Students engage in the study of modern European and Eurasian history, political economy and current affairs. The program equips concentrators to analyze not only what is happening in the European Union and its member states, but also on other nations in Eastern Europe and Eurasia, including Russia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia and to understand the region's role in the world.
An overview of the EES program from Director Erik Jones.
Students may begin the EES program in either Bologna or Washington DC. The program differs from other concentrations at the school because it does not have any required coursework. Students work with their program advisor and members of the senior faculty to design a course of study to prepare for three comprehensive exams that must be completed to meet the degree requirements. EES concentrators complete a program capstone by reporting on their summer internship experience or conducting an oral examination with members of the senior faculty.
erik.jones@jhu.edu
DC: +1 202 663 5796 | Bologna: +39 051 291 7811
In January 2013, France intervened in its former African colony, Mali, to stop an Al Qa'ida advance on the capital. French special forces, warplanes, and army units struck with rapid and unexpected force. Their intervention quickly repelled the jihadist advance and soon the terrorists had been chased from their safe haven in Mali's desolate North - an impressive accomplishment. Although there have been many books on the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, there are almost none on the recent military interventions of America's allies. Because it was quick, effective, and relatively low cost, the story contains valuable lessons for future strategy. Based on exclusive interviews with high-level civilian and military officials in Paris, Washington and Bamako, this book offers a fast-paced, concise, strategic overview of this war. As terrorist groups proliferate across North Africa, what France accomplished in Mali should be a key reference point for national security experts.
Is the West in Decline? is a collection of ten essays by prominent scholars of international relations and current history, many of them associated with the European Studies program of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. The essays explore the question of decline from several perspectives: theoretical, historical, counterfactual, and contemporary. Thomas Row’s essay uses alternative history to show how an unfallen Habsburg Empire might have evolved into a state system resembling the European Union. Benjamin Rowland’s essay on Oswald Spengler considers how the German historian’s theory of decline could be applied to the West today. Several of the essays are country studies. Not all conclude that countries or state systems are in decline, or that the condition, if present, is irreversible. Writing about Germany, Stephen Szabo notes that only fifteen years ago, this currently robust country could have been seen as a clear exemplar of decline. Dana Allin’s essay on the U.S. asks whether a course change, including retrenchment and overseas rebalancing, might reverse decline or eliminate it altogether. David Calleo’s essay, among other things, looks at America’s reserve currency status as a principal sustainer of American exceptionalism, and asks what might happen should the U.S. lose its “exorbitant privilege” as reserve currency provider to the international system.
Zbigniew Brzezinski’s multifaceted career dealing with U.S. security and foreign policy has led him from the halls of academia to multiple terms in public service, including a stint as President Jimmy Carter’s National Security Advisor from 1977 to 1981. He is a renowned policy analyst and author who frequently appears as a commentator on popular talk shows, and his strategic vision continues to carry a great deal of gravitas.
he European crisis came to an end when first political leaders and then the European Central Bank promised to do whatever it takes to safeguard the euro. Specifically they committed to creating a European banking union and to buy unlimited amounts of sovereign debt in distressed markets for governments that made a binding commitment to reform. Markets were initially skeptical and yet ultimately persuaded by the commitment of European elites. Events in Italy and Cyprus threatened to return Europe to crisis and yet were ultimately managed without major turmoil. Somewhere along the way, however, the desire of European elites to do whatever is necessary began to waver and their commitment to banking union diminished. The European crisis has ended but Europe is not yet resilient enough to ensure that it will not recur. 
Now in its fifth edition, Europe Today presents unrivaled coverage of developments in major European countries anc across the region. Thoroughly revised and updated - with a new introduction and an added chapter on Spain - this is the only work that offers a sustained and unified set of both country case studies and thematic chapters on the European Union. Written by leading scholars from Europe and North America, the book offers a range of perspectives on the process of European integration, the evolution of economic performance, the spread of judicial authority, and the reaction to multiculturalism and immigration. Highlighting the impact of the global economic crisis and the struggle to assert Europe's voice more widely, the contributors provide a cosmopolitan and pragmatic assessment of what Europeans have accomplished and what challenges they continue to face. Each chapter builds on a foundation of basic political information and explanation to develop distinctive and thought-provoking contributions to current debates. A book that informs but also engages, this comprehensive text will lead readers toward a coherent and informed view of Europe today. 
Based on extensive interviews within the U.S. government, this book recounts the story of how the United States and its European allies went to war against Muammar Qaddafi in 2011, why they won the war, and what the implications for NATO, Europe, and Libya will be. This was a war that few saw coming, and many worried would go badly awry, but in the end the Qaddafi regime fell and a new era in Libya's history dawned. Whether this is the kind of intervention that can be repeated, however, remains an open question – as does Libya's future and that of its neighbors.
