Does evoking historical parallels change public opinion regarding foreign policy?

Seeking international support to counter Russia’s February 2022 invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has publicly addressed foreign politicians and public in several democratic nations. Media coverage paid special attention to his explicit comparison of Ukraine’s current situation to salient historical events in the audiences' countries.

Since public opinion can influence foreign policy decisions in democracies, we investigate whether evoking the past of the audience's country effectively increases popular support for aiding Ukraine.

Anil Menon and colleagues conducted survey experiments simultaneously in four countries where Zelensky delivered speeches rich in historical parallels – Germany and Israel (Holocaust), United Kingdom (WWII), and the United States (Pearl Harbor and 9/11). Exposure to excerpts from Zelensky's speeches triggered distinctive emotional reactions in all countries consistent with the content tailored for each country.

Only in Israel did exposure increase public support for bolstering Ukraine’s war efforts. Thus, while rhetoric emphasizing past-present commonalities might evoke emotional reactions, its persuasive potential appears limited.

About the Speaker

Anil Menon is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Merced. Previously, he was a Klarman Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Government at Cornell University and a Visiting Research Fellow at the Center for the Resolution of Intractable Conflict at Harris Manchester College, Oxford University. He earned his Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor.

His research is motivated by three broad questions. How do traumatic experiences – ranging from interstate wars and forced migration to public health crises – shape short- and long-term political attitudes, behaviors, and institutions? What are the historical roots of contemporary patterns of economic and political development? Are rhetorical appeals to the past persuasive?

Cohosts

Institute for European Studies

Judith Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies

Assessing Paths to Peace

On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded the sovereign nation of Ukraine. The ensuing war has yielded many surprises, including Russia’s botched invasion, division and instability in Russian military leadership, and strength of the Ukrainian defense. Nonetheless, many questions remain about the conflict and prospects for peace. What would be needed to achieve real peace in Ukraine? Can we identify a viable path to peace that does not further injustices against the Ukrainian people, and that does not embolden similar invasions by Russia or other expansionist states? What role has sanctions played in shaping the conflict and alliances around the world, and what role can they play in the future? How are ethnic politics evolving within Russia? Panelists will speak to these and related questions, with ample time allocated for discussion with the audience.

Panelists

Nicholas Mulder, Assistant Professor and Milstein Faculty Fellow, Department of History, Cornell UniversityCristina Florea, Assistant Professor, Department of History, Cornell UniversityLeila Wilmers, Postdoctoral Associate, Department of Sociology, Cornell UniversityModerator

Matthew Evangelista, President White Professor of History and Political Science, Department of Government

Host

Judith Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies

Cosponsor

Institute for European Studies

What lessons have Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping drawn from the Soviet collapse, and what lessons are they failing to draw? Renowned historian Stephen Kotkin, Kleinheinz Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and Professor in History and International Affairs emeritus at Princeton University, will talk about how we might see the Soviet collapse, looking back more than three decades. Was the collapse predictable? Did a new world order emerge, and is one emerging now? Could such a collapse be repeated? How can we use history to illuminate the present, and potential futures, and when does history fail us?

Professor Kotkin's talk is the Institute for European Studies' inaugural Luigi Einaudi Distinguished Lecture.

This event will also be livestreamed. No pre-registration is required.

The annual International Fair showcases Cornell's global opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students. Explore the fair and find out about international majors and minors, language study, study abroad, funding opportunities, global internships, Cornell Global Hubs, and more.

The International Fair is sponsored by the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies and Office of Global Learning (both part of Global Cornell), with Cornell's Language Resource Center.

Register for the event on Campus Groups.

Registration for this event is now closed. You can ask to be put on the waitlist be emailing SBP84@Cornell.edu

The 2023 International Studies Summer Institute (ISSI) will explore testimonies of migration. The ISSI is a professional development workshop for practicing and pre-service K–12 educators hosted annually by the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, in collaboration with the South Asia Center at Syracuse University.

During this cross-curriculum conference, educators will engage in discussions, workshops, and lectures that explore and amplify personal narratives of migration. Professors, postdoctoral fellows and other scholars from Cornell University and Syracuse University will share their cutting-edge research on migrant experiences from across different regions of the world, including South Asia, Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Speakers will focus on individual narratives, as well as systemic reasons for migration, such as politics, conflict, and climate change.

Sessions will also explore culturally responsive practices when working with migrant students and discussing migrant narratives. Teachers will gain tools for leading conversations and developing projects with their students about migrant experiences.

Teachers will leave the conference with concrete resources to use in their classrooms, a deeper awareness of how to enter into conversation with students about their own and others’ migration experiences, and an understanding of contemporary migrant experiences from across the world.

The 2023 ISSI will be applicable for elementary, middle, and high school educators from all subject areas. Participating teachers will have the option to complete a lesson plan for PD credit that incorporates content from the workshop, with the support and guidance of our outreach staff.

Conference Schedule:

8:45-9:00 Breakfast and check-in

9:00-9:15 Introductory Remarks by Rachel Beatty Riedl

9:15-10:20 Panel: "Ethical and culturally responsive engagement with migrant narratives"

Panelists: Farah Bakaari, Juhwan Seo, Rose Anderson

Moderator: Shannon Gleeson

10:20-10:30 Break

10:30-11:30 Workshop with Mary Jo Dudley, “Supporting Immigrant Families in Schools”

11:30-12:00 Networking and reflection activity

12:00-1:00 Lunch

1:00-1:45 Breakout Sessions

Focus: Project-based learning around themes of migration (same sessions offered twice)

Option 1: Nicole Thuzar Tu-Maung, “Photovoice Methodology” Option 2: Maria Gimma, “Understanding the Global Phenomenon of Migration, a Project-Based Curriculum” Option 3: Nausheen Husain, “Storytelling With Data” 1:45-1:50 Break

1:50-2:35 Breakout Sessions, repetition of above options

2:35-3:00 Break / walk to Johnson Art Museum

3:00-4:00 Workshop with Carol Hockett and Maryterese Pasquale-Bowen, “How the Light Gets In: Contemporary Art and Migration”

4:00-4:20 Introduction to Einaudi Resources with Sarah Plotkin

4:20-4:30 Closing remarks with Sarah Pattison

Sponsored by: Syracuse University, Moynihan Institute for Global Affairs, South Asia Center, Cornell University’s Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, Southeast Asia Program, South Asia Program, Institute for African Development, East Asia Program, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Institute for European Studies, Migrations Initiative, TST-BOCES, U.S. Department of Education Title VI Program