The First Europe Day Festival in Cork, Ireland

by Georgia Maneta, EFL Educator, Greece

On May 7th, in order to celebrate the 50 years since Ireland’s entering the EU, a festival was organized in the beautiful City Hall of Cork. Its aim was to give people the chance to commemorate this important anniversary as well as remind the adults of and teach the younger ones the values that the EU promotes and supports. Thus, solidarity, collaboration, multilingualism, justice, multiculturalism, equality, critical thinking as well as joy and creativity were present in the imaginative activities meant for all the family.

Visitors had the chance to listen to fairy tales in different languages, draw collaboratively, participate in a EU Treasure Hunt, play multilingual games, create puppets, make and enjoy smoothies, draw and see their creations turn into beautiful badges, rap, ask representatives of different EU countries questions about their countries and engage in formal and informal discussions. There were dance and song performances of different schools which made the festival very lively. Parents and children were excited and enthusiastic and eager to take part in the various activities as well as socialize with people all around the Hall.

The person in charge was Dr. Emmanuelle Schön-Quinlivan, the Jean Monnet Chair in Active European Citizenship and a lecturer in European politics in University College Cork. Dr. Schön-Quinlivan’s aim was to remind people of the benefits that a country enjoys while being an EU member and that there is strength in unity.

The festival proved to be a great success. Over 700 people came and went during the 4 hours, and they certainly celebrated the diversity and the opportunities that the EU offers.

If you want to have a small glimpse of the happenings of that day, have a look at the following video with the highlights!

The First Europe Day Festival in Cork, Ireland

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Benjamin Valentino on Public Support for the Use of Nuclear Weapons in the US, UK, France, and Israel

by Ben Nathan, MA student in European Union Studies

Earlier this year, the UIUC community welcomed Benjamin Valentino, Professor of Government and Chair of the Department of Government at Dartmouth College. During his visit, he presented on "Public Support for the Use of Nuclear Weapons in the US, UK, France, and Israel." Speaking broadly on the topic, Valentino discussed what nuclear weapons have come to represent in the world. Since their use in WWII, nuclear weapons have seemingly prevented their own use. When two nuclear powers come into conflict with one another, evidently, the knowledge that they both have nuclear capabilities disincentivizes the utilization of those capabilities. To test that notion of the self-disincentivizing mechanism, Valentino and his colleagues conducted a series of surveys that asked participants to share their views on when and how nuclear weapons should be used.

The seemingly taboo nature of nuclear weapons on the world stage should yield results illustrating that survey participants prefer conventional weapons over a nuclear option in any given scenario. Yet, the results showed something unexpected. When all variables are equal and a nuclear strike would yield the same number of casualties as a conventional strike would at the same success rate, nuclear strikes are not preferable to conventional ones. When nuclear strikes are even slightly more effective, however, they are preferable to conventional ones.

Valentino then discussed the views of the American, Israeli, French, and UK citizenries on whether the use of nuclear weapons by their respective governments would be justifiable and if so, in what context. While a plurality of respondents from the US, UK, and France all found that it would never be justified, there was significant support from American, UK, and French participants for using a nuclear strike as a deterrent against a possible attack. Moreover, the Israeli participants supported the use of a nuclear weapon in the context of an actual war to a far greater extent that the other three countries. What all of these surveys amount to, then, is that “support for nuclear weapons is surprisingly high everywhere” and that the notion of nuclear weapons being taboo may not be as accurate as it once was.

Finally, Valentino offered a parting conclusion. The best way to go about preventing a nuclear war in the future is to further stigmatize nuclear weapons. So long as the citizenries of nuclear powers can justify nuclear force, nuclear war remains a distinct possibility.

The recording of Dr. Valentino's talk can be found here.

Benjamin Valentino on Public Support for the Use of Nuclear Weapons in the US, UK, France, and Israel

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MAEUS Student Spotlight: Ben Nathan

Ben Nathan is an EU Center Graduate Assistant and an MA student in European Union Studies who is set to graduate this May. He received his bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2022. Using the U.S. and China as case studies, his undergraduate thesis explored how governments utilize minority targeting propaganda campaigns for political gain. Ben's MA thesis, titled "The Asymmetrical Dynamics of Market Powers with Normatively Misaligned Partners: The EU-Israel Case Study," looked at EU-Israel relations. 

EU Center: Can you summarize your MA thesis for us in one sentence?

Ben: Exploring a trade agreement between the two entities, the thesis studied the impact of the structure of legal agreements on their contracting parties, finding that the EU may incentivize noncompliance with certain parts of its international agreements to facilitate their ratification and then use less direct means to achieve its long-term goals. 

EU Center: What was your favorite class as an MA student?

Ben: EURO 502 stood out amongst the other EURO courses due to its emphasis on the EU’s external relations, my specific area of interest in EU studies. Having taken the course twice, with two different instructors, I was given the opportunity to conduct interesting research projects and discuss fascinating articles pertaining to the EU’s foreign relations and international agreements.

EU Center: What is your favorite memory from UIUC?

Ben: Returning to campus after the COVID-19 pandemic remains one of my favorite UIUC memories. Having not seen many of my friends and peers for half a year, finally returning to Champaign was a much needed shift back to normalcy after so many months of strict lockdown protocols. 

EU Center: What about your favorite event?

Ben: Earlier this year, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Marie Yovanovich came to campus to discuss her storied career and thoughts on the current state of Ukraine. I was given the opportunity to be one of the students who interviewed the former ambassador and am confident that the memories of that experience will remain some of the most exciting ones from my time at UIUC. 

EU Center: Do you have any advice for incoming MAEUS students?

Ben: When writing your thesis, be prepared to need to be flexible. Not everything will necessarily work happen in the manner that you want or expect it to but there is always a path forward. I was expecting to conduct interviews for my thesis research but was unable to secure them. That resulted in a drastic change in the methodological approach but in the end, the project was a success. 

EU Center: What are your post-graduation plans?

Ben: My short-term plans are somewhat up in the air. May, June, and July will be spent relaxing after five straight years of higher education. During that time, I'll hopefully secure a job somewhere for two or three years before applying to law schools and eventually becoming a practicing lawyer focusing on international law. 

The European Union Center congratulates Ben on completing his master's degree and wishes him all the best in his future endeavors. Please stay in touch!

MAEUS Student Spotlight: Ben Nathan

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