Mershon Center for International Security Studies Annual Report 2003-2004
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Date
2004
Authors
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Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Ohio State University
Abstract
Understanding national security in a global context remained an urgent topic with a broad scope. This year, the Mershon Center funded sixty projects, involving more than seventy faculty members from more than fifteen departments. Four broad themes provided the collective focus for our endeavors and define the structure of this report: 1) diplomacy and the use of force, 2) political and economic decision-making, 3) culture and identity in security and 4) the role law and institutions play in war and peace. In addition to projects that address some of these themes, the Center also sponsored a year-long, multi-disciplinary effort to understand security in the Middle East.
Ohio State students are involved in most of the Mershon Center’s activities and this year the Center funded twenty graduate students and ten undergraduate student fellows. These students worked with faculty members on research projects and in many cases pursued research topics on their own as well. My colleague at Mershon, Bill Liddle, also taught an Honors course that was integrated with our special focus on the Middle East. Both faculty and students are encouraged to apply to the Center for funding in our annual competitions. Information about these are available on our web-site www.mershon.ohio-state.edu.
Producing high quality scholarship is a principal aim of the Mershon Center. This annual report highlights some of the recent books and articles published by colleagues at the Center. It also reports on the conferences, workshops and seminars that have contributed to our research and made the Center an intellectually lively and exciting place to work. Although much of the work done at the Center has policy relevance, our primary aim is to produce scholarship that addresses fundamental claims about how the world works or the lessons that should be drawn from history that commonly underpin current debates. The ambition is to make contributions that retain their value as the daily headlines change.
To enhance its mission the Mershon Center relies heavily on the faculty at Ohio State and hopes to both help scholars already at the University be more productive and to help attract outstanding new colleagues to join the faculty at Ohio State. This year, the Center has been successful in both areas. I am particularly happy to report that Professor Alexander Wendt from the University of Chicago agreed to join us as a Distinguished Mershon Professor with tenure in Political Science starting in the Fall 2004 and Professor Robert McMahon agreed to join us as a Distinguished Mershon Professor with tenure in the History Department beginning in the Fall 2005. I look forward to having them as colleagues and I am certain that in future annual reports their accomplishments and contributions to Ohio State will feature prominently.
This report provides a glimpse into the year at the Mershon Center and identifies in brief some of the ideas and projects being pursued by my colleagues, faculty and students alike. It is working with them and riding on the wake they create as they seek to understand national security that is the best part of the being the Director of the Mershon Center.
Richard K. Herrmann
Director, Mershon Center
Professor, Political Science
Description
The University Archives has determined that this item is of continuing value to OSU's history.
Keywords
Mershon Center Annual Report 2003-2004, national security, security studies, faculty research, speakers