candidates for the chair, two advisory committees were created with one in Vienna and one at Stanford. A list of possible candidates was put together in Vienna, and Stanford made the final selection. The first holder of the Distinguished Visiting Austrian Chair Professorship was Fritz Fellner, a historian from the University of Salzburg, and there have been thirty-seven Distinguished Visiting Austrian Chairs since that time. Dirk Rupnow, Professor of History at the University of Innsbruck, is the 2016-2017 Distinguished Visiting Austrian Chair Professor.

To read more about the history of the Distinguished Visiting Austrian Chair Professor program at Stanford, please see our website for an article by Dirk Rupnow.

Featured Faculty Research: Ran Abramitzky

We would like to introduce you to some of The Europe Center’s faculty affiliates and the projects on which they are working. Our featured faculty member this month is Ran Abramitzky. Ran is an Associate Professor of Economics. He earned his Ph.D. from Northwestern University in 2005 and joined the faculty at Stanford that same year.

Ran's research is on economic history and applied microeconomics and he focuses on immigration and income inequality. In his work on migration, Ran and his co-authors have examined various aspects of migrant assimilation and the economic returns to migration in both Europe and the United States. His current book project, The Mystery of the Kibbutz: How Egalitarian Principles Survived in a Capitalist World (under contract with Princeton University Press), examines the puzzle of why the Israeli kibbutzim - voluntary and egalitarian communes - have persisted within a capitalist state. Economic theory predicts that in a system where all members make equal wages, those who would earn more on the open market will exit the commune. Moreover, communes must contend with adverse selection - disproportionately attracting those in desperate economic positions. Yet the kibbutz has successfully persisted for a century and today approximately 2.6% of Israel's Jewish population live in kibbutzim. Ran finds that today's kibbutz have developed mechanisms for overcoming many of the collective action and selection problems facing communes. Social sanctions, for instance, are effective in combatting shirking. Restrictions on entry are used to dissuade the entry of less productive individuals. Higher kibbutz wealth increases the benefits of remaining. The kibbutz serves as a form of insurance for its voluntary members. The Mystery of the Kibbutz is expected to be published in November 2017.

Featured Graduate Student Research: Jane Esberg

We would like to introduce you to some of the graduate students that we support and the projects on which they are working. Our featured graduate student this month is Jane Esberg (Political Science). Jane is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Political Science at Stanford University.

In her research, Jane is interested how autocratic repression can be used to retain supporters, rather than to simply eliminate opposition. In her dissertation project, Jane examines the use of three repressive behaviors - political killings, the use of courts to try political prisoners, and popular culture censorship - during the Chilean military dictatorship (1973-1989) with comparisons to military regimes in Argentina (1976-1983) and Brazil (1964-1985). Funded by The Europe Center, Jane traveled to Europe in September 2016 to examine the case of Spain under Franco. While in Spain, Jane conducted the majority of her research on four archives: the General Archive of Administration, the National Historic Archive, the Document Center of Memory, and the Provincial Archive of Salamanca. From her exploratory analysis in the archives, Jane believes that there are fruitful comparisons to be made between Chilean and Spanish use of political trials.

Please visit our website for more information about our Graduate Student Grant program.

The Europe Center Sponsored Events

March 1, 2017
5:30PM - 7:00PM
Ori Gersht, International Artist
Optical Unconsciousness
Oshman Hall, McMurtry Building
This event is co-sponsored by The Contemporary project, Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages, Department of Art and Art History, The Europe Center, and the Taube Center for Jewish Studies.

Save the Date: April 3, 2017 
11:30AM - 1:00PM 
Guido Tabellini, Bocconi University
Historical Roots of Political Extremism: The Effects of Nazi Occupation of Italy
Room 400 (Graham Stuart Lounge), Encina Hall West 
No RSVP required. 
This seminar is part of the Comparative Politics Workshop in the Department of Political Science and is co-sponsored by The Europe Center.

April 11, 2017 
12:00PM - 1:30PM 
Philippe Van Parijs, University of Louvain
Europe's Destiny: A View from Brussels 
CISAC Central Conference Room, Encina Hall, 2nd Floor 
RSVP by 5:00PM April 7, 2017.

Save the Date: April 24, 2017 
11:30AM - 1:00PM 
Torun Dewan, London School of Economics
Room 400 (Graham Stuart Lounge), Encina Hall West 
No RSVP required. 
This seminar is part of the Comparative Politics Workshop in the Department of Political Science and is co-sponsored by The Europe Center.

Save the Date: June 5, 2017 
11:30AM - 1:00PM 
Daniel Stegmuller, University of Mannheim
Room 400 (Graham Stuart Lounge), Encina Hall West 
No RSVP required. 
This seminar is part of the Comparative Politics Workshop in the Department of Political Science and is co-sponsored by The Europe Center.

European Security Initiative Events

February 23, 2017 
12:00PM - 1:15PM 
Samuel Charap, International Institute for Strategic Studies
Timothy Colton, Harvard University
Book Talk: Everyone Loses
CISAC Central Conference Room, Encina Hall, 2nd Floor 
RSVP.

February 27, 2017 
11:30AM - 12:45PM 
Aleksandr Golts, Visiting Fellow, Kennan Institute
Russian Military Reform and its Consequences
Reuben Hills Conference Room, Encina Hall, 2nd Floor 
This event has reached full capacity. Please contact Magdalena Fitipaldi to be added to the wait list.

Save the Date: March 13, 2017 
12:00PM - 1:15PM 
Paul Jones, U.S. Ambassador to Poland
Philippines Conference Room, Encina Hall, 3rd Floor 
RSVP by 5:00PM March 8, 2017.

Save the Date: March 16, 2017 
12:00PM - 1:15PM 
H.R. McMaster, Lt. General of U.S. Army
RSVP by 5:00PM March 13, 2017.

Save the Date: April 10, 2017 
Time TBA 
Ivan Krastev, Center for Liberal Strategies, Sofia, Bulgaria

We welcome you to visit our website for additional details.