Professor Joan DeBardeleben of Carleton University’s Institute of European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies is involved in several exciting projects to promote research and to build a network of scholars from across Canada to bring research findings about Europe and the European Union (EU) to practitioners and to the public.
One project that DeBardeleben heads is a Strategic Knowledge Cluster funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, entitled “The Canada-Europe Transatlantic Dialogue (CETD): Seeking Transnational Solutions to 21st Century Problems.”
It’s a $2.1 million grant supports the initiative (2008-2016) with a goal of making Canadians better informed about alternate ways to address policy problems that face both Canada and Europe. CETD sponsors conferences and policy workshops, and supports an active website that provides policy briefs, podcasts, and other publications on current policy issues. The project involves over 70 experts from across Canada as well as European collaborators and institutional partners on both sides of the Atlantic.
The CETD project is housed at Carleton and reinforces other activities Carleton’s Centre for European Studies (CES), which has been designated a European Union Centre of Excellence (EUCE) by the European Commission since 2006. Its status was renewed in 2012. CES is also Network Coordinator for all of the EU Centres of Excellence in Canada. The European Commission is providing 360,000 Euros (about $450,000) over three years (2013-2016) to support the EUCE, under DeBardeleben’s leadership.
In addition to these activities, Prof. DeBardeleben holds a prestigious Jean Monnet Chair, funded by the Lifelong Learning Program of the European Union. The Jean Monnet Chair in the EU’s Eastern Neighbourhood Relations supports teaching and outreach activities related to the EU’s policies toward countries such as the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, and Moldova.
DeBardeleben is also President of the European Community Studies Association-Canada. In all of these capacities DeBardeleben works closely with interested European Embassies in Ottawa, as well with relevant government departments and think-tanks.
Recent conferences that have been sponsored by these projects have focused on public attitudes toward environmental issues in Canada and Europe, and on the EU’s external energy policy (particularly as it affects Canada and Russia).
According to DeBardeleben, such events offer a great opportunity for practitioners to gain access to cutting edge research findings that can help inform consideration of alternative approaches in addressing pressing policy problems. In addition, students and the public gain the opportunity to see the interaction between academic research and the practical experience of diplomatic and government circles.
In the upcoming period the EUCE has on its agenda to initiate webinars, virtual research seminars linking scholars from across the globe, and virtual links between Carleton and European classrooms.
DeBardeleben’s earlier research activity focused primarily on Russian and East German politics, but in recent years she has expanded her research profile to include attention to EU politics and policies; she continues to maintain active research profile in the Russian area as well. She has been an active faculty member in developing European Studies at Carleton, including her role as founder of the Centre for European studies and as a former Director of the Institute of European, Russia, and Eurasian Studies. Over the years the university has become a top Canadian school for European studies offering diverse and established programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels; this reinforces Carleton’s role as a leading centre for Russian and Eurasian Studies in Canada.