Institute of European Studies

R. Kirk Underhill Lecture 2026: The Eclipsed Republicanism of the Era of Conquest 🗓️ 27 April 🕛 5p.m.📍IGS Library, Philosophy Hall In this lecture, Prof. Satia will examine alternative forms of republicanism prevalent in the eighteenth century that were eclipsed in the era of the American revolution and colonial conquest. Erasure of these forms from popular memory has fueled myths about the exclusively European origins of the concept of freedom. This talk explores forms of British and American republicanism and their engagement with South Asian, Middle Eastern, and Indigenous American republican ideas. 🔗 Register for this event on our website: https://lnkd.in/gY3TmvKu

Political Ontology of the Closet: Elite Minorities and Sectarian Majorities in the Wilhelmine Empire 🗓️ 22 April 🕛 Noon 📍201 Philosophy Hall This talk will explore the political ontology of minority articulation by examining divisions within the 19th century homosexual movement under conditions of repression. Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick’s analysis of this movement emphasized the epistemological impasse between minoritizing and universalizing discourses of sexuality. However, this analysis remains limited in explaining how minority actors translate identity claims to durable political coalitions. This talk shifts the focus from epistemology to political ontology through a critical engagement with post-structuralist ontology, particularly Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe’s account of the crisis of German social democracy in the final decade of the 19th century. It examines how and why the strategies and tactics of homosexual activism became political conflicts under the personal rule of Wilhelm II. Register for this event on our website: https://events.berkeley.edu/ies/event/318143-mehmet-sinan-birdal-political-ontology-of-the

Who owns Intangible Cultural Heritage from a Shared Colonial Past? The Rijsttafel, Food Media, and the Dutch East Indies 🗓️ 17 April 🕛 3 p.m. 📍201 Philosophy Hall In this lecture, Arnoud Arps will take the tradition of ‘the rijsttafel’ (rice table) as starting point to discuss how eating practices that emerged in the Dutch East Indies are now experienced in the Netherlands, Indonesia, and the Indies-Dutch diaspora. As intangible cultural heritage, the rijsttafel functions as a lens to approach questions of ownership and the meaning of heritage from a shared colonial past. The question of ownership of intangible cultural heritage receives far less attention than that of its material counterpart. Yet because intangible heritage is more fluid and not bound to any physical origin it goes beyond the limitations of material culture. Its ownership, therefore, is interpreted by different nations and cultural identities at the same time. However, this fluidity allows also for a far quicker, more inclusive and broader decolonisation of cultural heritage than with its material counterpart, since legal, physical, financial, and relocation issues are not at play. Register for this event here https://events.berkeley.edu/ies/event/318962-arnoud-arps-who-owns-intangible-cultural-heritage-fro

Tracing a Social History of the Neapolitan Camorra: Markets, Power, Families. 🗓️ 16 April 🕛 Noon 📍201 Philosophy Hall The Camorra – the mafia in Naples and surrounding region – is one of the Italian mafias with the highest number of murders to its name. Commonly represented as a system of criminal groups stemming from the wide mass of unemployed that historically characterises the city of Naples, the Camorra has clear borders and identity, reinforced by rituals, hierarchies, leadership,military functions and portions of territory under its control. This vision is reinforced by scholars who adopt a theoretical perspective of criminology and functionalist sociology, who consider mafia clans as close-knit and corporate groups, based on a specific subculture with distinguishing lifestyles, values and modes of behaviour.This presentation will analyse Camorra clans as an emergent phenomenon within social and economic spaces, strictly related to the violent regulation of legal and illegal markets. Register for this event on our website: https://events.berkeley.edu/ies/event/318387-luciano-brancaccio-tracing-a-social-history-of

Past and future of the Trans-Atlantic Alliance: A Historical Perspective 🗓️ 14 April 🕛 Noon 📍223 Philosophy Hall The history of the Atlantic Alliance between the US and its European allies (including France) has been marked by recurrent crises and repeated predictions of its inevitable demise. The Alliance rests on a fundamental compromise: the United States guarantees the security of its European allies while enjoying various quasi-imperial prerogatives in Europe; in return, European members trade this protection for a significant curtailment of their sovereignty. Can this compromise still endure? Mario Del Pero, Professor of International History at Science Po Paris, will address these questions by offering a historical perspective on the present rift between the United States and Europe, going back in time and highlighting why this rupture may differ from previous crises. This conference is sponsored by Sciences Po American Foundation and co-organized by the Center of Excellence in French and Francophone Studies and the @villa.sf , the French Institute for Culture and Education. Register for this event on our website: https://events.berkeley.edu/ies/event/318452-mario-del-pero-past-and-future-of-the

Join us on Tuesday, April 14 at 2:00 pm in 201 Philosophy Hall for a lecture “Regional Diversity and Global Economic Integration: Evidence from Belgium” by visiting professor Mark Vancauteren! Regional differences play an important role in shaping how national economies integrate into the global economy, yet most analyses focus primarily on the country level. This lecture examines how regional diversity influences globalization dynamics using Belgium as a case study. Drawing on insights from economic geography and urban economics, we argue that regions function as key engines of growth through agglomeration economies, specialization, and participation in global value chains. Belgium provides a particularly informative setting because its regions-Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels-combine distinct linguistic, institutional, and economic structures within a highly open economy. These regional differences shape patterns of trade integration, industrial specialization, and political attitudes toward globalization, as illustrated by the different reactions in the three regions surrounding the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). Using regional input-output analysis, the paper evaluates how regional dynamics influence the integration in world markets. Mark Vancauteren is an Associate Professor in Applied Econometrics at Hasselt University and a Senior Researcher at Statistics Netherlands. He previously held postdoctoral positions at Tilburg University and WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management, and worked as a research fellow at the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS). He obtained his PhD in Economics from Université Catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain). His research focuses on applied econometrics in industrial organization, innovation, trade, and management, covering topics such as migration, labor unions, firm strategies, ICT and AI, mental well-being, and environmental change, with a strong emphasis on policy-relevant questions. #ucberkeley #berkeley #flanders #belgium #economics

Language and Colonial Legacies in Portuguese Higher Education: The Experiences of Brazilian and African Portuguese-Speaking Students 🗓️ 2 April 🕛 3:30p.m. 📍200 Wheeler Hall This presentation explores the intersections of language, colonial legacies, and higher education in Portugal, focusing on the experiences of Brazilian and African Portuguese-speaking students. Drawing on qualitative research and an intersectional approach, it examines how historical and linguistic hierarchies shape student access, inclusion, and belonging, highlighting the challenges and strategies these students employ to navigate academic and social life. The talk contributes to debates on postcolonial higher education, international student mobility, and the continuing influence of colonial structures in contemporary educational institutions.

Why Do Voters Support the Far Right in France? A Sociological Perspective 🗓️ 8 April 🕛 11 a.m. 📍4229 Dwinelle Hall The Rassemblement National (formerly the Front National), France’s main far-right party, led by Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella, has achieved unprecedented electoral success. Why do ordinary people vote for this party? To better understand the complex social dynamics underlying the vote for the Rassemblement National, sociologist and political scientist Félicien Faury conducted a multi-year ethnographic study in southeastern France. In this presentation, he shows how support for the far right emerges at the intersection of specific class experiences and particular forms of racism that are deployed and legitimized in everyday life. This presentation is based on a book recently published in France: Des électeurs ordinaires: Enquête sur la normalisation de l’extrême droite (Seuil, 2024).

The Iberian Scientific Journey to Berkeley 🗓️ 1 April 🕛 Noon 📍201 Philosophy Hall Join IES for a session featuring three of UC Berkeley’s premier scholars from Spain: Professors Eva Nogales, Jorge Otero-Millán, and Albert Ruhí. This event explores the link between European academic foundations and global research leadership. Our speakers will trace their professional trajectories from top institutions across the Iberian peninsula to the faculty of UC Berkeley, sharing how their European networks prepared them for high-impact scientific careers in the United States Register for this event on our website https://events.berkeley.edu/ies/event/318694-the-iberian-scientific-journey-to-berkeley

Thawing Ice, Rising Tensions: Canada's Arctic Security Challenge March 30 | 1:00 pm | 223 Philosophy Hall In recent years, climate change has opened up once-inaccessible Arctic regions, leading to a new era of great-power competition. Countries like China, Russia, and the United States are scrambling to claim new shipping routes and untapped natural resources that were once frozen under ice. How can Canada, which controls a quarter of the global Arctic, secure its vast northern regions in the face of increasing pressures from not just longtime rivals, but also traditional allies like the United States? Can it pivot a defense strategy historically reliant on the US to new key allies like the European Union? And how can it most effectively bolster and protect Canadian sovereignty in an era of geopolitical confrontation? Please RSVP using QR code or at the following link: /forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd0RC8bSclh1rGdCcCQ2IrxKHMdNY4BDcGmpIzpt_bBaftkOQ/viewform

Join us on Wednesday, April 8th at 11:30 in 201 Philosophy Hall for Franz Fischler “Tyrol in Austria in Europe: Insights into an iconic region in the Heart of the Alps” Tyrol is one of Austria’s most iconic regions. Located in the heart of the Alps, it has a unique history in the context of which a distinguished regional identity developed. In this lecture, our guests will reflect about the region’s history and present, its strengths and challenges. Attention will also be given to South Tyrol, an autonomous province in northern Italy, and its connection to the Austrian part of the region and the Tyrol Euroregion. Speaker: Franz Fischler, former EU Commissioner Speaker: Andreas Altmann, Chancellor of MCI Business School, Innsbruck, MCI Business School Innsbruck #ucberkeley #eu #tyrol #region #alps

Villa Albertine and the Sciences Po American Foundation @scpoamericanf @sciencespo are honored to welcome Mario Del Pero, Professor of International History at the Sciences Po Center for History, to the United States this spring. A leading scholar of Cold War studies and U.S. foreign policy, Prof. Del Pero will present and discuss his latest books: 📚 In the Shadow of the Vatican: Texan Evangelical Missionaries in Cold War Italy (Cambridge University Press, 2026) 📚 Buio Americano. Gli Stati Uniti e il mondo nell’era Trump (Il Mulino, 2025) This April, he will take part in a series of talks and events across the West Coast, engaging audiences on U.S. foreign policy, religion, and global politics. Book tour highlights: 📍 San Francisco Night of Ideas — April 11 📍 Hoover Institution @hooverinstitution — April 13 📍 UC Berkeley @ucberkeleyies Center of Excellence in French and Francophone Studies — April 14 📍 Santa Clara University @santaclarauniversity — April 15 📍 University of Washington @uofwa Tech Policy Lab — April 16 📍 Ellison Center, Jackson School of International Studies — April 17 📅 Register via the link by April 1 to receive detailed information about his book tour!