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On June 9, 2026 The Center for European, Russian, & Eurasian Studies hosted a roundtable featuring Miguel Roncero Martin, in discussion with Julio Bonillo. Jose Miguel Roncero Martin (Miguel Roncero) is an EU civil servant hosted by the Jackson School of International Studies in 2026, under the European Union Fellowship program. Miguel’s research focuses on the development of the blue economy in the Arctic, also as a way to foster cooperation between Europe and North America. Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union of the EACEA. Neither the European Union now the EACEA can be held responsible for them.

On June 9, 2026 The Center for European, Russian, & Eurasian Studies hosted a roundtable featuring Julio Bonillo focused on EU Democracy Institutions. Professor Julio Guinea Bonillo is Deputy Director of the Center for European Studies at Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid. Among his many publications are books on the European Union's foreign relations, security, and defense policies. Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union of the EACEA. Neither the European Union now the EACEA can be held responsible for them.

On August 11, 2026 The Center for European, Russian, & Eurasian Studies hosted a workshop for educators featuring experts focusing on EU Democracy & Security. This recording features a presentation by Travis J Nelson called “European Union Democracy and Institutions.” Travis Nelson holds a PhD in political science from the University of Washington, and was a graduate fellow in international security at the University of Washington International Security Colloquium (UWISC). Travis’s research interests include international relations, political psychology, and political economy, and focuses specifically on racial stereotypes/biases and their effects on preference formation and public opinion in the areas of welfare, trade, and immigration. Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union of the EACEA. Neither the European Union now the EACEA can be held responsible for them.

On August 11, 2026 The Center for European, Russian, & Eurasian Studies hosted a workshop for educators featuring experts focusing on EU Democracy & Security. This recording features a presentation by Sabine Lang called “Making European Citizens — Civic Engagement Practices in the European Union.” Sabine Lang is Professor of International and European Studies at the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies. From 2016 to 2024, she directed the Center for West European Studies and the European Union Center, a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence. From 2021 – 2024, she held the Jean Monnet Chair in Civil Society, Inclusion, and Diversity from the European Union. She is also Adjunct Professor in the Departments of Political Science, Germanics, and Gender, Women, and Sexuality Studies. Her work is in comparative politics with a focus on civil society, the public sphere, the nongovernmental sector, and gender politics. Her current research focuses on gendered political representation in the European Union and on EU-level public engagement processes. Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union of the EACEA. Neither the European Union now the EACEA can be held responsible for them.

On August 11, 2026 The Center for European, Russian, & Eurasian Studies hosted a workshop for educators featuring experts focusing on EU Democracy & Security. This recording features a presentation by Ileana Marin, called “The EU Test: Security, Democracy, and Institutional Resilience." Ileana Marin teaches interdisciplinary courses at the University of Washington, Seattle, and at the Center of Excellence in Image Studies of the University of Bucharest. She has published books on tragic myths, Pre-Raphaelite artists, and most recently on Victorian aesthetics of erasure. Ileana Marin has participated in international conferences with papers on the de-humanizing power of art and the artistic legacy of communism as well as on the materiality of literary, pictorial, and graphic texts. Winner of several research grants she has explored interdisciplinary dialogues between text and image and the transformation of artworks into cultural icons. Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union of the EACEA. Neither the European Union now the EACEA can be held responsible for them.

On April 9, 2026, Dr. Robin S. Brooks delivered the Keynote EU Democracy and Security Lecture at the 24th Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union, hosted by the European Union Center of California at Scripps College. This podcast is a recording of this talk, titled, 'Euro-Atlantic Values' and the Future of Transatlantic Security. Dr. Robin S. Brooks, Robin Brooks is a Visiting Fellow in Global Policy and Governance at Pomona College.

On May 7th, 2026, the Center for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies hosted its spring EU Democracy and Security Symposium on 'Monarchies to Constitutional Democracies.' This podcast features recordings of presentations by three members of the University of Washington faculty: Raymond Jonas (History), speaking on “France’s Five Republics and what they tell us about how republics are born and how they die”; Terje Leiren (Scandinavian Studies) speaking on "From Royal Absolutism to Parliamentary Government: Political Transition in Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway, and Sweden)”; James Felak (History) speaking on "The Perils of a Problematic Constitution: The Cases of Interwar Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia.” Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union of the EACEA. Neither the European Union now the EACEA can be held responsible for them.

On March 6, 2026 Miguel Roncero Martin delivered the keynote address at the West Coast Model European Union event at the University of Washington. Miguel gave a talk titled, "Bounded by Water and Ice: Cooperation, Trust, and the European Democratic Experiment.” Jose Miguel Roncero Martin (Miguel Roncero) is an EU civil servant hosted by the Jackson School of International Studies in 2026, under the European Union Fellowship program. Miguel’s research focuses on the development of the blue economy in the Arctic, also as a way to foster cooperation between Europe and North America. Funded by the European Union. View and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the EACEA. Neither the EU nor the EACEA can be held responsible for them.

On April 17th, 2026 three experts delivered an excellent plenary session at the 32nd Annual REECAS Northwest Conference at the University of Washington, on current strategy around Ukraine, REECAS and the European Union today. This podcast is a recording of that address, including a Q&A session featuring keynote speaker Phillips O'Brien. Featured experts: Nargis Kassenova, Senior Fellow and Director, Program on Central Asia, Davis Center, Harvard University Justyna Zając, Director, Polish Studies Center; Professor of Practice in European Security Studies, Indiana University Olena Lennon, Practitioner In Residence, National Security Department/Homeland Security, University of New Haven

On April 16, 2026, Phillips O'Brien delivered his keynote speech of the 32nd Annual REECAS Northwest, an official regional conference of the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES). Phillips OBrien gave a lecture on European Strategy and the Ukraine War, a look at how Europe has reacted strategically to the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Professor Phillips O’Brien is the Chair of Strategic Studies and Head of the School of International Relations at the University of St Andrews. He has published widely on issues of conflict, politics, war and strategy in the 20th and 21st centuries. Amongst his books are: How the War was Won: Air-Sea Power and Allied Victory in World War II (Cambridge University Press, 2015) and The Second Most Powerful Man in the World: The Life of Admiral William D. Leahy, FDR’s Chief of Staff, (Penguin/Random House 2015). He has also published multiple articles in major journals including Foreign Affairs, Diplomatic History, the Journal of Strategic Studies, and, Past and Present. In 2024 he published a new multi-archival study of grand-strategy making in World War II with Penguin/Random House, entitled: The Strategists: How Churchill, Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini and Roosevelt were Made by and Made War. In 2025 he published his latest book, War and Power: Who Wins Wars and Why.

On February 10th, 2026 the Jean Monnet Center for Excellence at the University of Washington hosted its second symposium on EU Democracy and Security. Speakers Ray Lahiri, Timothy Bourns, and Alexander Hollmann presented on the theme 'Europe: Cradle of Democracy.' Podcast introduction is by Guntis Smidchens, Director of the UW Center for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies. Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the speaker(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

On December 4th, 2025 the Jean Monnet Center for Excellence at the University of Washington hosted a symposium on EU Democracy and Security. Markku Jokisipilä presented on the Past, Present, and Future of European Democracy and Security. Introduction by Guntis Smidchens, the director of the UW Center for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies. Markku Jokisipilä was a UW Visiting Professor for Fall of 2025. Professor of Contemporary History Markku Jokisipilä is Director of the Center for Parliamentary Studies at the University of Turku. He is author or editor of ten books and many articles on Finnish history, including on Finland's relationship to Nazi Germany, diplomatic history, the history of sport, and political use and misuse of history. He has served on a variety of commissions for the Finnish state. He is also columnist and frequent contributor to public debate. Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the speaker(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the EU or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the EU nor the EACEA can be held responsible for them.

John Johnson is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service. Prior to this he was the Director of the Brussels International Media Hub, the Deputy Chief of Mission of the Afghanistan Affairs Unit which operated out of Doha after the fall of Kabul, and the Counselor for Public Affairs in Afghanistan during the evacuation of the Embassy in 2021. Prior to the establishment of the Doha platform, Mr. Johnson was in Brussels, Belgium where he was the Counselor for Public Affairs at the U.S. Mission to NATO. This session occurred at the 2025 EU Policy Forum Educator Workshop: Europe and the EU: Alone in a Multipolar World? at the UW on August 12, 2025. | Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of NATO, the US Foreign Service, the European Union, or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

Amy Stern (JD, University of Virginia) served as Legal Advisor in the U.S. Mission to the European Union in 2021-2024. She led multi-stakeholder advocacy efforts to secure the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, collaborating with global partners on regulatory challenges impacting privacy, civil liberties, online safety, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and sustainability. This session occurred at the 2025 EU Policy Forum Educator Workshop: Europe and the EU: Alone in a Multipolar World? at the UW on August 12, 2025. | Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

Co-Funded by the European Union. Justin Petelka is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Washington's Information School who studies U.S. and EU Data Privacy Laws. This session occurred at the 2025 EU Policy Forum Educator Workshop: Europe and the EU: Alone in a Multipolar World? at the UW on August 12, 2025. | Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.