Institute of International Studies, University of California, Berkeley
Coming soon: Video and PDF links to all speeches; video and text "Conversations with History" interviews with Ambassaor Pierre Schori and Dr. Anders Melbourn, Director of the Swedish Institute of International Studies
Session I: Monday, April 19
Statesmen and analysts from Norway, Sweden, and the U.S. reflect on alternative approaches for dealing with the dangers of failed and rogue states. One dimension of the problem is the institutions through which actions are taken and policy developed. If through multilateral institutions or processes, what role do small states play? If through unilateral action by a superpower or a coalition of powers, what is the role for small states? The discussion will include consideration of the costs and the benefits of choosing deterrence, containment, or pre-emption. The challenges of transformation of such states will also be discussed, as will new formulas for governance.
Geir Pedersen, Director of the Department of Political Affairs, Secretariat
of the United Nations
Ambassador Pierre Schori, Sweden's Permanent Representative to the UN in New
York
See the remarks by Ambassador Schori [pdf]
See the Conversations with History interview with Pierre Schori: Sweden and the United Nations
David D. Caron, C. William Maxeiner Professor of Law UC Berkeley
Stephen Krasner, Graham H. Stuart Professor of International Relations and Senior
Fellow at the Institute for International Studies at Stanford University.
Session II: Tuesday, April 20
Central to the dynamic of dealing with rogue states, failed states, and failing states is the relationship between Europe and the United States. What common perspectives do they share? Are there differences in their perspectives? Will the lone superpower reach an accommodation with Europe before it takes action or will it play on the divisions within Europe and create a coalition of the willing pitting the Old Europe against the New Europe? The course chosen has profound implications for the policies adopted, whether they will emphasize military dimensions of the problem, whether there will be a commitment to long term solutions, or whether cooperation or conflict will characterize the process of implementation. Understanding the U.S.-European relationship is at the center of resolving the problems of dealing with rogues and failures in the post - 9/11 world. In the context of the U.S. - Europe dialogue, what we have learned about managing the transition from failed state to fledgling democracy? How do we build democratic institutions, establish constitutional systems, resolve conflicts, insure public health and safety, and manage natural resources such as oil? What unique contributions can small states make to this process? What is the possible division of labor between the U.S. and Europe?
Anders Mellbourn, Director of the Swedish Institute of International Affairs
See the speech by Anders Mellbourn [pdf]
See the Conversations with History interview with Anders Mellbourn: Sweden in the Post-9/11 World
Steven Weber, Professor of Political Science, Berkeley
See the speech by Steven Weber [pdf]
Christian Marius Stryken, Researcher, Norwegian Institute of International
Affairs
Pavel K. Baev, Senior Researcher and the head of the Foreign and Security Policies
program at the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO)
See the remarks by Dr. Baev [pdf]
Jerry Sanders, Peace and Conflict Studies, UCB
Robert Price, Professor of Political Science, UCB
Michael Watts, Professor of Geography, UCB
About the Symposium
The Peder Sather Symposium represents an ongoing collaboration between the governments of Norway and Sweden and the University of California, Berkeley. The goal of the symposium is to promote the understanding of political, economic, and cultural issues. The event is designed to foster interdisciplinary discussion among scholars and policymakers from Europe and the U.S. on global and national issues of mutual concern.
About Peder Sather
Peder Sather was born in Norway in 1810. He emigrated to New York and then to California, where he founded the banking firm of Sather and Church. Peder Sather was one of the early trustees of the College of California and an active participant in aiding the institution that has become the University of California. Upon his death, the Sather and Church banking firm was absorbed by the Bank of California. Although it was Peder Sather who had accumulated the wealth and resources that helped fund education in California, it was the work of his wife, Jane Krom Sather, a native of New York State, who made the Sather name part of UC Berkeley's history. Through her generous endowments to the University's teaching resources and beautification effort (notably Sather Gate, which was the main entrance to the UC campus), the Sather name has come to symbolize a legacy of collaboration between Norway and the University of California. With the Sather legacy in mind, the University of California and the Royal Norwegian Consulate General of San Francisco inaugurated the first Peder Sather Symposium in 1991.
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