N°9 November 2009 - Sciences-Po International

Global HorizonsIssue 8 Nov 2009International Affairs Division (DAIE)Centre for EuropeVaclav Havel awarded degreeSuccessful Nordic TourEuropean development daysCentre for Asia and the Pacific Centre for the Americas Middle East & Africa RegionVaclav Havel awarded honory doctorate at Sciences PoVaclav Havel, famous Czech playwrightand politician, was recently conferredthe title of Doctor Honoris Causa bySciences Po Paris, October 22. This ishowever not the first time that theformer leader of the oppositionmovement to the Czechoslovakiancommunist system, who then becamePresident of the CzechoslovakianRepublic and of the Czech Republicbetween 1989 and 2003, received sucha prestigious insignia from a foreignuniversity. However, this event, markingSciences Po honours agreat European of our timethe 20 th anniversary of the VelvetRevolution, remains remarkable and willbe remembered as such by the wholeSciences Po community.« Sciences Po honours today a greatEuropean of our time ». This is howJacques Rupnik, former counsellor toVaclav Havel and Research Director atthe Centre for International Studies andResearch of Sciences Po, opened hislaudatory speech on the former CzechPresident. 73-year-old Vaclav Havelreacted humbly to this discourse, almostembarrassed by being dignified for hisengagement for liberty, that himselfdescribes as the «snowball that startedthe avalanche». His view of the CentralEuropean States’ position within the EUis lucid. «There have been manyobstacles to their accession tomembership. And even today, I am notconvinced that the EU would welcomeus if it was to be done again! Westerncountries need to be patient andindulgent with Eastern States. ThisSciences Po at EHEFChinese National MPA delegationNew partnerships in AsiaNew prestigious US partnersNorth American attractionVaclav Havel getting his distinction at Sciences Pomight not be easy, but we surely canbring a positive input to Europe, thanksto some experiences to which WesternStates have never been confronted».He also warns those of thedemocratic States that are willing tocompromise with totalitarian regimes bydealing with them through businesscontracts, thus prioritizing economicUpcoming Events Date/Time Venue/Contactand financial interests over fundamentalliberties.His speech revealed a will to conveya triple legacy: hope, perseverance, andconviction. Vaclav Havel was describedby Jacques Rupnik as a «writer whobecame a solon and who wrote one ofthe most beautiful pages of the historyof liberty, both by his literary work andby his political action». Besides, he waslengthily acclaimed by the studentaudience in the Sciences Po lecture hall,many of whom were actually born in1989.Vaclav Havel, figure de la démocratietchèque, a reçu sous les acclamationsdu public le titre de Docteur HonorisCausa de Sciences Po, le 22 octobredernier. Il a ainsi eu l’occasion dedélivrer un discours lucide mais pleind’espoir sur la situation des Etatsd’Europe Centrale au sein de l’UnionEuropéenne, tout en les mettant engarde contre les dangereux compromisaux idéaux démocratiques, commis aunom des intérêts économiques etfinanciers.Welcome Programme for Spring Jan 18-22 candidature.echange@sciences-po.frsemestre 2010Où va la Turquie? Institutions d’hier Dec 16 www.ceri-sciences-po.fret d’aujourd’huiThe American exceptionalism Dec 16 www.ceri-sciences-po.frKenyan Prime Minister visitsRenewed focus on AfricaTunisian conferenceAnnual conference new world, new Jan 6-8 gabriela.rehorova@sciences-po.frCapitalism4ème journée franco-italienne avec Jan 22 paolo.modugno@sciences-po.frle Palais Farnèse de Rome1www.international.sciences-po.fr

GLOBAL HORIZONSEDITORIALFrancis VérillaudDeputy Director of Sciences PoDirector of International AffairsDecember 15 will see all Sciences Postudents, having successfullycompleted three years ofundergraduate study, receive for thefirst time, a Bachelor’s degree.This is a highly important eventfor both students and parents alike.This graduation ceremony is theculmination of three years hard workand reflects the high level of studystudents have achieved. Awarding theBachelor’s degree offers students willallow students to explore newopportunities at the Masters level.Sciences Po’s new Bachelorcurriculum offers students a general,interdisciplinary program in Frenchand English that is firmly groundedin the social and human sciences butalso open to the sciences, arts andhumanities corresponding to achanging academic program originallycreated in the 19 th century.The final year of the three yearprogram takes the form of amandatory internship or period ofstudy in a partner university abroad.The year abroad experience is at theheart of the undergraduate programof study without which students wouldnot be able to benefit from a trulyremarkable experience.I would like to extend my wish ofsuccess to each and every SciencesPo student who will be receiving hisor her Bachelor’s degree next week.Pour la première fois, le 15 décembreprochain, tous les élèves ayant achevéavec succès le 1 er Cycle de SciencesPo recevront le diplôme de Bachelordu Collège universitaireFrancis VerillaudSuccessful Nordic tour for Sciences PoFour Sciences Po representativesparticipated in the «Nordic Tour»organised by Campus France and FrenchEmbassies, from November 16 toNovember 20, 2009. The purpose wasto recruit students for Sciences Po,develop partnerships with localuniversities and find internships andemployment opportunities in NorthernEurope.Along with 20 other Frenchuniversities (Ecole Polytechnique, HEC,University of Aix-Marseille, etc.),Sciences Po toured four Scandinaviancapitals: Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm,and Helsinki. Each morning, seminarswere organised around the question ofdeveloping student mobility andcooperation with the private sector,followed by student fairs in theafternoon.The tour was a success: 18 localcompanies were interested in recruitingSciences Po students, 13 internshipsopportunities were offered, fiveSciences Po representatives during the "Nordic Tour"meetings with high school students wereorganised and several new exchangeagreements were discussed.Une délégation de Sciences Po s’estrendue en Europe du Nord dans le cadred’une « tournée nordique ». Au total, 18employeurs ont manifesté de l’intérêtpour les profils Sciences Po, cinqrencontres lycéens ont été organiséeset de nouveaux accords d’échange ontété discutés.Copenhagen and EU development daysStudents participating in European development daysGovernment responses to thechallenger of global warming havebecome increasingly important intoday's world and thus a major themeat Copenhagen summit on climatechange. Moreover, climate change wasalso discussed during the fourth editionof the European Development Daysheld in Stockholm 22-24 October 2009.Since 2006, this annual event bringstogether all the main actors ofcooperation for development,including, among others, member-electStates, national development agencies,international financial institutions, andNGOs.In this respect, the EuropeanCommission has requested theSciences Po Chair for SustainableDevelopment to write two featurearticles about responding to climateand the links between internationalresponses change and cooperation fordevelopment. Six Sciences Po studentshave been working on this project andhave chosen to deal with two areasparticularly vulnerable to theenvironmental consequences of globalwarming, which are the Sahel and theMediterranean. These essays werepublished on the webpage of the finalplenary session «The road toCopenhagen and beyond». They can befound at http://www.eudevdays.eu/a g e n d a / e v e n t s /climate_change_en.htm.Les conséquences du changementclimatique constituent un sujet depréoccupation croissante pour tous lesacteurs de la scène internationale, aucentre de nombreuses conférencesmondiales tels que le sommet deCopenhague (COP 15) ainsi que lesJournées Européennes duDéveloppement 2009. A cet égard, sixétudiants de Sciences Po ontrécemment publié deux articles deréflexion sur le sujet.2www.international.sciences-po.fr

GLOBAL HORIZONSPresident receives honorary award in ItalyRichard Descoings, President of Sciences Po ParisRichard Descoings, President ofSciences Po, was conferred with themedal of the Italian Parliament, Sunday25 october 2009. The ceremony wasorganised by the Pio Manzù Centre aspart of the 35th edition of itsInternational Conference entitled« Nomad power: Values, illusions,aspirations of errant youth », that tookplace in Rimini (Italy) on 23-25 October2009.The Center for the Americas is verypleased to announce four newundergraduate exchange agreementswith U.S. universities: the University ofGeorgia, the University of SouthernCalifornia, Rutgers University, and theMassachusetts Institute of Technology.These new partnerships will allowSciences Po to send an additional fifteenthird-year students to the U.S.A. in 2010-2011. The agreements with theUniversity of Georgia, U.S.C., andRutgers are campus-wide agreements,whereas students attending M.I.T. onexchange will do so through theDepartment of Political Science. All offeroutstanding undergraduate level coursesin Social Sciences, Natural Sciences andHumanities. U.S.C., Rutgers, and M.I.T.will contribute to satisfying the highdemand for outstanding exchangeopportunities on the west coast and inthe northeastern U.S.A., while theUniversity of Georgia, with top notchprograms in Environmental Sciences,Business, Ecology, Environment andDesign, International Affairs,Journalism, Public Health, and SocialWork, very nicely completes an alreadyFounded in 1969 by a group ofintellectuals and chaired by MikhailGorbachev, the Pio Manzù Centre is anNGO aimed at producing researchpapers and reports in order to increasepublic awareness of sensitiveinternational issues.The medal was bestowed uponRichard Descoings « in recognition ofhis efforts to promote a new model ofEducation in Europe based onmulticulturalism, pluralism,international relations and personalintellectual merits».Le Centre International Pio Manzù aremis dimanche 25 octobre 2009, lamédaille de la Chambre des députésitalienne à Richard Descoings. Cettecérémonie a eu lieu dans le cadre dela 35 ème Conférence internationale duCentre Pio Manzù qui s’est tenue àRimini.New US exchange partners for studentsstrong Sciences Po exchange presencein Georgia at Emory University and atthe GeorgiaInstitute ofTechnology(Georgia Tech).The establishmentof ournew agreementwith Rutgerswas greatly aided by Jacques Sémelin,Research Director, Centre National deRecherche Scientifique (CNRS), and researchprofessor at Sciences Po’s Centre d’Etudeset de Recherches Internationales (CERI). Finally,U.S.C., a private research universitylocated in the heart of Los Angeles,boasts the largest number ofinternational students of any U.S.college. Ranked 26thout of 262 « NationalUniversities » by U.S.News & World ReportAmerica’s Best Colleges2010 Edition, U.S.C. isparticularly strong ininternational affairs,political science,journalism, and film studies. Moreinformation about Rutgers and M.I.T. willappear in future Global Horizonsarticles.The Pull of the USADue to the level of interest instudyabroad programs in the USA for2010-2011, the Center for theAmericas has held twice weeklyinformation meetings for up to twentystudents. Nearly 280 students willhave attended these meetings fromOctober to December. Thecompetition for the 190 spots in theUSA will be very tough given thelarger class size (increase in thenumber of Sciences Po students in thesecond year) and the lack of anincrease in exchange US spots,despite the establishment of four newagreements. Students have also beenencouraged to consider Sciences Po’sexcellent Canadian partners toincrease their chances of securing ayear on exchange in North America.Le séjour d’étude aux USA rencontre,cette année encore, un grand succès.Pour faciliter l’orientation desétudiants, le centre des Amériques amis en place deux réunionsd’informations hebdomadaires sur lazone. Presque 280 étudiants aurontassisté à celles-ci entre octobre etdécembre pour 190 places aux USA.Le Centre des Amériques est ravid’annoncer l’établissement de quatrenouveaux accords d’échange avec desuniversités américaines : l’University ofGeorgia, l’University of SouthernCalifornia, Rutgers University, et leMassachusetts Institute of Technology(M.I.T.). Ces nouveaux partenariatspermettront à Sciences Po d’envoyerquinze étudiants de plus en troisièmeannée aux Etats-Unis en 2010-2011. Lesquatre universités en question proposentdes offres de formation de très hautequalité en sciences sociales, sciencesnaturelles, et lettres. Elles répondent àla très forte demande de séjour d'étudede troisièmeannée aux US,sur la côteouest, dans lenord-est desEtats-Unis, etaux alentoursd’Atlanta où la présence de Sciences Poest depuis longtemps bien établie àEmory University et au Georgia Instituteof Technology (Georgia Tech).3www.international.sciences-po.fr

GLOBAL HORIZONSKenyan Prime minister visits Sciences PoNew German alumni presidentTunisian politics: anhistoric meetingThe conference about the Tunisianpolitical and social situation in thecontext of the upcoming 2009presidential and legislative elections,organised by the student association« Sciences Po Arab World » onOctober 10, was a great success. Thedebate, that opposed various Tunisianrepresentatives both from thegovernment and the politicalopposition, was followed by anaudience of more than 300 people.Raila Odinga, Prime Minister of Kenya, discussing climate change during a Sciences Po conference in OctoberKenyan Prime Minister Raila Odingavisited Sciences Po October 21 on theoccasion of his official trip to Paris. Hetook the opportunity of his visit to holda conference about the Copenhagenchallenges for Africa, focusing on theemergency for the continent to tackleenvironmental issues, since theconsequences of climate change arealready very costly throughout Africa(drought, floods, etc). He insisted on thenecessity for African governments totake their part of responsibility duringthe Copenhagen Summit, asDeveloping relations with Africarepresents a real challenge for SciencesPo, and the continent is now given apriority focus by Sciences Po’sInternational Affairs Division (DAIE).While consolidating relationships withcurrent partners (Stellenbosch in SouthAfrica, UCAC in Cameroon, ISM inSenegal), Sciences Po’s main objectivesare now to expand student exchangesthrough new partnerships with localuniversities, recruit more Africanstudents, and encourage cooperativeprojects aimed at strengthening ourrelations with the continent.Indeed, while Sciences Po hassuccessfully improved its internationalpolicy through an increasing number ofpartnerships, African universitiesaccount for only 3 out of Sciences Po’s350 partners worldwide, and there areno more than 50 African students inexchange here, out of a total of 3600environmental issues are of globalconcern. The massive attendance (about200 participants) revealed the greatinterest in these matters among theSciences Po community.Lors d’une conférence tenue à SciencesPo le 21 octobre dernier, le PremierMinistre Kenyan Raila Odinga a appeléles Etats africains, à tenir compte del’urgence environnementale et departiciper activement au Sommet deCopenhague afin d’y remédier au mieux.L’Association étudiante Sciences PoMonde Arabe a organisé uneconférence historique sur « laquestion tunisienne à la veille desélections présidentielle et législativesde 2009 » en présence de membresdu pouvoir tunisien et de grandesfigures de l’opposition.Africa becomes new priority for Sciences Po international strategyinternational students.Since September, two business tripshave already taken place. An agreementwas reached, in Burkina Faso, with theInternational Institute on Water andEnvironment (2IE) in view of promotingstudent exchanges and developingrelations with Sciences Po’s SustainableDevelopment Chair. The second trip washeld in South Africa, where sevenSelim Ben Hassem, Omeyya Seddik, Aida Dogguiuniversities and four high schools werevisited and many contacts were taken.This could mark South Africa as SciencesPo’s first entry point in the continent.Furthermore, Sciences Po intends tovisit Ghana, Senegal, and Cameroonamong others by 2010.Tandis que Sciences Po développetoujours plus de partenariats avec desuniversités étrangères, témoignant dusuccès de la politiqued’internationalisation de l’institution,l’Afrique reste fortement délaissée parce phénomène. C’est pourquoi deuxmissions, au Burkina Faso et en Afriquedu Sud, ont été menées depuisseptembre et se sont avérées trèsprometteuses, par le nombre de contratsqui ont été conclus, pour la prise encompte de l’Afrique par la politiqueinternationale de Sciences Po.4www.international.sciences-po.fr

GLOBAL HORIZONSSciences Po participates in EHEF in AsiaSciences Po participated October 30 toNovember 2 in the European HigherEducation Fair 2009 in Bangkok, alongwith the National OCSC (Office of CivilService Commission) Study Abroad Fair.About 200 students of top Thaiuniversities such as ChulalongkornUniversity, Thammasat University,Kasetsart University and AssumptionUniversity, stopped by Sciences Po’sstall. Besides, about 100 of themdiscussed with Sciences Po’srepresentative, Zhongjun Liu,International Affairs Manager at theInternational Office.Zhongjun Liu also visited Triam UdumSuksa Higher School and the KingPrajadhikop’s Institute, as well asSciences Po’s major partner universitiesin Hong Kong and Bangkok in order tostrengthen relations with them.Sciences Po a participé aux salonsMembers of the Chinese National MPA delegationMore than 20 representatives of theChinese National MPA (Master of PublicAdministration) Education SteeringCommittee visited Sciences Po onOctober 29. The head of delegation, MrXu Guangjian from Renmin University,Student interested in Sciences Po Master's curriculumsorganisés par l’EHEF et l’OCSC, àBangkok du 30 octobre au 2 novembre.Chinese National MPA delegationpresented the most recent trendsregarding MPA teaching in China anddiscussed them with the Sciences PoMPA Managers (Master of PublicAffairs) and Alessia Lefebure, head ofthe Sciences Po Asia-Pacific Centre.Sciences Po has been running jointinitiatives with several Chinese MPA(Tsinghua, Fudan and PekingUniversity) since 2002.Le Chinese National MPA EducationSteering Committee a été reçu àSciences Po le 29 octobre dernier afind’échanger sur les bonnes pratiques duMaster of Public Affairs de Sciences Po.Sciences Po's new partnerships in AsiaSciences Po has concluded in 2009several new agreements : a dual Masterdegree in «Economics» with theUniversity of Keio, Japan ; a dual Masterdegree «Europe and Asia in Globalaffairs» with the University of Fudan,China ; a dual Master degree«Environment and Internationalrelations» with the University of Peking,China ; a dual Master degree in PublicAffairs with the Lee Kuan Yew School ofPublic Policy, Singapore ; and a studentexchange agreement with the UnitedInternational College, China.Francis Verillaud, Prof. Xu, Prof. Wang, Mr ShengDe nouveaux accords ont été signés avecles Universités de Keio (Japon),Singapour, Fudan, Pékin et Zhuhai(Chine).5Vice president visitsIndian schoolsFrancis Vérillaud, vice president ofSciences Po and Director of theInternational Affairs Division, spent aweek in India developping newpartnerships and promoting theSciences Po undergraduate programthroughout various IB schools. Amongthe institutions he visited were theprestigious Lady Shri Ram College forwomen, the Shri Ram School and theTata Institute of Social Sciences, whichhas agreed to renew our partnership.Sciences Po aims at expanding itsnetwork of Indian high schools to adozen in order to reinforce thereputation of its undergraduate programin this region.Le Directeur de la DAIE, M. FrancisVérillaud, s’est rendu en Inde pour allerà la rencontre de lycées qui proposentdes programmes d’éducationinternationale (IB schools).Le Havre welcomesModel-AsemFrom November 10 to 14, Sciences Po’sEuro-Asia campus located in Le Havrehosted the 2009 Model ASEMConference, asimulationinvolvingprimarilyinternationalhigh schoolstudents with astrong interestin political,Model Asem in Le Havre economic andsocial relations between Asia andEurope. Organized by students of theEuro-Asia Campus, the event ralliedvarious countries of Europe, ASEAN+ 3,and also Pakistan, India, Mongolia,delegations from the EuropeanCommission and the ASEAN Secretariat.This year, 80 students of more than 20nationalities took part in sessions anddebates organized around three maintopics: politics, economics and culture.The participants also visited Paris anddiscovered Versailles, the NationalAssembly, Le Havre, Fécamp and Rouen.More informationDu 10 au 14 Novembre, le campus euroasiatiquedu Havre a accueilli l’édition2009 du «Model ASEM».www.international.sciences-po.fr

GLOBAL HORIZONSDr. Imola Streho presents European Affairs master's degree to GHIn this interview, Dr Imola STREHO,Director of the European Affairsmaster's, presents the two-yearEuropean Affairs curriculum. Thismaster's is taught in both French andEnglish (with a full English track). It alsoexists as part of dual degrees with FudanUniversity (Shanghai), LSE (London),Dr. Imola Streho, director of Master's programsFreie Universität (Berlin), Bocconi(Milan) and Saint Gallen (Switzerland).International Office: Why would non-European students study EuropeanAffairs in a master’s degree program?The European community project,which the two-year-long mastercurriculum is all about, is not an inwardlooking process. Indeed, the EU has asignificant role within the internationalarena through its strong ties withnumerous countries and organisations.Thus, the diversity of profiles – 200students, from 30 different countries –is linked to a multiplicity of motives.There are, at least, three non-Europeanstudent profiles that stand to benefitfrom the MEA curriculum:- those originating from candidatecountries who will join the EU in thenear future;- those whose countries have somesort of partnership with the EU (suchas trade agreements);- and those whose countries areengaged in a regional integrationprocess (such as Mercosur, WAEMU orASEAN which is committed to establishan Economic Community by 2015)IO: What particular difficulties dothey encounter in your curriculum?First of all, non-European studentsare obviously faced with the exact samedifficulties that any student is confrontedto in a foreign teaching environment. Thelanguage of study rarely is the students’mother tongue, the difficulty being,therefore, to learn how to think andinteract all day long in French and inEnglish.Moreover, non-European students arerequired to adapt to the methodology andlearning approach proper to SciencesPo. Besides, they also have to deal witha temporary cultural shock, both oncampus and in their every day life.Lastly, non-European students oftentend to be somewhat less familiar withthe European community project thantheir European counterparts who havealways lived it «from the inside». Thereis, therefore, a slight disadvantage fornon-European students, at least at thebeginning of the curriculum.IO: What solutions have you found forthese issues?Each semester begins with theWelcome Programme, organized by theInternational Affairs Division andintended for all international students.It provides them with useful informationsuch as life on campus, classmethodology, but also fun activities inParis.A specific mentorship program, properto the MEA curriculum, is also organizedfor foreign students by the MEA studentand alumni association (AMAE). Thus,each one of them is assisted by a secondyearbuddy able to answer theirquestions and help them integrate intothe Sciences Po community.Besides, all first-year MEA studentshave PhD candidates as tutors to helpthem through specific classes such asHistory of European Integration,Constitutional Foundations of the EU,Advanced Economics of EuropeanIntegration, etc.As the curriculum director, I encourageevery MEA student to come see me ifthey face any kind of difficulty in theirstudies. To conclude, I want to insist onthe fact that, despite all the challengesthey are faced with at Sciences Po,students should try to keep the studyhabits that led them to obtain their BAand enter our school, for that is theirpersonal key to success.Imola Streho nous parle du Masteraffaires européennes. Les nombreuxétudiants étrangers qui viennent yétudier bénéficient de services d'aidespour faciliter leur intégration.KEIO delegationvisits Sciences PoA delegation from Keio Universityv i s i t e dSciences Po’sEuro-AsiaCampus in LeHavre onNovember 23.Prof.Colin McKenzieProf. ColinMcKenzie,Prof. Ken Aoki,P r o f .ShintsukeNakamura, Ms Yukiko Sato and MsKazune Miyazaki met several secondyearstudents and discussed thepossibility of cooperation at theundergraduate level with the Deansof the Europe-Asia programme.Sciences Po and Keio have alreadydeveloped in 2009 a Dual MasterDegree in Economics.Fin Novembre, Sciences Po a reçu unedélégation de l’Université de Keio,Japon. Leur visite des Campus duHavre et de Paris a été l’occasiond’échanges autour d’une possiblecoopération au niveau Bachelor.Your Key Contacts at the International Affairs Division of Sciences Poplease see: http://international.sciences-po.fr/contact_us/contacts_en.html6www.international.sciences-po.fr