Seminar: 'A Universalist in Dark Times: John H. Herz, 1908-2005'

The Institute was delighted to host a seminar by Jana Puglierin (Assistant Professor, North American Studies Program, University of Bonn) entitled 'A Universalist in Dark Times: John H. Herz, 1908-2005' on Thursday 18th September 2008. The event provided a stimulating overview of the life and work of John H. Herz and the Institute was honoured that Professor Waltz attended this seminar.

An audio recording of this event can be downloaded by either as an mp3 or AACplus mp4 [better quality] (1:21:03, 13MB).

Precis:

"John H. Herz in many people's minds was one of the most innovative scholars in various dimensions of world politics in the last century. The development of his ideas paradigmatically reflects the 'pilgrimage' of an intellectual, witnessing and analyzing almost all of the 20th century and a little beyond. Still, he is a comparatively unknown figure. While his model of the 'security dilemma' is regularly cited in textbooks and has become common usage among students of International Relations, the full range of his work on international politics has received little attention. This seminar seeks both to introduce and to assess his contribution to the theory of International Relations. It will illustrate Herz's personal history and point to connections between his biography and the development of his ideas."