Opportunity: the EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE The Fund for American Studies is pleased to announce the 17th annual International Institute for Political and Economic Studies (IIPES). IIPES, located in Crete, Greece, brings students from the Eastern Mediterranean region, the United States, the Middle East, and the Balkans together to learn about each other and explore ways to cross the barriers that divide their cultures. The curriculum engages students in philosophical examination of government, society and culture, conflict management, and political economy. The deadline to apply to IIPES is March 15, 2012. For more information see: www.tfasinternational.org.

Launch of Applications for Southeast Europe and the EU - Leadership Development Programme In an effort to support the integration process in Southeast Europe, the seventh “Southeast Europe and the EU – Leadership Development Programme” supports 30 young people from the countries of Southeast Europe as well as broader Europe. The programme was initiated in 2006 by the College of Europe, Bruges, and the TRANSFUSE Association, Berlin. The European Fund for the Balkans has been generously financing the programme since 2008 and is now, since 2009, organising it jointly with the College of Europe and the TRANSFUSE Association. The Programme will consist of the following activities: Two-week Summer Academy in Austria and Slovakia September 2012 The curriculum includes topics related to the European Union and the development of its relations with Southeast Europe as well as wider issues of international and economic relations. Practical training components focussing on project management, leadership, communication and media skills provide participants with essential leadership qualities. Group Projects in Southeast Europe Between October 2012 and March 2013 Back in their home countries, participants keep in contact and work together in small multicultural groups to develop and implement a group project in Southeast Europe. Five-day Spring Seminar in Belgium April 2013 The Final Seminar offers visits and briefings in the EU institutions and NATO in Brussels and in the Campus of the College of Europe in Bruges. The Programme is led by an Academic Dean, who guides the participants through the different components of the Programme. The working language of the Programme is English. Participants are expected to be available during the overall period of the Programme (July 2012 – April 2013) and to attend each planned activity. Only 30 selected applicants will be invited to participate. Their participation in the Programme is financed by the European Fund for the Balkans, an initiative by the Robert Bosch Stiftung, the King Baudouin Foundation, the Compagnia di San Paolo and the ERSTE Foundation, hosted by the Network of European Foundations. Learn more & Apply online: www.seeyoungleaders.org Deadline for Application is Tuesday 24 April 2012 at 23h59 C.E.T.

"Your Idea, Your NATO" policy workshop competition

Folks, This was just received from NATO. While the deadline is looming, it would be a great opportunity for someone.

The deadlines for the “Your Ideas, Your NATO” policy workshop competition are drawing near, but there’s still plenty of time to enter! Participants should write a 600-800 word article in one of three categories: by February 23 in the Values and Community category, by March 15 in the Partnerships after the Arab Spring category, and by April 5 in the Smart Defense category. Through the generous support of NATO, the US Mission to Germany and the Boell Foundation, three winners will win a trip to Berlin to present their ideas at our conference on May 21 and receive feedback from NATO. “Your Ideas, Your NATO” is unique in its aim to generate practical policy recommendations for May’s NATO Summit in Chicago, and its format mimics the decision-making of the Alliance. For young professionals and students (the contest is open to citizens 35 years and under of all NATO Member and Partner countries), this offers a fantastic opportunity to connect with their peers and decision makers from throughout the transatlantic community. We are looking for realistic policy proposals on how to increase awareness of NATO’s values, reach out to new democracies in the Arab world, and encourage states to share defense burdens more effectively. Those with the best proposals in each category will then join together to develop a single policy memo, mirroring the unanimous decisions necessary in NATO policy making. For more information please see the main competition page: http://www.atlantic-community.org/index/articles/view/Your_Ideas%2C_Your_NATO If you need some help getting started, check out our reading recommendations: http://www.atlantic-community.org/index/articles/view/Your_Ideas%2C_Your_NATO%3A_A_Closer_Look_at_the_Issues Atlantic-community.org is the Open Think Tank for Foreign Policy with more than 6500 members. Our mission is to give a voice to a new generation of thinkers and to contribute to a more diverse transatlantic strategic community. It is a project of Atlantic Initiative, a Berlin-based independent and non-partisan organization dedicated to strengthening transatlantic relations and building a culture of constructive foreign policy debate.

Upcoming changes in work-and-travel program

According to the Associated Press, the US State Department is planning a partial overhaul of the program. This is being done in response to allegations of exploitation of foreign students “by unscrupulous labor brokers and organized criminals in the sex industry.” The AP report says “some of the most significant changes would be to ban jobs in factories, warehouses and other places like seafood packing plants. The agency also plans on ‘re-emphasizing the adult entertainment industry prohibition by specifically prohibiting jobs with escort services, adult book/video stores, massage parlors, and strip clubs’." Hopefully, the last part will have little impact on AUBG students. The whole story is available here. IS

Summer School Announcement: The EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy - a think-tank that undertakes program, project, publishing and training activities related to the European integration process - organizes its 10th year summer school program for university students in July 2012. In July 7- 19, 2011 the summer school under the title "Europe At The Crossroads" will take place in Prague. You can find further details on our homepage www.europeum.org/ess2012 or you can see the promotion leaflet at http://www.europeum.org/ess2012/doc/poster2012.pdf.

Summer School Announcement: The 2012 Olympia Summer Seminars in Conflict and Peace Studies features four cycles of studies on conflict, religion, terrorism and negotiation analysis. The Olympia Summer Seminars will take place from July 5 to 16, 2012, at the International Olympic Academy in Olympia, Greece. Please visit http://www.olympiaseminars.org for all information in regards to the program and the application process.

An opportunity from Atlantic-Community.org: "Your Ideas: Your Nato - policy workshop competition We are looking for students’ ideas on important current issues that will be debated at the NATO Summit in Chicago in May, including partnerships with Arab Spring countries, spending more efficiently on defense, and building transatlantic values and community. Winners will present their policy ideas at our conference in Berlin and receive feedback from NATO (round-trip airfare and 4 nights’ accommodation plus 500 EUR cash prize included). Students will also have a chance to collaborate with their peers in other NATO Member and Partner countries to come up with common solutions to these important transatlantic issues." http://www.atlantic-community.org/index/articles/view/Your_Ideas%2C_Your_NATO RC

PhD grants at the European University Institute

Folks,

There are a number of PhD grants available for study in several areas at the European University Institute. Deadlines are 31 January. bp

For further information, check out the website.

Pre-registration info

Dear Students,
We realize there is some frustration that course offerings in POS and EUR will be more limited next semester as compared to the selection we normally put out. Last year we were unable to make one of the full-time hires allocated to our department, and Prof. Zankina will be on leave for one semester. EUR majors should note, though, that they can take POS 401 Security Sector Governance in SEE for EUR topics credit.
Next academic year, we should be better staffed. We will have at least three topics in POS per semester (Phillips and Sardamov in the fall, Zankina and a new hire in the spring, plus at least one outside instructor each semester; Prof. Phillips may also teach a second topic in the spring). There will also be at least two EUR topics per semester, possibly three (Prof. Crombois will be on sabbatical and we'll secure a replacement for him). We realize this will come a bit too late for graduating seniors, but we hope they will be able to complete successfully their majors on the basis of the course offerings that are available.
EUR 302 Comparative Politics of Europe and EUR/POS 307 Research Methods in Politics can be taken for either EUR or POS credit – this is the reason they appear on both registration pages. You can register, however, only from the EUR page for the former, and only from the POS page for the latter.
We also wanted to remind POS majors that they can substitute (from among the courses offered in the spring) EUR 405 The EU in International Relations or ECO 310 Econometrics toward the 9 cr. hours of POS 400-level courses they need to take. Students double-majoring in EUR and POS should make sure that they do not double-count more than 3 courses. Students taking one as a major and the other as a minor can double-count at most two courses.
In case anyone has questions regarding our course offerings or major requirements, please come by to see your advisor or talk to the professors teaching the courses you are interested in.
We do hope we will all have a productive and at least slightly enjoyable spring semester.

Dear Folks,

Here are the readings for the fall 2011 state exams in EUR and POS. The procedure for the state exams can be found on the site of the Registrars' Office. BP

EUR STATE EXAM READINGS (FALL 2011)

George Soros. "Does the Euro have a future?"

Yves Surel. "The European Union and the challenges of populism"

POS STATE EXAM READINGS (FALL 2011)

Clay Shirky, "The Political Power of Social Media." Foreign Affairs, Jan./Feb. 2011 (available on EBSCOhost)

Klaus Segbers, "Global Politics and the Collapse of the Political West Divide: The Emerging New Global Landscape." Panorama, Jan. 2009