Institute for European , Russian and Eurasian Studies
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The primary mission of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES, or the Institute) is to promote and support scholarly research on Europe and Eurasia. The principal disciplines involved are political science, economics and history. Cross-disciplinary work is strongly encouraged. Members of the Institute develop and participate in scholarly seminars and colloquia, publish and otherwise communicate their research to peer academics in public settings and to various branches and agencies of the U.S. government.
Scholars draw on the massive holdings of the Library of Congress and National Archives and a number of academic, governmental and private institutional collections. The George Washington University is home to the Slavic, East European and Asian Reading Room, a special collection of reference works and periodicals unequaled in other academic institutions in the area, and to the National Security Archive, the world's largest private repository of declassified government documents.
The Institute's history reflects the changes in the global arena since the early 1960's. In the aftermath of the Second World War, American colleges and universities were sadly deficient in scholars trained to conduct research on the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, China and East Asia generally. Thus, they were also weak in their ability to educate their students and the public at large or to advise government leaders on policy toward these emerging regimes.
The Institute for Sino-Soviet Studies was founded in 1961 to help fill these voids by promoting and supporting scholarly research, policy analysis and undergraduate and graduate-level teaching in Soviet, Central and East European and East Asian affairs.
Franz H. Michael (1907-92) was director of The George Washington University’s Institute for Sino-Soviet Studies from 1969 to 1972. A noted expert on Chinese history and Far Eastern affairs, Michael came to GW in 1964 as the associate director of the institute under Kurt London. He also served as professor of Chinese history and international affairs. Michael specialized in nineteenth-century China and in Sino-Soviet relations, and testified before several subcommittees of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He also did work on behalf of the State Department and Arms Control and Disarmament Agency.
After the Cold War ended, the Institute changed its name to The Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies, and the new Sigur Center for Asian Studies was established in the Elliott School for International Affairs. Today, the Institute fosters study of the dynamic regions of Europe and Eurasia, efforts to overcome the Cold War, and the continued legacies of the Cold War divisions in Europe.
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Author or Source: University Archives subject files
Document Location: University Archives
Date Added to Encyclopedia: December 21, 2006
Prepared by: Lyle Slovick, Assistant University Archivist
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