NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The deepening split between the United States and some of its traditional European allies over the Iraqi crisis is likely to dominate a number of sessions at the European Union Studies Association (EUSA) Eighth Biennial International Conference, scheduled March 27-29 at the Hilton Suites in downtown Nashville.
Vanderbilt University is serving as a local host for the conference, which is expected to draw about 500 scholars, government officials and others interested in issues related to the European Union.
“The conference comes at a timely and even historic time, given the conflict in Iraq and divisions within the European Union between allies who support the Bush administration and those who oppose war,” said Donald Hancock, professor of political science at Vanderbilt and vice chair of the EUSA. Stanley Hoffmann of Harvard University, an internationally renown expert on European and French politics, will address the topic in his keynote address to the conference at the Country Music Hall of Fame on Friday evening. A special roundtable discussion on Iraq will follow at 10 p.m. at the Hilton Suites.
The association is the world’s largest international scholarly and professional association focusing on the European Union. “Unlike most other professional or disciplinary associations, EUSA deals with ‘real world’ economics and political entities,” Hancock said. He noted that there are 15 nations in the European Union, all of which maintain extensive trade, investment, and political and cultural links with North America. “In Tennessee alone, European direct investments are second only to Japan,” he said.
Several Vanderbilt professors will chair or serve on panels:
·Thomas Schwartz, associate professor of history, “Turning Points in Anglo-American Relations: The `Europe Question’ in the 1960s,” March 27 from 4:15 to 6 p.m.
·Donald Hancock, professor of political science, “The Baltic Triangle: Regional Dimensions of Democratization and Security,” March 28 from 8:30 to 10:15 a.m. He will present “Swedish and German Security Policies: A Comparative Assessment.” At the same session, Karen Petersen, a doctoral candidate in political science, will present “Neutrality, a Common Foreign and Security Policy, and Conflict Resolution: The Future of European (and Global?) Security?”
·Mario Crucini, associate professor of economics, “The State of the Union: Economic Perspectives on the EMU,” March 28 from 10:45 to 12:30 p.m. In addition, Crucini and David Parsley, associate professor of management, will present “Assessing the Welfare Implications of Price Dispersion and Convergence in the EU.” Also, Diana Weymark, assistant professor of economics, will co-present “The Cost of Heterogeneity in a Monetary Union.”
·Hancock, “Small States and EU Security Policy,” March 28 from 4:15 to 6 p.m.
·Craig Smith, assistant professor of law, and Vanderbilt law student Thomas Fetzer, “The ECJ at the Boundary of Its Authority? The Inviolability of Human Dignity under Member State Law vs. Fundamental Economic Freedoms under European Law,” March 29 from 2 to 3:45 p.m.
For more information about the conference and registration fees, visit the association’s website at www.eustudies.org/ or contact Hancock at (615) 269-7781 (email: donald.hancock@vanderbilt.edu/)