Public talk

Register now for the fifth annual Edward and Emily McWhinney Memorial Lecture featuring Roman Gerodimos

December 22, 2020
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The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Centre for Hellenic Studies is pleased to announce that the fifth annual Edward and Emily McWhinney Memorial Lecture will be held online this coming March.

The public talk entitled "Is There a Future for 'The West'? European Security, the Transatlantic Alliance, and the Role of Values in the New World Disorder" will feature Dr. Roman Gerodimos, associate professor of Global Current Affairs at Bournemouth University, and a faculty member at the Salzburg Academy on Media & Global Change

When:
Tuesday, March 9, 2021 at 1:00 PM PST

Where:
Online Webinar

How:
Register through Eventbrite. Contact hscomm@sfu.ca if you have any questions.

You can read the abstract, speaker bio, and learn more about Edward and Emily McWhinney, below.

Abstract

What are the main security challenges facing Europe? And what are the tools at our disposal? How do elite narratives differ from young people’s perceptions of security? Is the concept of deterrence, which secured the peace during the Cold War, still relevant in an age of cyber attacks and hybrid warfare? What is the role of the transatlantic Alliance, and can NATO overcome its political stalemate? Is the construct of ‘the West’ still meaningful, and if so, what is its meaning in the age of the New World Disorder?

Drawing on data from a recently completed research project, Roman Gerodimos will review the emerging challenges facing European security, as well as the transatlantic Alliance. He will reflect on the contrasting mindsets and priorities of decision-makers and young people, and will highlight the role of values as the key to the survival not just of intergovernmental organizations such as NATO, but also of Western liberal democracies in general.

Speaker bio

Dr. Roman Gerodimos is an associate professor of Global Current Affairs at Bournemouth University, and a faculty member at the Salzburg Academy on Media & Global Change. His research focuses on the challenges facing engagement, democracy, and global security due to globalization, digitization, and extremism. He has led research projects funded by NATO, the UK Department for International Development, the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Independent Social Research Foundation, and has published in numerous academic outlets across the political and social sciences. He has also written, directed and produced four award-winning short and documentary films, including his latest film Deterrence. 

Roman is the founder and convenor (2004-2017) of the Greek Politics Specialist Group - the largest international network of social science scholars on Greece. He is the winner of the Arthur McDougall Fund Prize, awarded by the Political Studies Association, for his research on digital youth civic engagement.

Edward and Emily McWhinney

The Edward and Emily McWhinney Memorial Lecture was established in 2017 to honour the memory of two long-time friends and supporters of Hellenic Studies at Simon Fraser University and is devoted to contemporary issues in international relations.

Both Edward and Emily were committed to academic excellence and public service and this now annual lecture is a lasting legacy for the couple at SFU. It is organized by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Centre for Hellenic Studies to support public discussion of the topics that animated the McWhinneys’ professional and intellectual lives.

Professor Emeritus Edward Mcwhinney, QC passed away in 2015 on his ninety-first birthday, following a short illness. He was predeceased by his wife Emily McWhinney, who passed away in 2011.

Watch the recording of the previous McWhinney Lecture here, delivered by Harris Mylonas from George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs

For more information about the SNF Centre for Hellenic Studies and its programs, please visit our Media page.

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