BREXIT: Continuing Chaos?

If the British voted to leave the European Union three years ago, why haven’t they left yet?  Why is “Brexit” so complicated?  Why can’t Britain come to an agreement with the EU that the British parliament will approve?

And what happens to the world’s largest market if the world’s fifth-largest economy crashes out of it?  Will “Brexit” be followed by a worldwide “Brecession?”

Come learn more at our lunchtime panel on Friday, March 29 at the Faculty Club.

 

Professor to Speak on China’s Internment Campaign in Xinjiang

What is China doing in its western, and predominantly Muslim, province of Xinjiang? To learn more please join us for:

“China, the War on Terror, and the Mass Internment of Turkic Minorities”

A talk by Sean Roberts, Associate Professor of International Affairs
George Washington University

Thursday, April 4
3:30 pm
Mandel G03

There is evidence that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has detained as many as 800,000 to 2 million of its Uyghur, Kazakh, and Kyrgyz citizens in mass internment camps. China claims that it is addressing legitimate security concerns and hopes to better integrate the region’s population into China’s society and economy. Coupled with the establishment of a surveillance state throughout the Uyghur region of China, however, these camps may be part of a concerted state-led effort to transform the identity and culture of Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities.

Please join us to discuss the growing crisis in western China and the neighboring states.

Sponsored by the International and Global Studies Program

Rock and Resistance in Putin’s Russia

On February 21, 2012, the feminist rock band Pussy Riot jumped on the altar in Moscow’s biggest cathedral and tried to play a protest song:

Virgin Mary, Mother of God

Put Putin Away!

The band members were arrested within minutes and sentenced to prison terms of two years each for “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred.”  And yet they play on.  Russian President Vladimir Putin can break up protests on the streets, but he can’t stop rock bands from rallying the opposition.

This Tuesday, come hear Russian rock critic Artemy Troitsky speak on the state of protest music under Putin’s regime.  That’s:

Rock and Resistance in Russia

March 26
2-4 p.m.
Skyline Commons

Best Frenemies Forever? Germany and Russia

Monday March 18th 2019, 12pm-2pm
Faculty Club Lounge

Karsten Voight

Speaker Karsten D. Voigt is a former member of the German Bundestag and served as the Coordinator of German-North American Cooperation at the Foreign Office of Germany from 1999 to 2010. He also served as Vice-President (1992-1994) and then President (1994-1996) of the Parliamentary Assembly of NATO.

From 1976 to 1998, he was a member of the German Bundestag, where he served as Foreign Policy Speaker of the Social Democratic faction from 1983 to 1998. For many years he was Chairman of the German-Soviet, and later the German-Russian parliamentary group.

Voigt is a board member of Aspen Germany and a Senior Associate fellow and member of the presidium of the German Council on Foreign Policy.

RSVP here.

Panel to Discuss Ireland/Israel Relationship

While geographically separated to a significant degree, Ireland and Israel do share certain similarities in their respective histories. Having emerged from British control, Ireland and Israel both struggled to achieve national liberation. Today, they maintain diplomatic relations and have strong economic ties; according to its Central Bureau of Statistics, Israel imported $1.179 billion worth of Irish goods and exported $105.6 million worth of its own goods to Ireland in 2018.

Indeed, the relationship between Ireland and Israel is profoundly interesting. It is multi-dimensional, involving similar historical paths as well as traditional socio-economic relations. It is also incredibly important to consider, given the rapidly shifting international environment both small states find themselves in.

Please join the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies and the Center for German and European Studies at Brandeis University for a roundtable discussion on the subject of the Israeli/Irish relationship on Monday, March 11 from 5:30 – 7 p.m. in the Mandel Reading Room (third floor, Mandel Center for the Humanities).

The discussion will touch on aspects of Ireland’s and Israel’s national liberation movements and how the relationship has changed from the beginning to the present, as well as implications for that relationship going forward. Panelists will include a former Ambassador of Israel to Ireland, Alexander Kaye (the Karl, Harry, and Helen Stoll Assistant Professor of Israel Studies and Assistant Professor in the Department of Near East and Judaic Studies at Brandeis University), and Frances Malio (the Sophia Moses Robison Professor Emerita of Jewish Studies and History at Wellesley University.

The discussion will be moderated by Dr. Lisa Lynch, Provost and the Maurice B. Hexter Professor of Social and Economic Policy at Brandeis University.

This event is free and open to the public.

We hope to see you there!