Center for West European Studies & EU Jean Monnet Center

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.

Co-Funded by the European Union. Dr. Markku Jokisipilä is a Distinguished Professor of Contemporary History, University of Turku in Finland, and Dr. Monika Sus is Professor of Political Science at the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, part-time Professor at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies at the European University Institute and member of Team Europe Direct Poland. Moderated by Ryan Hauck, Global Classroom, World Affairs Council in Seattle. This session occurred at the 2025 EU Policy Forum Educator Workshop: Europe and the EU: Alone in a Multipolar World? at the University of Washington 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. John A. Albert is an Associate Researcher at the Institute for Information Law (IViR) where he contributes to the Digital Services Act (DSA) Observatory. Nicole H. Buckley is an Associate at K&L Gates’ Seattle office and a member of the Technology Transactions and Sourcing group. Moderated by Jessica Beyer, Assistant Teaching Professor and the Lead of the Jackson School’s Cybersecurity Initiative. This panel discussion occurred at the 2025 EUCOS Policy Symposium at the University of Washington. | 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. Ambassador Michael Carpenter, formerly the Senior Director for Europe at the National Security Council of the Biden Administration, discusses challenges faced by the EU. This lecture was the EU Common Security Lecture at the 2025 Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union. | 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. Dustin Ellis, Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at Eastern Oregon University, discusses the the 2024 European Parliament Election and Other 2024 Summer Elections. | 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 Ambassador Mark Gitenstein US Ambassador to the European Union, 2021-2025 US Ambassador to Romania, 2009-2012 How is the EU accession process proceeding with Moldova, Ukraine and other aspiring entrants in the region? Ambassador Gitenstein will offer an assessment of the European Commission’s application of its various enforcement tools to ensure compliance by member states of their treaty obligations. He will additionally discuss the role of the United States in supporting those processes and the role played by hostile powers like Russia in undermining them. Furthermore, Ambassador Gitenstein will consider the disturbing deterioration of independent media in the region as the essential bulwark for democracy, free markets and against corruption and backsliding. Ambassador Audra Plepytė Ambassador of Lithuania to the United States and Mexico, 2021-Present Permanent Representative of Lithuania to the United Nations, 2017-2021 Ambassador Audra Plepytė was appointed as Lithuania’s Ambassador to the United States of America and to the United Mexican States in 2021. Before this she was a Lithuanian Permanent Representative to the United Nations where she facilitated several negotiations, led the Group of Friends, and was elected to executive bodies of UN instruments and institutions, including being elected as the President of the Executive Board of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in 2021. As a career diplomat for over 30 years, she has held numerous positions within the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, dealing with bilateral and multilateral issues, heading the European Union Department (2014–2017), the Personnel Department, and International Missions and Conflict Prevention Division. She was also Lithuania’s ambassador to Spain, World Tourism Organization from 2010 till 2014. Ambassador Plepytė has BA and MA in Philosophy at Vilnius University. She also has a diploma from the Institute of International Relations at Vilnius University, as well as a certificate of Diplomatic studies at Oxford University in UK. _______________________________ 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. Deputy Secretary General of NATO Rose Gottemoeller gives the EUCOS Lecture at the 2024 Undergraduate Research Conference on the EU. | 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. Associate Professor Guntis Šmidchens, Director CEREAS and Head of Baltic Studies discusses the experience of Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia in the European Union at the 2024 EU Policy Forum Educator Workshop. This annual workshop is organized at the University of Washington by the Center for European Studies and the Jean Monnet Center of Excellence. | 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. Dean LaRue, a lecturer at the University of Washington's Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, discusses the origins of the European Union and its development with special attention to the 2004 "Big Bang" accession of new EU Member States at the 2024 EU Policy Forum Educator Workshop. This annual workshop is organized at the University of Washington by the Center for European Studies and the Jean Monnet Center of Excellence. | 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.

An interview by Danny Hoffman, Director of the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington with Ilmari Käihkö, an associate professor of War Studies at the Swedish Defense University and a researcher at the University of Helsinki. Dr. Käihkö was a guest speaker at the UW for a public event titled, "Finnish/Nordic Perspectives on the War in Ukraine." Recorded in April 2025. Dr. Käihkö visited the University of Washington as part of the 2024-2025 Finland-Washington Research Exchange Program.

The virtual guest talk will assess the results of the May 18 first round of Poland’s presidential election. It is unlikely that any candidate will secure a majority, leading to a runoff on June 1 between Rafał Trzaskowski and PiS-backed Nawrocki. The vote reveals a fragmented political landscape, breaking the traditional PO–PiS dominance, with left-wing candidates collectively gaining notable support while far-right candidates perform poorly. The second round will likely hinge on ideological divides. If Trzaskowski wins, it could finally unlock key reforms long blocked by the outgoing PiS-aligned president. Monika Sus is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the Institute of Political Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences (Warsaw, Poland), and a Fellow at the Robert Schuman Center for Advanced Studies at the European University Institute. Her research interests focus on international relations, with a particular emphasis on European and transatlantic security cooperation, and the EU’s foreign, security, and defence policy. She recently published an article in the The British Journal of Politics and International Relations, exploring the Polish reaction to the war in Ukraine: Status-seeking in wartime: Poland’s leadership aspirations and the response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Dr. Joyce Mushaben presents her lecture "The Art of Mainstreaming: Ursula von der Leyen in Pursuit of a Union of Equality" on May 25, 2022. Dr. Mushaben was at the time the CIDEU Scholar in Residence at the University of Washington's Jackson School of International Studies. This podcast was co-funded by the European Union.

The Double-Helix Entanglements of Transnational Advocacy: Moral Conservative Resistance to SOGI Rights in Europe Phillip M. Ayoub is a professor in the Department of Political Science at University College London and Editor of the European Journal of Politics and Gender. He is the author of three books, including When States Come Out: Europe’s Sexual Minorities and the Politics of Visibility (Cambridge University Press, 2016), and his articles have appeared in the American Political Science Review, Comparative Political Studies, the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, the European Journal of International Relations, the European Journal of Political Research, Mobilization, the European Political Science Review, among others.

Why do women of all socio-economic backgrounds accumulate less wealth than men? Why do marital separations impoverish women while they do not prevent men from remaining or becoming wealthy? In her new book co-authored with Sibylle Gollac, The Gender of Capital: How Families Perpetuate Wealth Inequalities (Harvard University Press, 2023), Céline Bessière answers these questions, drawing from ethnographic observations and statistical analysis. The Gender of Capital shows that formal legal equality has not eliminated economic inequality between men and women. It illustrates the mechanisms through which women of all social classes lose financially when they divorce or inherit. Examples as diverse as those of the single mothers who joined the French “Yellow Vest” movement, the high-profile divorce of Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos, and the division of the estate of the Trump family demonstrate that capital is gendered. Bessière will discuss how class divisions and the patriarchal appropriation of capital reinforce one another. A professor of sociology at Paris–Dauphine University, visiting professor at NYU, senior member of the Institut Universitaire de France, Céline Bessière studies the material, economic, and legal dimensions of the family. In France, The Gender of Capital was also adapted into a graphic novel.

Organized Muslim Women in Turkey: An Intersectional Approach to Building Women’s Coalitions This talk explores the politics of organized Muslim women in Turkey and analyzes their coalitions with other – secular feminist, Kurdish etc. – women’s movements from an intersectional perspective. It provides empirical evidence for significant changes in Muslim women’s politics under the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and points to the increasing difficulty to build cross-movement women’s coalitions in the face of rising religious conservatism and authoritarianism. Ayse Dursun studied Political Science and English Studies at Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main und graduated in 2010. Following her graduation, she started a PhD on the topic “Muslim Women’s Movements in Turkey: An Intersectional Approach to Coalition Building” at the Department of Political Science of the University of Vienna. During her PhD, she worked as a research assistant at the same Department for the following projects: “Fördert Föderalismus Frauen? Föderalisierte Gleichstellungspolitik in Österreich und Deutschland” (Does Federalism Promote Gender Equality? Federalized Gender Equality Policies in Austria and Germany) (duration: 2012-2014) as well as “In Whose Best Interests? Exploring Unaccompanied Minors‘ Rights through the Lens of Migration and Asylum Processes” (MinAs) (duration: July 2014-December 2015). In May 2018, she received her PhD. From January until September 2019 she was working as a researcher for the research project Migrant Communities and Children in a Transforming Europe (MiCREATE) at the Department for Political Science. Since October 2019 she is Post Doc Assistant with research focus on Gender and Politics at the Department of Political Science. She is Steering Committee member of the Standing Group “Gender and Politics” of the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR). The Talking Gender in Europe lecture series is organized by the Center for West European Studies and the Jean Monnet Center of Excellence with support from the Lee and Stuart Scheingold European Studies Fund, the EU Erasmus+ Program, the Ellison Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies, and the Center for Global Studies.

Guntis Smidchens presents his lecture, "Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian “New Idealism” for a Postimperial World" on Aug. 15, 2023. This lecture was part of the 2023 EU Policy Forum Educator Workshop. This teacher workshop is sponsored by the European Union, the UW Center for West European Studies & EU Center, the Ellison Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies, the Center for Global Studies, the World Affairs Council. The workshop is hosted by the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies. For more information, please email the Center for West European Studies at cweseuc@uw.edu. 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.

John Koenig presents his lecture, "The U.S.-Europe Defense Relationship: De-Risking, Not De-Coupling" on Aug. 15, 2023. This lecture was part of the 2023 EU Policy Forum Educator Workshop. This teacher workshop is sponsored by the European Union, the UW Center for West European Studies & EU Center, the Ellison Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies, the Center for Global Studies, the World Affairs Council. The workshop is hosted by the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies. For more information, please email the Center for West European Studies at cweseuc@uw.edu. 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.

Scott Montgomery presents his lecture, "Europe’s Energy Challenges: Winter is Coming" on Aug. 15, 2023. This lecture was part of the 2023 EU Policy Forum Educator Workshop. This teacher workshop is sponsored by the European Union, the UW Center for West European Studies & EU Center, the Ellison Center for Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies, the Center for Global Studies, the World Affairs Council. The workshop is hosted by the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies. For more information, please email the Center for West European Studies at cweseuc@uw.edu. 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.