Though the recent collapse of the Greek financial system shook the European Union, that financial crisis was only a symptom of a much deeper issue, according to University of Notre Dame political scientist Sebastian Rosato, author of “Europe United: Power Politics and the Making of the European Community” (Cornell University Press, 2011).

“The EU has been going downhill for almost two decades now and is going to go even further downhill in the future,” Rosato says.

“The Europeans failed to build a military to challenge the U.S., despite lofty rhetoric to the contrary; they failed to pass a constitution; and they have been slowly eviscerating the single market and single currency. Simply put, the European Community’s best days are long gone and there is worse to come.”

Rosato explains that the European Union was created with a very specific purpose in mind: protection against the Soviet Union. Consequently, “when the Soviet Union died in 1991, that fundamental purpose disappeared. No Soviet Union, no EU required. The entire European order is collapsing around us,” Rosato says.

Specializing in international relations theory and international security, Rosato is an assistant professor of political science and co-director of Notre Dame’s International Security Program.

Media advisory: Professor Rosato’s comments may be used in whole or in part. He is available for interviews and can be reached at 574-631-0378 or srosato@nd.edu

From: Susan Guibert, assistant director of public relations, 574-631-2867, Guibert.1@nd.edu

The University of Notre Dame’s research awards have exceeded the $100-million mark for the first time in its history, fulfilling a goal set by , Notre Dame’s president, during his 2005 inaugural address.

“This is an important milestone for Notre Dame because it signals progress toward our goal as a pre-eminent Catholic research university,” Father Jenkins said. “It shows that our faculty are making valuable discoveries in areas as diverse as nanoscience technology and conflict resolution.”

The milestone was reached on April 6 with the arrival of a $93,158 grant from the National Science Foundation to , for a study titled “Geometry and Topology in the Presence of Lower Curvature Bounds.”

The $100-million total reflects an increase in the number of grants proposed, an increase in the size of those proposals, and an increase in the number and size of grants that are winning funding, said Robert Bernhard, vice president for research.

“This milestone is due in all respects to the research vision and hard work of our faculty. Their enthusiasm to form teams across disciplines and institutions builds on our strong tradition of individual contributions. The enthusiastic support of our deans also has been vital,” Bernhard said.

Since 2007-08, when Bernhard began to lead the University’s research office, the number of proposals written and submitted has increased by 34 percent, and the size of proposal requests has doubled. By the end of March 2008, faculty had garnered $64 million in awards, compared to the $100-million milestone just reached.

The milestone is a tangible sign of the benefits Notre Dame has begun to realize by initiating a program to provide seed funding for research. Called Strategic Research Investments (SRI), the program has invested $80 million of the University’s own money to advance the scope, excellence and visibility of the research enterprise.

The funds have been used to hire new faculty, purchase cutting-edge research equipment and provide personnel support that frees more time for faculty to pursue research projects. As a result of this support, “Our faculty members can confidently compete against their peers,” Bernhard said.

While the current upswing in successful research reflects the early stages of the SRI investment, the full potential of the program has not yet had time to peak, he said. “When this investment is fully realized, I believe we will see the development of a transformative component of our research programs.”

Certain external factors have helped define 2009-10 as a bountiful year. Among those factors, federal economic stimulus money under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has totaled nearly $30 million. Those funds have included awards such as $18.5 million to Peter C. Burns, Massman Chair and Professor of Civil Engineering and Geological Sciences, to establish an Energy Frontier Research Center. The focus is on the materials science of actinides, and the center intends to lay the scientific foundation for advanced nuclear energy systems that may provide much more energy while creating less nuclear waste.

Also noteworthy, a $12.2-million renewal grant from the National Institutes of Health to the VectorBase project to support the work of biologists Frank Collins and Nora J. Besansky, co-principal investigators, and Greg Madey and Scott Emrich of computer science and engineering.

The University of Notre Dame’s International Security Program will host a two-day conference April 22 and 23 (Thursday and Friday) examining the influence of social science theory on international security policy.

Featuring former policymakers and prominent scholars from a variety of social science disciplines, the conference sessions will be held in Room 210 of McKenna Hall on the Notre Dame campus. All sessions are free and open to the public.

Stephen Krasner, the Graham H. Stuart Professor of International Relations at Stanford University, will deliver the keynote address, “Garbage Cans and Intellectual Streams: How Academic Research Might Affect Foreign Policy,” on Thursday at 4 p.m.

Krasner also serves on the International Security Advisory Board of the U.S. State Department, and previously served as the State Department’s director for the policy planning staff.

Other participants include John Mearsheimer, Stephen Walt, Marc Trachtenberg, Stephen Van Evera, Justin Vaisse, Francis Gavin, Jeremi Suri, and Keir Lieber.

A complete list of presentations, speakers and their biographies is available at .

Contact: Michael Desch, professor of political science, 574-631-2792 or mdesch@nd.edu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “half-hearted recognition” of a Palestinian state existing alongside a Jewish state certainly is a step forward, but “falls short of the minimal required conditions for resuming peace negotiations,” according to Asher Kaufman, University of Notre Dame professor of history and peace studies, whose areas of specialty include the Arab-Israeli conflict.

“More than a genuine change of policy, Netanyahu’s new views are a clear result of pressure exerted on him by the Obama administration. They reflect his realization that he needs to somehow appease the American administration while at the same time remain loyal to his own conservative worldview,” Kaufman says.

Not only did Netanyahu include multiple preconditions for peace talks, the conditions he did set forth applied to the most central issues.

“In his speech, Netanayhu closed the door for any negotiations on some of the most contested issues and aspects of the conflict including the future of Jerusalem, the question of Palestinian refugees’ right of return, and Jewish settlements in the occupied territories,” says Kaufman.

Though the White House acknowledged Netanyahu’s speech as an important step forward, this first step “may be the last,” Kaufman says.

A member of the Notre Dame faculty since 2005, Kaufman specializes in the modern history of Lebanon and Syria and the Arab-Israeli conflict. He currently is working on a project focusing on boundaries, territoriality, conflict and identities in Lebanon, Syria and Israel.

Media advisory: Kaufman’s comments may be used in whole or in part. He is available for interviews and can be contacted at Asher.Kaufman.15@nd.edu.

Ishmael Beah, former child soldier of Sierra Leone and author of “A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier.” will deliver a lecture of the same name at the University of Notre Dame at 7 p.m. March 16 (Monday) in the McKenna Hall auditorium.

The event, which will be followed by a book signing and reception, is free and open to the public.

Born in Sierra Leone in 1980, Beah moved to the United States in 1998 and finished his last two years of high school at the United Nations International 91��Ƶ in New York. He graduated from Oberlin College in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He is a member of the Human Rights Watch Children’s Rights Division Advisory Committee and has spoken before the United Nations, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Center for Emerging Threats and Opportunities at the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory, and many other non-government organization panels on children affected by the war. His work has appeared in Vespertine Press and LIT magazine.

Beah’s address is sponsored by Notre Dame’s International Student Services and Activities and will serve as the keynote kick-off for International Festival Week, March 23 to 28. The event also is supported by Notre Dame’s Africa Faith and Justice Network, African Student Association, Center for Civil and Human Rights, Center for Social Concerns, Department of Africana 91��Ƶ, Graduate Student Union, Kellogg Institute for International 91��Ƶ, Kroc Institute for International Peace 91��Ƶ, Multicultural Student Programs and Services, Office of International 91��Ƶ, and Office of Student Affairs.

Contact: Bethany Heet, director, International Student Services and Activities Programs and Immigration Services, 574-631-3825, bheet2@nd.edu