Center for German and European Studies: 2002 Events and Objectives

Research
Sponsoring, supporting, and initiating Faculty and Graduate Student Research is the heart of the IES Mission. This mission is carried out by the Center for German and European Studies. The Center was created by a generous grant from the German government in 1990. The Chancellors office and the office of the president have continued this funding targeted for graduate research fellowships and collaborative, interdisciplinary research. Under the auspices of CGES, the Institutes holds yearly competitions for entering graduate student and pre-dissertation fellowships. Faculty research funds are used to support teams of researchers selected by a Principal Investigator. These funds are competitive and PIs are chosen by a committee that reviews project proposals. Calls for proposals go out each year, but projects last 2-3 years and thus we always have projects that are in various stages of completion. The convener groups are organized around four research themes, and each project is led by a team of conveners drawn from Berkeley and from the various campuses of the University of California. Each project spans one to two years in which participants conduct research, meet together in closed workshops and working groups to discuss preliminary findings and, at the conclusion of the project, hold a major research conference. Research results are published in the Institute's Working Paper Series and later collected in an edited volume or as a special issue of a major scholarly journal. The conveners of these projects, together with the Center Chairs, constitute the Institute's core faculty. For news concerning new and ongoing convener group research projects, please see our updated research page.

Speaker Series
CGES also sponsers a speaker series each academic year. The Center brings prominent scholors and policy makers to speak on themes of interest to the Campus community and to the public at large. Past themes have included, "Problems of Transition after German Unification," "German Foreign Policy after Unification," and "The Debate over Holocaust Assets," This year Professor Nick Ziegler of the Political Science Department is leading a speaker series on "Politics and Enterprise." Speakers will focus on the intersection of politics and business issues in Europe and the industrialized democracies. The series provides a forum for social-science researchers who are examining business-government relations, social and regulatory policies that affect the choices of managers, the relations among stakeholder groups inside the firm, and related topics. Speakers are drawn from disciplines including political science, comparative management, sociology, business history, applied economics and private-sector industry analysts. By featuring speakers who take an organizational perspective in analyzing comparative political economy, the series brings together faculty and graduate students from these and other fields.

Visiting Scholars
CGES also provides an affiliation for Visiting Scholars from German Universities who are conducting research at Berkeley. This year's visiting scholars are Professor Paul Windolf from the University of Trier and Holger Appel from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

Conferences
CGES has sponsored yearly conferences on German and European topics. Past conferences have included "European Monetary Union: Getting the Start Game Right," "The Post-war Transformation of Germany: Politics, Prosperity, and Nationhood," and "Multiculturalism in Germany Today." This year, CGES is joining with UC Berkeley's European Union Center and the Portugease Studies Program to host a conference on the Euro-Med Process to be held in Lisbon, Portugal in June, 2002.

Commuity Building
CGES is the sponsor of the IES "Teatime," a bi-monthly open house for the campus community. This is a chance for students and faculty to meet for informal discussion over a cup of tea and cookies.

September 11th Seminars
In collaboration with the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies, CGES is organizing a "German-American Dialogue on the post 9-11 Strategic Landscape." In the aftermath of September 11th, the US and German governments have demonstrated mutual support and solidarity, both rhetorically and in terms of concrete actions. Although the Bush administration has consulted widely with its allies, including Germany, doubts and uncertainty bubble just below the surface of otherwise robust bilateral relationships. For Americans, the hope is that Germany will finally abandon the last of its postwar inhibitions about the just use of force, and join the attack on terrorist networks. For Germans, the hope is that the United States will finally abandon any pretense of unilateralism, and instead embrace collective approaches, not just to the fight against terrorism, but to a whole host of international problems ranging from environmental protection to military security. The fear is that Americans will fail to learn the lessons of September 11th, and unilaterally drag the world into ever more insecure and dangerous confrontations.

In these present circumstances, the need for a continuing structured dialogue between Americans and Germans has never been more pressing. The objective must be to strengthen the hopes of both parties, and at the same time reduce and even eliminate the fears.

To contribute to this dialogue, CGES is joining together with the American Institute of Contemporary German Studies (AICGS) in Washington, to sponsor a German-American Dialogue. The dialogue consists of seminars examining issues in German-American relatiions that now need urgent reevaluation, essays by both German and American foreign policy experts on the post 9/11 strategic landscape, and a major conference to be held in the Fall of 2002. Several of the seminars will take place in Berkeley and will focus on the implications of 9/11 for immigration policy, trade policy, civil rights in the two countries, and different cultural perceptions of the two countries on responses to terrorism. Watch the IES web site, monthly calendar, and E-News for updates on this timely and exciting collaborative project.

Nick Ziegler's Seminar on Politics and Enterprise Continues

• February 1 >> Isabela Mares of the Department of Political Science at Stanford University.
• February 22 >> Professor Kathleen Thelen Department of Political Science at Northwestern University.
• March 8 >> Professor Egar Grande (TU Muenchen, 2000-01 at Toronto).

Please check our Website for last minute date and time changes.

February 6 >> Public Lecture sponsored by the German Studies Program Dr. Helmut Wolmann Humboldt University Berlin "Rebuilding Political Institutions in Central Europe after 1990 - The German Case in Comparative Perspective". 201 Moses Hall

February 27 >> Public lecture by Professor Eckhard Schroeter entitled, "Public Sector Reform in Europe - The German Case in Comparative Perspective"

February 28, 5-7pm >> Public Lecture sponsored by the German Studies Program. Georgi M. Derluguian, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and International Studies Program, Northwestern University. "What Was State Socialism?" 201 Moses Hall.

March 12, 4pm >> Prof. Martin Nettesheim, Law Faculty, University of Tuebingen, wil give a public lecture entitled "Is an EU-Constitution Possible? Problems and Prospects."
April TBA >> Prof. Emeritus Gunther Roth of Columbia U. speaks on "Max Weber: Scion of the Cosmopolitan Bourgeoisie."

*Most dates and times given here are approximations for the Spring semester. As an event approaches, be sure to check the IES Calendar page for official dates, times, and locations.