Nonproliferation--can it work, toward Iran, under U.S. leadership?

Come discuss these questions with us on May 8:

The 'Hypocrisy' of the International Nonproliferation Regime, Iran,
and the U.S. Presidential Election of 2012

A Special Seminar with

 Daniel N. Nelson
Huffington Post

Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation

Progressive Foreign & Defense Policy Discussion Group

http://armscontrolcenter.org/about/staff/dnelson/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-n-nelson

Tuesday, May 8, 3-5pm

PC Hoofthuis 5.08

Spuistraat 134

Amsterdam

University of Amsterdam
History of International Relations and American Studies programs

free and open to the public

Advance reading:
"Who's in, Who's Out? Campbell Craig and Jan Ruzicka on the nonproliferation complex,"
London Review of Books Vol. 34 No. 4, 23 February 2012.
(pdf available from ruud.vandijk@uva.nl)

Max van der Stoel: Legacy in Human Rights

A symposium at Tilburg University on one of the most respected and influential foreign ministers the Netherlands has ever had:

Max van der Stoel: Life and legacy

Symposium on 25 April 2012

Background
On April 23, 2011, Max van der Stoel, a human rights professor, politician and diplomat, passed away. Immediately after his passing, individuals began to express words of praise and admiration for his life and his deeds. The Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, noted ‘modest and compassionate, he made the difference in many places in the world’. Queen Beatrix learned of his death ‘with great sadness’. These sentiments are befitting for the man who made his life's work the protection of freedoms and human rights for all people.

Serving the Dutch state, Max van der Stoel had an impressive career as a member of parliament, Minister of Foreign Affairs, ambassador and member of the Council of State. In all these positions, his policy-making was marked by an emphasis on human rights. Stepping down from the Dutch Council of State in 1993, he was appointed as High Commissioner on National Minorities at the OSCE. ‘His successes in that role are largely unrecognized, as they lie in what did not happen rather than in what did’, said United States senator Benjamin Cardin in a speech to the U.S. Senate.

The symposium
Max van der Stoel’s achievements did not elude the School of Human Rights Research and University of Tilburg though. In his honor, they invite you to exchange views on his work and how his legacy should be handled in years to come. Why was Van der Stoel so successful in combating human rights violations ? Which issues are (Dutch) politicians and diplomats and the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities facing today? And what lessons can be learned from Max van der Stoel?

Three experts will elaborate on these topics in short lectures. After each lecture there will be ample opportunity to exchange opinions with the speakers and the audience.

The symposium will be held at the 25th of April 2012, the official language is English.

Home page for the symposium with further detail here.

Busy Night on Wednesday, April 11

Two events that should interest aspiring specialists in the history of recent international relations:

“De Crisis Voorbij? Trans-Atlantische Betrekkingen sinds Obama."

Datum:	Woensdag 11 april
Sprekers:	Giles Scott-Smith, bijzonder hoogleraar Diplomatieke Geschiedenis van de Atlantische Samenwerking, Universiteit Leiden Jan Marinus Wiersma, Senior Visiting Fellow Instituut Clingendael, voormalig Europarlementariër (o.a. woordvoerder trans-Atlantische betrekkingen sociaal-democratische fractie) Juurd Eijsvoogel, correspondent internationale betrekkingen, NRC Handelsblad Marianne van Leeuwen, bijzonder hoogleraar trans-Atlantische betrekkingen, Universiteit van Amsterdam
Moderator:	Bram Boxhoorn, directeur Atlantische Commissie
Tijd:	19.30-20.00 uur (koffie en registratie) 20.00-21.30 uur (lezingen en interactieve paneldiscussie)
Locatie:	PC Hoofthuis zaal 1.04 (UvA) Spuistraat 134, Amsterdam

Je kunt je aanmelden tot woensdag 11 april (12.00 uur) via jongeatlantici@atlcom.nl

Historisch Café

Wednesday evening, April 11, Cafe P96, Prinsengracht 96, Amsterdam

Bij het volgende Historisch Café - een maandelijks historisch discussieplatform in café P96 - schuift oud-BVD'er Frits Hoekstra aan om te praten over zijn nieuwe boek over de veiligheidsdienst. Hoekstra gaat in het boek met name in op zijn ervaringen met aan de Koude Oorlog aanverwante zaken.

http://historischcafe.nl/wordpress/.

MA work at the LSE in 2012-2013: It could still happen for you

Not too long ago, I received the following e-mail, and even more recently I got confirmation that at the LSE they are indeed still accepting applications for many of their MA programs for 2012-2013. Worth checking out!

Dear Ruud Van Dijk,

As Head of the Department of International History at the London School of Economics and Political Science I am writing to thank you for your recommendation of [name of recent University of Amsterdam MA graduate] for graduate study at LSE in 2011/12. Now that we are into the second term and students have settled in to their programme, our thoughts are turning to the future and the next cohorts of students who will join us in October 2012 and subsequently.

The Department of International History is a leading, globally renowned institution for the study of the history of international relations. We pride ourselves on our outstanding track record in ground- breaking research, and offer graduate students in-depth specialist courses based upon the very latest scholarly findings. As the foremost European institution for International History studies, the Department offers a wide range of courses, with particular expertise on the Cold War, US Foreign Policy, the Middle East, the First World War, Russia and Empires.

While the Department of International History offers five different and exciting graduate programmes, our flagship degree is the MSc in the History of International Relations, which provides students with the maximum flexibility—the chance to choose not just from the twenty courses that we offer but also an outside option in a closely related field, such as International Relations, Economic History, Government, or Law, as well as undertaking a 10,000-word dissertation on a research subject that interests them.

I hope that if you have current students of similar calibre who are considering graduate study in 2012/13 or subsequently, you will encourage them to apply to LSE. Our current prospectus is available online at http://www2.lse.ac.uk/study/graduate/home.aspx, giving details of all our graduate programmes. In addition, the website provides online resources to guide applicants through the process of submitting their information and supporting documents to us, applying for funding and, in due course, all aspects of living and studying in London.

I hope that you are justly proud of the successes achieved by your students. The selection process is not an easy one, but it is greatly helped when referees such as yourself give their support to the applications of able students. I look forward to hearing from you in the future.

Kind regards,

Professor Nigel Ashton

Head of the Department of International History