IES Annual Report 2002-2003
Letter From the Director
From the Acting Director 2002-2003
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From the Acting Director 2002-2003

2002-03 was an exceptionally active year at IES. In the course of the year, we organized and co-sponsored over 100 public events, issued some 20 working papers, saw the establishment of several new convener groups, sponsored an undergraduate course and conference on the European Union, supported a network of graduate students, and added British Studies to our roster of country programs. Distinguished visiting scholars from a variety of European countries enriched the intellectual life of the Institute. The IES web site received visits from 538,000 addresses in 24 time zones and 70 countries, including 180,000 hits from distinct European domains.

IES also continued to build sound financial and institutional foundations for its activities. We were awarded another three-year Title VI grant from the U.S. Department of Education, which supports many of our core activities. We received another year of funding from the European Commission for our European Union Center, and in cooperation with the Institute of East Asian Studies, we obtained a Crossing Borders Grant from the Institute of International Studies and the Ford Foundation. We obtained new funding from the Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation and continued support from the Stifterverband der Deutschen Wissenschaften. This year also saw the establishment of an Executive Board and a Steering Committee for the Institute.

Spurred on by the many new developments in Europe in the past year, IES initiated several projects addressing "Europe's Changing Geography," a theme that is intended to focus IES research and outreach initiatives in coming years. To explore Europe's changing economic geography, IES-affiliated scholars examined trade, competition, immigration, and financial policy issues. IES launched two projects examining the impact of enlargement on Southern members of the EU and a project examining the impact of enlargement on agriculture. IES-affiliated undergraduates explored the challenges of enlargement under conditions of post-communist transition.

IES supported projects that examined the impact of immigration of European labor markets, the EU's trade relations with other regional actors (NAFTA, ASEAN, MERCOSUR), and changes in global competition policies that have created tensions between Europe and the United States. IES-affiliated faculty and graduate students undertook research on EU-induced financial liberalization and its consequences, and on nuclear energy. IES supported undergraduate research on capital market integration in Europe, Europe's monetary union, decision making in the European Central Bank, and the relationship of EU immigration policies to European labor markets.

To examine Europe's changing political geography, IES sponsored three projects on the changing role of the state and democracy in an age of market hegemony. It sponsored a symposium on Europe's constitutional convention and its implications for institutional reform, national sovereignty, and political governance in Europe. IES-affiliated researchers collaborated with colleagues in the US and Europe in research on European Parliament politics and on policy harmonization in a changing regulatory environment. IES-affiliated undergraduates explored the design of EU institutions for more effective governance and regulatory approaches to the bioscience and energy sectors. IES-affiliated graduate students researched the rise of the Green party in Germany and terrorist challenges to the democratic state.

In addressing Europe's changing strategic geography, IES focused this year on transatlantic relations and changes in military policy affecting NATO. We initiated a lecture series on "Transatlantic Turbulence," bringing together distinguished scholars, journalists, and policy makers to discuss the rift in the Atlantic Alliance. We sponsored a conference for policy makers in Washington D.C. on transatlantic relations one year after September 11th, and organized a symposium on the differences between European and American media coverage of international events, with particular regard to the war in Iraq. And we supported Berkeley undergraduates in their study of EU foreign policy and the Union's Common Security and Foreign Policy.

Finally, in its exploration of Europe's changing cultural geography, IES launched the project on "Rethinking Diversity in Europe," and sponsored several pre-dissertation fellowships on ethnic integration and discrimination in Europe. It supported several IES-affiliated undergraduates studying problems of regional Conflict and nationalism in the EU.

It will be apparent to all who read this report that we composed an exceedingly rich and varied menu. The remainder of this report provides additional details about these projects and describes the many activities of our individual country programs.

Barry Eichengreen
Acting Director 2002-03
In the course of the year, IES organized and co-sponsored over 100 public events, issued some 20 working papers, saw the establishment of several new convener groups, sponsored an undergraduate course and conference on the European Union, supported a network of graduate students, and added British Studies to our roster of country programs.

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