Two Upcoming Talks: Virginia Tech Politics and Planning Speaker Series January 26th and February 9th, 7pm

Virginia Tech Politics and Planning Speaker Series

“The Caucasus: Old Conflicts and New Geopolitical Design”

By Sergey Markedonov

When: January 26, 7:00-8:30 pm

Where: 1021 Prince Street, Room 305

Sponsored by the Virginia Tech’s Global Issues Initiative!

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Abstract—Dr. Markedonov will discuss the transformation of the Caucasus region from the periphery to one of the focal points of Eurasian, European and Transatlantic security. He will examine the basic reasons of that are relevant and concern different states (USA, Turkey, Iran), integration communities (European Union), and international organizations (OSCE, NATO and UN) in the Caucasus since the dissolution of the USSR. Dr. Markedonov pays special attention to Russia’s position and its desire for maintaining an exclusive role in Caucasus geopolitics. A special emphasis is on the new status quo shaping after the August War of 2008 (the new political agenda for South Ossetia and Abkhazia, new Western strategies on engagement/non-recognition, impact of the August war on Nagorno Karabakh conflict resolution and the Turkish-Armenian rapprochement).

Brief bio—Sergey Markedonov is a visiting fellow in the CSIS Russia and Eurasia Program. He is an expert on the Caucasus, as well as Black Sea, regional security, nationalism, interethnic conflicts and de-facto states in the post-Soviet area. His publications include several books and reports, 50 academic articles, and more than 400 press pieces. Recently published books and reports include The Turbulent Eurasia (Academia, 2010), The Big Caucasus: Consequences of the “Five Day War,” New Challenges and Prospects (International Centre for Black Sea Studies, 2009), and The Ethno-national and Religious Factors in Social-political Life of the Caucasus Region (Moscow State University, 2005).

AND

"Power, You Can't Measure It But You Know When You Don't Have It"

By Clarence Stone

When: February 9, 7:00-8:30 pm

Where: 1021 Prince Street, Room 305

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Abstract—Community organizers, reformers, and sometimes even planners have a primary goal of empowering those who are not well off. But what is empowerment and how do you know when you have achieved it? Is empowerment of the poor feasible or only a pipe dream? Though there is no widely accepted metric of power, we can say much about who is powerful in city politics. A starting point is to be clear about different scopes of power—power to set the agenda, power to say NIMBY, capacity to launch a movement, or capacity to have junk cars removed from the neighborhood. Beyond that, the challenge is to think long term, and think like Albert Einstein and not Sir Isaac Newton.

Brief bio—Clarence Stone is Research Professor of Public Policy and Political Science at George Washington University. He is perhaps best known for REGIME POLITICS, a book on Atlanta’s biracial coalition that develops the concept of an urban regime. He was a Visiting Fulbright Professor at the University of Southern Denmark in 2001-2002 and continues to have an interest in comparative local politics. Currently he is coordinating a transatlantic study of policies to regenerate urban neighborhoods and in that project is part of a team studying Baltimore.

For more details, please take a look at our new website at:

http://www.spia.vt.edu/about/events/vtpnpseries/vtpnpseries.html