Mershon Center for International Security Studies Annual Report 2004-2005
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Date
2005
Authors
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Journal ISSN
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Publisher
The Ohio State University
Abstract
With his gift to the Ohio State University, Ralph D. Mershon sought to promote the civilian
study of military activities and the principles of good citizenship. Today, the Mershon
Center strives to fulfill that aim by fostering the understanding of national security in a
global context. It concentrates on three main topics: 1) the use
of force and diplomacy, 2) the ideas, identities, and decisional
processes that affect security, and 3) the institutions that manage
violent conflicts. This year, the Center held seven international
conferences devoted to specific aspects of each of these topics.
For instance, it convened in conjunction with the Korean National
Defense University a conference in Seoul on the evolving
military relationship between the United States and the Republic
of South Korea. Funded by the National Science Foundation,
Mershon also held a workshop devoted to identifying new
research agendas for political science and sociology as they seek
to understand global tensions in the Middle East. This was held
in Istanbul, Turkey in conjunction with Bocaziçi University. The
Mershon Center continued its decade old interest in fostering
democratic institutions, holding this year’s conference on Comparative
National Elections—which now includes teams from 21
countries—at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.
In the contemporary era, the national security environment features multiple perceived
threats with complex causes and involves militaries in a wide range of activities. To understand
these matters, the Mershon Center aims to unite and catalyze faculty expertise
across many disciplines. This year, the Center initiated twenty-five new research projects
and continued six from the previous year. These thirty-one projects involved forty-one
faculty members from sixteen different departments in four different Colleges (Humanities,
Social and Behavioral Sciences, Law, and Food, Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences). The Center also sought to increase the faculty expertise at Ohio State by helping
highly-rated departments like Political Science and History recruit new colleagues.
Thirteen of the projects funded this year were directed by professors who were recruited
to or retained by Ohio State with the financial help of the Mershon Center.
Students are deeply involved in the activities of the Mershon Center. This year, the Center funded
nine student research projects with students traveling to Portugal, Turkey, South Africa, Latvia, Russia
and South Korea among other places. Ten other undergraduate students were employed at the Center
and involved in our various activities. Thirty graduate students were funded as research assistants on
faculty-led research projects and an additional fifteen graduate students received some financial support
for their contributions to these endeavors. In addition, although Mershon is not a teaching unit,
it funded two lecture series that were integral components of two courses, an undergraduate course
taught by Professor William Liddle concentrating on politics and security in the Muslim world and a
graduate seminar taught by Professor Geoffrey Parker that concentrated on elite fighting units, their
organization, recruitment, and role in both combat and society.
This report gives a glimpse of the research activities under way at the Center and the more than
sixty-five guest speakers who contributed to our enterprise. Collectively, they enrich the experience
of students and faculty at the Ohio State University and certainly make my job as director a genuine
pleasure. More information on many of these activities is available on our web-site www.mershon.
ohio-state.edu.
RICHARD K. HERRMANN
DIRECTOR, MERSHON CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY STUDIES
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 2004-2005