Upcoming Events

Academy of Global Governance (in collaboration with the School of Transnational Governance)

Scientific Coordinators:
Bernard Hoekman | European University Institute
Robert Wolfe | Queen’s University

Cappella, Villa Schifanoia, Via Boccaccio 121 – Florence

15 – 17 APRIL 2019

INTRODUCTION
Trade strategy is now shaped by an environment of rapid economic and technological change in which we cannot assume that all countries always share trade liberalisation objectives or support the rulesbased trading system. High profile protectionist actions seem increasingly legitimate in some countries, but routine protectionism never went away in many more. The potential direct and global ripple effects of a retreat from multilateralism bring considerable uncertainty, not least by undermining what we thought were the foundational norms of trade relations. Questions about whether new players in the system will accept those norms add to the uncertainty, if they privilege state-directed rather than market-oriented firms. At the same time, some citizens in the advanced economies think that trade and globalisation have not worked for them, and they face new uncertainty as artificial intelligence changes the future of work.

This course focuses on the strategic challenges for trade policy in a world adapting to rapid structural change and unpredictable policies. How should national interests be analysed? How can governments defend those interests from protectionist actions taken by others, while at the same time working to reduce fixed costs for firms of trading, and reducing uncertainty in partner country markets by getting them to make binding commitments? How should we think about operationalising a “progressive trade agenda”? Bilateral and regional agreements are facing diminishing returns. Policies that generate the largest externalities and have systemic importance, require coordinated multilateral action. The old agenda of shallow reciprocal agreements is still with us, for example barriers to market access among developing countries, but in the 21st century economy it is necessary to develop deeper agreements, for example on subsidies, which will require new models.

Drawing on the experience of practitioners and academic trade experts, the training objective is to improve participants’ understanding of the evolving trade policy landscape and present alternative approaches to addressing the negative spillover effects of national trade-related policies.

draft programme as of 21 March 2019

Application form (open until 1 April 2019)

Speakers:

Simon Evenett | University of St. Gallen, Switzerland
Martina Ferracane | European Centre for International Political Economy, Belgium
Bernard Hoekman | European University Institute, Italy
Lisa Lechner | University of Innsbruck, Austria
Patrick Low | University of Hong Kong, China
Douglas Nelson | Tulane University, United States
Hildegunn Nordas | OECD, France
Jacques Pelkmans | Center for European Policy Studies, Belgium
Robert Wolfe | Queen’s University, Canada

APPLICATIONS

Executive Training Seminars at the Academy of Global Governance are free of charge. Participants are expected, however, to bear the costs of their travel and accommodation themselves. In order to apply for participation, please fill in the application form before 1 April 2019.

For applicants from the LDCs (as defined by the United Nations) there is a limited number of merit-based scholarships available. Please include a motivation letter in your application. Deadline for scholarship requests: 18 March 2019.

Executive Training Seminar

Global Governance Programme (in collaboration with the School of Transnational Governance)

Scientific Coordinators:
Marina Henke | Northwestern University
Ulrich Krotz | European University Institute
Richard Maher | European University Institute
Robin Markwica | European University Institute

20 – 22 MAY 2019

INTRODUCTION
In June 2016, the EU High Representative Federica Mogherini presented a Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign and Security Policy. The document suggested a plan to pursue what it identified as some core European priorities. In the meantime, the global landscape has changed significantly: President Donald Trump has raised questions about the US commitment to European
security. The Russian government has strengthened its efforts to influence the outcomes of elections in Western countries and contested established borders in Europe’s Eastern periphery. And the EU itself has seen a wave of nationalist and populist movements that question further European integration.
In light of these challenges, this Executive Training Seminar will examine in what ways the EU’s Global Strategy can be adapted and improved to meet these new challenges. It will investigate what a “good” grand strategy is, what issue areas it involves, and what objectives it addresses. Bringing together academic specialists, policymakers, and think tank experts, the three-day seminar offers an in-depth overview of potential grand strategic options for the EU in light of its presumed security interests. We will not only identify the costs, benefits, and risks associated with different strategies, but also discuss their various underlying assumptions and visions for Europe’s role in the world. Topics of the seminar include grand strategy in theory and practice, potential grand strategic postures toward the US, Russia, and China as well as the role of Europe’s nuclear and conventional defense capabilities. Through presentations, case studies, and simulations, participants will be able to enhance their understanding of grand strategy and Europe’s core security and economic interests in the world.

draft programme (as of 21 February 2019)

APPLICATION FORM (open until 5 May 2019)– notifications on admission will be sent out on a rolling basis; therefore, as spots are limited, we encourage you to apply as early as possible

SPEAKERS

Prof. Michel Foucher | Chair of Applied Geopolitics, College of World Studies, Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme, Paris; formerly Ambassador at Large for European Affairs (2007), French Ambassador to Latvia (2002-2006), special advisor to the French Foreign Minister (1997-2002), head of the Policy Planning Staff, French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1999-2002), and special envoy to the Balkans and the Caucasus (1999), France
Dr. Andrea Gilli | Senior Researcher in military affairs, NATO Defense College, Rome, Italy; and affiliate, Center for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford University, United States
Dr. Mauro Gilli | Senior Researcher in military technology and international security, Center for Security Studies, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
Prof. Marina Henke | Assistant Professor in Political Science, Northwestern University, United States
Prof. Ulrich Krotz | Professor, European University Institute, Italy
Dr. Eva Pejsova | Senior Analyst on East Asia, European Union Institute of Security Studies, France
Dr. Nina Silove | Senior researcher in International Security, Center for Security Studies, ETH Zurich, Switzerland; and Research associate, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, United States
Dr. Paul van Hooft | Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, United States

APPLICATIONS

Executive Training Seminars at the Academy of Global Governance are free of charge. Participants are expected, however, to bear the costs of their travel and accommodation themselves. In order to apply for participation, please fill in the application form before 5 May 2019.

Organisers : Yudhishthir Raj Isar | American University of Paris and Anna Triandafyllidou | European University Institute

Cultural diplomacy as discourse and practice looms large today in both cultural policy studies and international relations. In effect, the term cultural diplomacy is very widely used, so much so that it has become a floating signifier, commonly deployed by foreign policy establishments and the arts and culture sector alike. Many of the ways in which the term itself is used go well beyond its original meaning, namely the processes that occur when formal diplomats, operating at the service and in the name of their governments, use cultural resources to help advance national interests. Earlier, analysts made a distinction between such governmentally driven cultural practice and the far less instrumental processes of international cultural relations, which are still based on flows of cultural exchange that take place naturally and organically, without government intervention. While ever increasing numbers of political scientists and cultural analysts are researching cultural diplomacy, their attention is directed mainly at phenomena and processes taking place at the governmental level, between and among nation-states. This form of ‘methodological nationalism’ has led to two major lacunae, both of which merit further debate and further research. The first of these is that there is very little direct analysis of the motivations, values and efforts of civil society actors in the field. The second is the relative absence of research on how cities are now practicing international cultural relations and diplomacy among themselves – and they are often doing this via the agency of civil society actors. The intention of this workshop is to begin to fill both of these gaps. It will do so through panel discussions on the following two topics: Civil Society Actors in Cultural Diplomacy and Cities as Cultural Diplomacy Actors.

Programme

Register here

Executive Training Seminar

Academy of Global Governance, in collaboration with the School of Transnational Governance

Scientific Coordinators: Gaby Umbach | Director Globalstat, Global Governance Programme, European University Institute; and Caterina F. Guidi | Coordinator Globalstat, Global Governance Programme, European University Institute

Introduction

In times of increasing populism and contestation of politics, reliable information plays a vital role for well-informed policy-making based on evidence rather than emotions and fake news. The popular legitimacy of any political system around the world today, maybe more than ever, depends on its effective capacity to successfully deliver good and targeted outcomes as a policy-shaper and law-maker based on facts. These outcomes have to be based on reliable data in order to make political decisions understandable, assessable, sustainable and future-oriented.

Within the preparatory and scrutiny processes of policy-making, policy proposals, legislative acts and implementation arrangements are increasingly assessed and evaluated on the basis of factual evidence and statistical data. Such evidence-based monitoring is increasingly recognised as a complex steering mode in itself that resulted from changing governance patterns supranationalisation and globalisation. Therefore, evidence-based policy-making reflects the need to re-structure the interaction of political actors of different institutional origins and political levels and represents an influential policy instrument at the border of the politics and policy dimensions of multilevel political systems.

While the demand for independent sources of evidence and expertise in policy-making has hence grown enormously, the landscape of data sources and the ways how to best inject evidence into policy-making have grown exuberantly and become easily confusing for any non-data scientist. The present Executive Training Seminar will contribute to a better understanding of different modes and instruments of evidence-based policy-making. It will examine recent developments in evidence-based policy-making, data science and policy evaluation, including various tools of impact and implementation assessment, scientific evaluation, strategic foresight, the policy-oriented use of large data resources and data visualisation. The main purpose of the Executive Training Seminar is to provide fresh ideas on how to develop a convincing toolbox for providing evidence for policy-makers, including critical assessments of the limits of empirical and data evidence in defining new policies. Through presentations, case studies, and ‘hands on’ work, attendees will gain a greater appreciation and understanding of main issues related to evidence-based policy-making.

Draft programme (as of 21 March 2019)

Application form (open until 2 June 2019)

Speakers (TBC)

APPLICATIONS

Executive Training Seminars at the Academy of Global Governance are free of charge. Participants are expected, however, to bear the costs of their travel and accommodation themselves. In order to apply for participation, please fill in the application form before 2 June 2019.

For applicants from the LDCs (as defined by the United Nations) there is a limited number of merit-based scholarships available. Please include a motivation letter in your application. Deadline for scholarship requests: 19 May 2019.