The Bologna Center collaborates with partner academic and non-profit institutions on a number of programs, conferences and institutes that bridge academic theory and policy. Themes range from immigration to post-Cold War policy, the kind of initiatives that continue to define the Bologna Center as an international stage for knowledge and debate.
Although the Bologna Center has traditionally focused on the political and economic relationships between the United States and Europe, global developments in the 21st century require innovative interpretations of the transatlantic relationship and its historical nuances.
Developments associated with European enlargement are being debated daily as scholars examine the future of European foreign policy. At the same time, established programs continue to thrive and grow in new directions. The following are examples of how the Center is responding to the immediate and long-term challenges that face today’s world.
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The Center for Constitutional Studies and Democratic Development (CCSDD)
The CCSDD is an international center dedicated to research and training related to countries undergoing a transition to democracy. Through conferences, workshops, and publications, the CCSDD addresses issues of civil society development and legal reform. The CCSDD is a partnership between the Bologna Center and the Faculty of Law of the University of Bologna. |
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The Bologna Center Journal of International Affairs
For more than a decade, Bologna Center students have published the Bologna Center Journal of International Affairs, a scholarly journal that provides a forum for the discussion and dissemination of ideas about current issues in the field of international relations to a broad audience concerned with foreign relations. The Bologna Center Journal of International Affairs is a student-run initiative.
The 2007-08 Bologna Center Journal team published a Fall 2008 Special Issue on the Environment. View pdf of journal
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Africa: 53 Countries, One Union
On May 21 The Foundation for World Wide Cooperation and The Johns Hopkins University SAIS Bologna Center presented a High Level Conference: "Africa: 53 Countries, One Union" with the Patronage of the United Nations, African Union and European Commission.
Among the distinguished speakers were Abdoulaye Wade, President of Senegal; Thabo Mbeki, Former President of South Africa; and Asha Rose Migiro, UN Deputy Secretary-General. The Foundation for World Wide Cooperation was instituted by Romano Prodi, Chair, UN-African Union Peacekeeping Panel, Former Prime Minister of Italy and Former President of the European Commission.
The program materials included a Briefing Book on Political, Economic and Social Issues prepared by this year's SAIS Bologna Center M.A. students.
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European Politics and Islam
This seminar series will focus on the way the presence of Islam in Europe has affected European politics. The contributions cover both thematic and country-specific topics, ranging from the impact on domestic institutions and voting behavior to the consequences for national and European foreign policies towards the Mashreq and the Maghreb. Next to analyzing domestic and foreign policy pressures at the "European" side of the relationship, attention is also drawn to the “other”side. This is reflected in the contributions exploring the influence of increased Euro-Islamic interaction on Muslim identities, including those that feed radicalization. The contributors come from across Europe and from countries with an Islamic background, and represent a mix of well-established and rising scholars specialized in the subject.
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The Bologna, Italy Symposium On Conflict Prevention, Resolution, & Reconciliation
The International Peace and Security Institute (IPSI) is organizing a program this summer at the SAIS Bologna campus in cooperation with SAIS Washington from June 19 to July 17, 2010. SAIS students who participate in the four-week-long Bologna Symposium may opt to receive credit equivalent to one course in Conflict Management at SAIS with written work being evaluated by Professors Hopmann and Zartman. Once accepted to the program, current SAIS students can opt in for the credit option and do not need to apply separately. IPSI has offered to extend the Early Decision deadline for SAIS students to April 1st. If you have any questions, please contact IPSI directly. |  |
The Future of European Foreign Policy
During the spring 2007 semester, Bologna Center students joined colleagues at the University of Bologna for a joint seminar, The Future of European Foreign Policy. The seminar centered on a series of lectures by public and private sector professionals on topics ranging from immigration and development, to EU and NATO relations, to the Middle East. Each lecture resulted in a paper, and the collection was published as the 30th anniversary issue of the Journal of European Integration in January. The project was organized jointly by Erik Jones, professor of European Studies and Filippo Andreatta, adjunct professor of International Relations, president of Nomisma SpA Scientific Committee and professor, University of Bologna at Forlì. |
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The European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR)
The Standing Group on the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) is an independent scholarly association that supports and encourages the training, research and cross-national cooperation of academics specializing in political science and its sub-disciplines. The Bologna Center was the venue for the Second Pan-European Conference for the Standing Group, and it also hosted the websites for the third and fourth conferences in Istanbul and Riga: |
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Second Pan-European Conference on EU Politics (Bologna)
Third Pan-European Conference on EU Politics (Istanbul)
Fourth Pan-European Conference on EU Politics (Riga)
Fifth Pan-European Conference on EU Politics (Porto)
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Europe Today
Europe Today is an interactive university textbook and an online resource. The site addresses topics related to both the development of EU institutions as well as the debates on these developments—debates that focus on the challenges the EU faces, on its potential and on its limits. A group of students from the Bologna Center carried out the research and organized the content for the Europe Today website. The European Studies program at the Bologna Center has committed to maintaining and expanding the website. Ronald Tiersky, Eastman Professor of Political Science at Amherst College and Erik Jones, professor of European Studies edit the volume.. |
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Italian Foreign Policy Dialogue
Italian Foreign Policy Dialogue is an initiative created in 2007 to improve channels of communication among Italian academics, think tanks and practitioners with the aim of enhancing the effectiveness of Italy’s foreign policy. Stakeholders are brought together through conferences, events, and study groups with select participation of Bologna Center faculty and staff. The Italian Foreign Policy Dialogue is housed at the Bologna Center and financed by the Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo in Turin. Bologna Center associate fellow Ruth Hanau Santini is project coordinator. |
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Obstinate or Obsolete? The Fate of the European Union, The Bologna Center Conference Series in International Relations, April 4, 2008
The Bologna Center hosted the executive board of the European Union Studies Association (EUSA) on April 4 for Obstinate or Obsolete: The Fate of the European Union, a study day that is part of the Bologna Center Conference Series in International Relations. The April event brought together Bologna Center faculty, other faculty in the Bologna region, and scholars who serve on the EUSA executive board to examine key economic and political issues that affect the European Union. Topics included European integration and the transatlantic relationship. The Bologna Center is a member of EUSA, the world's largest European Union studies association, with membership from across North America, Europe, and the rest of the world. The event is supported by the Fritz Thyssen Stiftung in Koeln, Germany. |
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Overcoming the Iron Curtain, Paris, June 12-14, 2008
The Bologna Center co-sponsored Overcoming the Iron Curtain, a conference held June 12–14 in Paris, France. The conference aimed to shed light on programs and strategies that, during the Cold War, proposed alternative approaches to the bipolar system on the part of individuals, organized groups, or civil society. Professors Harper, Cesa and Jones were speakers at the conference. The Bologna Center co-sponsored the conference that was organized by the University of Paris I (Panthéon Sorbonne) and III (Sorbonne Nouvelle) along with the London School of Economics, the University of RomaTre, and the Bundeskanzler Willy Brandt Stiftung. |
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