The Newsletter of St Antony’s College 2013

Explaining Russian alignment with SyriaAlso in this issue:Opening of the GatewayReminiscences of a remarkable AntonianLiaising with the World

The Antonian2013

Editors: Monica Esposito & Wouter te Kloeze

Contact details: The Development Office St Antony’s College, OX2 6JF

development.officer@sant.ox.ac.uk

+44 (0) 1865274496

www.sant.ox.ac.uk

Cover image: The Gateway Buildings. Architect: Bennetts Associates Photographer: ©Hufton+Crow

You can follow us on:

/StAntsCollege and /stantonyscollegealumni

@StAntsCollege

St Antony’s College Professional Network

4 Softbridge

10 St Antony’s looks at the World

14 Students

18 Liaising with the world

20 Reminiscences of a remarkable Antonian

24 Gateway Campaign

Letter from the Warden

The College has undergone a considerable physical transformation since my last letter but the life that goes on here

remains much the same. We now have an elegant new entrance which is much more welcoming and open than the old little door and I think much better reflects the nature of the College. Inside our new buildings though the same intense social and intellectual life goes on with a dizzying round of seminars, lectures, lunches and dinners.

St Antony’s has always been engaged with the wider world and indeed that is one of its distinctions and strengths. Many of our Fellows and Wardens have had other careers as journalists, diplomats, or international civil servants and combine their academic work with advising governments, business or international organisations. If you turn on your television or radio, open a newspaper, or visit a news blog anywhere in the world, you are likely to find someone from St Antony’s holding forth, providing background analysis or explaining the complex issues of our time. Our students, who themselves come from a variety of backgrounds and careers, will in time take part in the global discussion. Indeed many of them already are through their research and their writing which takes them around the world. Somehow, for all the pressures of their work, they also find the time to organise conferences, on comparative social policy for example, or contemporary South Africa.

As we start another academic year I am delighted to be meeting our new fellows (although of course it is always sad to say good bye to the old ones). We have two new posts, made possible by generous donations

from outside funders: one in modern Poland and the other in Burma. These will significantly enhance our ability to study both those rapidly developing countries and their neighbourhoods. We also have new Fellows appointed in Russian and African history as well as one each in International Relations and International Human Rights and Refugee Law. We are also fortunate to have so many visiting and research Fellows, from the European Union, Germany or Venezuela as well as Academic Visitors, as we have renamed our old Senior Associate Members. These visitors come, not surprisingly, from around the world and bring new perspectives and expertise to the many conversations that are going on ceaselessly all over the College (see the News from the Centres section on page 6-9 for more information).

Our new students, some 220 of them, come from almost 50 different countries and over half of those are outside the European Union. They have obligingly divided themselves up so that there is an equal balance between men and women and in age range from recent graduates to those who worked for a number of years outside the University. Area Studies is still our strongest area: four courses (the two year MPhil in Modern Middle Eastern Studies, and the one-year MScs in African Studies, Latin American Studies and Modern Chinese Studies) have 10 or more new students apiece.

The British government does not always make it easy for universities here to attract the best international academics and students. Every year there are horror stories about visas lost, delayed or refused. My own favourite is when Oxford hired a very eminent scholar to

fill a prestigious named chair only to be told that the visa could not be processed because the University had failed to advertise the post at the local Jobs Exchange for the unemployed. Worryingly too, the present government sends out confusing messages, talking at one moment about the need to strengthen Britain’s great universities and attract the brightest and the best to them and on the other warning darkly that the country is being overrun by lazy and free-loading immigrants. Like many of my colleagues I neither feel lazy or when I pay my taxes, as though I am taking the system for a ride.

British chauvinism, reflected in the rise of UKIP, the United Kingdom Independence Party, is not unique; across Europe radical movements are stirring up nationalist sentiments. It is all the more important, it seems to me, that St Antony’s continues to exist and flourish. We help to break down the barriers of ignorance and prejudice by doing good evidence-based research, by speaking to a wider public, and by the simple fact of bringing together so many diverse people in a community where they can mix and learn from one another.

We hope that our students will continue to go out into the world as Alumni have always done and make a difference. And we hope too that our Alumni will come back and see for themselves how this small but very special community continues to flourish.Professor Margaret MacMillan

The Warden of St Antony’s College, Professor Margaret MacMillan ©Rob Judges

Opening of the Gateway Buildings

The opening of the completed Gateway Buildings took place on 26 March 2013. The project was officially opened by His Excellency Ghassan I Shaker, after whom one of the buildings is named in appreciation of his support. Ghassan Shaker, who was educated at St John’s College in Cambridge, is now the Founder and Chairman of several companies in Asia and Europe, and he also serves as UNESCO

Goodwill Ambassador supporting projects that assist the victims of war, and serve to aid with education and microfinance.

The two buildings comprise 54 en suite student rooms, several of them accessible for those with special needs as well as office space for 30 staff. They also contain a new porters’ lodge and lobby, and conference facilities on the upper floor. The Gateway Buildings give a sense of coherence to the entire College, pulling together buildings from different periods and in architectural styles. The Gateway Buildings enclose the central quadrangle, an important symbol which brings St Antony’s in tune with the classic Oxford college style. Renewable energy is provided by ground source heat along with solar panels placed at roof level. A new energy centre reduces overall carbon emissions and running costs.

The Warden, Professor Margaret MacMillan, said: “This is a hugely important project for the College both in terms of the increased accommodation and the related income stream it bring us, but also in giving us a new identity that enhances the pride among Fellows, staff, and the students. We are sure the Gateway Buildings will greatly aid us in what is becoming an increasingly competitive global market for post-graduate education.”

Dr Hal Jones, Director of the North American Studies Programme, added: “Our guests at the North American Studies Programme’s recent conference on Arctic governance were very favourably impressed by the accommodations and meeting facilities in the Gateway Buildings. The success of the conference can be attributed in no small measure to the quality of the facilities and service that were available at St Antony’s.”

In recognition of the architectural value of this project, St Antony’s was announced as one of three joint winners in the New Buildings category for the Gateway Buildings at the Oxford Preservation Trust Awards ceremony on 12 November 2013. The College has been presented with a plaque to display in College.

On page 24 you can find further information about the Gateway Campaign. We hope you will be able to visit St Antony’s to see the new buildings for yourself.

The Softbridge: a groundbreaking building

After seven years of preparation, the College formally broke ground on the Softbridge, the new building for the Middle East Centre, on 30 January 2013. The Warden welcomed the architect Dame Zaha Hadid, the Vice Chancellor, the Lord Mayor of Oxford, and over 150 guests to witness the event. Mr Nemir Kirdar, Honorary Fellow, spoke on behalf of Investcorp, the international investment management company

he founded in 1982, whose gift of £11 million covers the construction costs of this landmark building which, upon completion, will be known as the Investcorp Building.

Since breaking ground, work on the project has proceeded dramatically. Mr Kirdar returned to College in September 2013 for a site visit. Mr Anthony Nagel from BAM, the contractors building the Softbridge, guided Mr Kirdar, the Bursar and Middle East Centre fellows through the foundations of the building. Mr Kirdar, representing Investcorp, was formally welcomed into the Chancellor’s Court of Benefactors (CCB) on 24 September 2013 in recognition of the exceptionally generous gift for the Softbridge building.

Providing a state-of-the-art lecture theatre, library and archive facilities, the Softbridge is slated for completion by autumn 2014, and will be one of the showcases of the University Alumni Weekend in September 2014.

The Gateway Buildings. Architect: Bennetts Associates. Photographer: ©Hufton+Crow

Mr Nemir Kirdar with MEC Fellow Dr Eugene Rogan, examining the building works for the Softbridge

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Elise Klein recognised as a civic champion

We would like to congratulate Elise Klein (DPhil Development Studies, 2009), who was announced as one

of the winners of the Vice-Chancellor’s Civic Awards 2013. Elise was granted the award in recognition of her work as Founder and CEO of The Mali Initiative, a NGO which has been working with communities in war-torn Mali for eight years.

This awards scheme was launched by Oxford’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Andrew Hamilton, to recognise students who have demonstrated exceptional achievement in and commitment to volunteering. Also celebrated were the efforts of Joseph Waldstein-Wartenberg (MSc Global Governance and Diplomacy, 2012), and Khatija Hafesji (MPhil Modern Middle Eastern Studies, 2012), who were highly commended.

Leavers

Ms Rosamund Campbell retired from her post as College Librarian in October 2013, after 37 years of employment; in

the same month, Ms Gillian Crook left her position as Assistant Registrar, having supported our students for nearly two decades. Their professionalism and dedication will be greatly missed; we wish them all the best in their future endeavours.

Fantastic outcome for Antonian events

St Antony’s College was delighted to host two events as part of the Rhodes 110th Anniversary celebrations and the

Oxford Alumni Weekend 2013.On 20 September, current and past

Rhodes scholars attended the St Antony’s College dinner and enjoyed the intimate setting of the event, having the opportunity to discuss the future of Rhodes scholarships with William Beinart, GB Fellow and Rhodes Professor of Race Relations.

The Alumni Weekend drinks reception, hosted on 21 September, was also a success. Dr Walter Armbrust’s topical talk on the current state of the revolution in Egypt had the numerous audience members captivated and the Q&A session that followed was particularly animated. All Alumni were offered a tour of the new Gateway buildings and could admire a scenic view of the College from the roof terrace.

The College had once again the opportunity to appreciate the intellectual curiosity and enthusiasm of Antonians of all generations, and we hope to organise an even bigger reunion for the Alumni Weekend 2014.

St Antony’s Summer School goes from strength to strength

In August 2013, the College hosted the St Antony’s Summer School in International Politics 2013, recruiting 34 students from

20 different countries. The programme attracted a mixture of undergraduate and graduate students, as well as teachers and policy professionals; tutors were impressed by the overall academic standard of the group. Lectures on a variety of topics were offered by high-calibre speakers, such as Professor Avi Shlaim (“The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict in Historical Perspective”), Professor Archie Brown (“Why Did Communism End in Europe When it Did and Mutate in Asia?”) and Dr Eduardo Posada-Carbó (“The War on Drugs: New Perspectives from Latin America”).

Professor Timothy Garton Ash wins the Charlemagne Medal

Timothy Garton Ash, St Antony’s GB Fellow and Professor of European Studies at the University of Oxford, was this

year’s recipient of the Charlemagne Medal (Médaille Charlemagne pour les Médias Européens). The renowned prize was awarded to Professor Garton Ash in recognition of his writing about European integration. Dr Frauke Gerlach, president of the association “Médaille Charlemagne”, highlighted how “Timothy Garton Ash shows, in his books, that Europe constitutes – for the first time in its history – a political, economic and defence community, in which citizens enjoy freedom of movement without restrictions and can live in peace”. Professor Garton Ash received the award in a ceremony held in May 2013 in Aachen, Germany.

The St Antony’s Summer School in International Politics 2013

Elise Klein (DPhil Development Studies, 2009) with Oxford’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Andrew Hamilton

Professor Timothy Garton Ash

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African Studies CentreDr Nic Cheeseman, Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Bram Fischer Memorial Lecture and Director of the African Studies Centre

The Bram Fischer Memorial Lecture is one of the stand-out events of the African Studies calendar. Ever year, a high profile defender of human rights and the rule of law gives a talk at Rhodes House in honour of Bram Fischer, the South African lawyer who led the defence team that helped to save the lives of Nelson Mandela and other leaders of

the liberation movement during the Rivonia Trial.

In 2013, we were delighted to welcome Navi Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to Oxford. A South African national, Navi was appointed in 1995 as acting judge on the South African High Court, and in the same year she was elected by the United Nations General Assembly to be a judge on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

In her impassioned talk, Navi went to great lengths to pay credit to the “everyday heroes” who work to defend and advance human rights in undemocratic African states. In doing so, Navi made us think about the many Bram Fischers out there in Africa today, receiving little recognition but doing work that will, over time, help to bring greater freedom to their people. Her talk was frank but optimistic: the struggle continues, but it is in good hands.

Asian Studies CentreDr Faisal Devji, Director of the Asian Studies Centre The Asian Studies Centre takes great pleasure in welcoming two new members this year. Dr Matthew Walton is the Aung San Suu Kyi Senior Research Fellow in Modern Burmese Studies at St Antony’s College. His research focuses on religion and politics in Southeast Asia, with a special emphasis on Myanmar. He also specialises in ethnic and communal conflict in Myanmar, having published articles on this topic in Asian Survey and the Journal of Contemporary Asia. Dr Ming-chin Monique Chu is a Research Fellow at St Antony’s College and a postdoctoral research officer in Taiwan Studies at the School of International and Area Studies. Her major task in College is to run the Taiwan Studies Programme through organising seminars, annual conferences and public events. Her current research project examines China’s sovereignty challenges with references to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Tibet.

The Bram Fisher Memorial Lecture 2013

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European Studies CentreDr Othon Anastasakis, Director of the ESC In 2013, the ESC inaugurated its Programme on Modern Poland (POMP), sponsored by Dr Leszek Czarnecki’s Getin Noble Bank, which will focus on the politics, economy and society of Poland. The Director of the programme is the new Governing Body Fellow Dr Mikolaj Kunicki. The ESC also inaugurated the Richard von Weizsäcker Fellowship for social scientists working on Germany; Professor Rebekka Habermas is the Weizsäcker Fellow for the academic year 2013-14. The other 2013-14 ESC fellowships include Dr Ed Naylor, the Deakin Fellow on France, Dr Pēteris Zilgalvis, the EU Fellow, Dr Tryfon Bampilis, the A. G. Leventis Fellow on contemporary Greece, and Dr Francisco Torres, the Santander Fellow on the Iberian Peninsula. The ESC welcomes a new Governing Body Fellow, Dr Cathryn Costello, Fellow and Tutor in EU and Public Law. After a successful first year, the Political Economy of Financial Markets (PEFM) is introducing its Monday seminar series with a number of high calibre guest speakers. Other ESC on-going programmes include the Dahrendorf Programme on Freedom and Diversity, coordinated by Professor Timothy Garton Ash, EU democracy and Justice by Professor Kalypso Nicolaïdis, Accountability and Welfare Reform in Germany and Scandinavia by Dr Paola Mattei, and South East European Studies by Dr Othon Anastasakis.

European Studies Centre - South East European Studies at Oxford (SEESOX)

During 2012-2013, SEESOX engaged in a series of lectures, seminars and conferences, produced several

publications and cooperated with other Universities and think tanks. Highlights included the SEESOX Annual Lecture given by the President Josipovic of Croatia during his State Visit to the UK, on the eve of his country’s entry into the EU.

Latin American CentreDr Eduardo Posada-Carbó, Departmental Lecturer in Latin American Politics at the Latin American Centre

On 6 June 2013, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos visited the Latin American Centre, where he gave an informal presentation on the current situation in Colombia to a selected

group of students and the staff of the Centre. He was welcomed by the Warden of St Antony’s College, Margaret MacMillan and Dr Eduardo Posada-Carbó, lecturer at the Centre.

Dr Diego Sánchez-Ancochea, University Lecturer in the Political Economy of Latin America

Although the Latin American Centre signed the inaugural technical cooperation agreement with CAF-Development Bank of Latin America in 2011, last academic year was truly

the launch of our partnership. In October 2012 we received our first CAF-funded student, Diego Scardone, who just returned to Brazil and plans to enter politics. We also had the pleasure to host our first CAF Visiting Professor, Jorge Katz from the University of Chile. Under the support of CAF, last December we also organised the conference “The Political Economy of Social Inclusion in Latin America” in Lima. The conference received coverage in the Peruvian press and contributed to further strengthening our traditional links with Peru.

The European Studies Centre in Woodstock Road

President Josipovic of Croatia speaking at the SEESOX Annual Lecture during his State Visit to the UK

President Santos with Oxford students after his talk. From bottom left: Radoslaw Zelewski (MSc Latin American Studies, 2012), President Juan Manuel Santos, Annette Idler (DPhil Development Studies, 2012), Julián López-Murcia, Juan Gil (MSc Latin American Studies, 2012), Katherine Shattuck (MSc Latin American Studies, 2011), Amelia Jacobsen, Carolina Reyes and Leticia Ruiz

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Middle East CentreDr Michael Willis, Director of the MEC

The Middle East Centre had another full and stimulating year. The start of work on the exciting new Softbridge

Building (see page 4) was the centre of much attention, but the Centre continued to host events, lectures and seminars focusing on the Middle East and North Africa, where the continuing pace of events led us to invite a series of speakers who work on contemporary politics to help explain the evolving situation across the region. Notable speakers throughout the year included Hammadi Jebali, Tunisia’s first democratically elected prime minister,

who gave his perspective on Tunisia’s transition to democracy; Nicholas Hopton, British Ambassador to Yemen, who explained the enormous complexities of the changes in Yemen; and Yaşar Yakiş, former Foreign Minister of Turkey, who spoke on Turkey’s response to the conflict in Syria.

The distinguished speaker for the Centre’s main annual event, the George Antonius Lecture in June was Professor Joseph Sassoon from Georgetown University, who spoke on “The Arab Republics of Authoritarianism”. In March the Centre hosted a memorial colloquium for the much-missed Mustafa Badawi, Fellow in Modern Arabic Literature, who died in 2012. The event drew together Mustafa’s former colleagues, students, friends and family to discuss the huge contribution he had made to the MEC and St Antony’s.

Middle East Centre Archive

Debbie Usher, Archivist at the MEC

The MEC Archive holds a unique and outstanding collection of over 150,000 historic photographs of the Middle

East, going back almost to the beginning of photography in the region.

We have an on-going programme of digitisation which aims to preserve fragile originals and enhance access. Since August 2012 the Archive has added another 962 images to the website in 10 photo galleries. The newly added images include the beautiful Charles Iffla Collection covering Turkey in 1943-1944, the Sir Joseph Tholozan Collection (Persia 1859-1884), the John Allan Smith Collection (the Hajj pre 1914) and the Jill Brown Collection (Qatar 1977-1984). If you would like to support the work of the Archive either by donating photographs or by giving financial support, please contact the Middle East Centre Archive, St Antony’s College, Oxford OX2 6JF (email debbie.usher@sant.ox.ac.uk)

Mr Hammadi Jebali (Prime Minister of Tunisia 2011-13) speaking at the seminar ‘The Democratic Transition in Tunisia: The Experience of Power’ 14 May 2013. Photographer: Naysan Rafati ©St Antony’s College

Charles Iffla Collection Box 2/C/2. “Istanbul. The Yeni Valide Mosque on the Bosphorus at Ortaköy. 1943-1944” ©MEC Archive

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Nissan Institute of Japanese StudiesProfessor Ian Neary, Director of the Nissan Institute

It is probably the uncertainty with which Japan views the world that has made it easy to persuade Japanese funders to support a series

of seminars and workshops on ‘Why Japan matters’. The Nissan Institute took advantage of this generous support and held a two-day conference in mid-March on this theme, to which we invited contributors from the US, Australia, elsewhere in Europe and, of course, Japan. One interesting conclusion was that in spite of the impression that “rising China” has been accompanied by “rising Chinese studies”,’ Japanese studies is more than holding its own against the competition.

There is no uncertainty about our commitment to or interest in the study of Japan. In autumn 2013, we had 11 external speakers contributing to our seminar series on topics as varied as Transnational History and Japan, Noh Theatre, Miyazaki Hayao, and Japan’s demographic revolution. We hope to make some of these presentations available to a wider audience as podcasts – please visit our website for further details.

North American Studies ProgrammeDr Hal Jones, Director of the North American Studies Programme

On 26-27 September 2013, the North American Studies Programme at St Antony’s hosted a successful

conference examining the challenges of governance in the North American Arctic. Though the reach and capacity of national governments in the Arctic has historically been limited, climate change, new opportunities for economic development, and geostrategic rivalries have increasingly drawn the attention of policymakers to the far north. At the conference, Canadian former MP John English shared his research on the development of the Arctic Council, an international body that is

unique in the recognition – and the formal representation – that it gives to indigenous peoples, and Inuit leader William Iggiagruk Hensley recounted the process that culminated in acknowledgment of the land claims and economic rights of Alaska Natives. Work on this project is continuing and is expected to culminate in the publication of a volume that will bring together the insights generated at the conference.

Russian and Eurasian Studies CentreRichard Ramage, Administrator of the RESC

The Russian and Eurasian Studies Centre says au revoir to Professor Robert Service this year and welcomes Professor Dan

Healey, whose historical research into sexualities in Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union has great contemporary resonance, given the Putin regime’s recent legislation against ‘non-traditional sexual relationships’. Dr Lia Tsuladze joins us in the role of Research Fellow in Georgian Studies, and Dr Uilleam Blacker is the incoming Max Hayward Fellow, with a research focus on Russian writers’ visualisation of the diverse pasts of Kaliningrad and Kyiv. The Michaelmas Term Monday seminar series – on Post-Soviet Politics – is

convened by the Centre Director, Dr Paul Chaisty, and includes relevant presentations on Internet mobilisation and neopatrimonialism. On Wednesdays in Michaelmas Term Dr Elizabeth Teague will – with the assistance of Dr Julie Newton – be convening a Russian and East European Studies Press Group in the RESC Library Reading Room. The Reading Room, which was refurbished in 2008-9, remains an acclaimed and popular amenity with researchers; it also continues to host well-attended events organized by Dr Oliver Ready, the Research Fellow in Russian Society and Culture.

A view of the Arctic from the space

The RESC Library

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Explaining Russian alignment with Syria

Dr Roy Allison, University Lecturer in the International Relations of Russia, Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and a Fellow at St Antony’s College, discusses topical issues of relations between Russia and Syria

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The Syrian conflict is the world’s most serious humanitarian emergency and threatens the breakdown of borders and severe regional destabilisation in the Middle East. Throughout the crisis Russia has provided Damascus with a diplomatic shield and a steady flow of armaments, despite a chorus of criticism from Western states, Turkey

and most Arab states. Moscow’s adroit diplomatic manoeuvring in September 2013 to avoid American military strikes against the Syrian regime by delivering up its chemical weapons and production facilities, similarly protects the beleaguered rule of Assad, while appealing to the determination of major powers to prevent any further chemical arms atrocities. It is difficult to see how United Nations Security Council Resolution 2118, which set out the requirements for the destruction of the Syrian chemical arms arsenal in late September, can be implemented without engaging closely with and so bolstering the security apparatus of the Syrian state, which rebel forces are seeking to overthrow. Meanwhile Russia will continue to block any Security Council threat of force against the Syrian regime, under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. Support for any revived threat of unilateral US military strikes against Damascus, even if there is less than full compliance with Resolution 2118, will be difficult to achieve either in the US Congress or on the wider international stage.

So the prospect of a significant Western intervention in the Syrian crisis has been pushed into the long grass. This outcome is reinforced as some common basic interests between Moscow and major Western capitals have emerged beyond the control and elimination of Syrian chemical munitions: preventing the further empowerment of al-Qaeda affiliated Islamist networks in Syria and their entrenchment in a wide ungoverned territory including eastern Syria and part of Iraq; averting the risk of a partition of Syria or a collapse of its borders, with grave consequences for neighbouring Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan; as well as stemming ever greater refugee flows which threaten regional chaos. Against this background President Putin may well conclude that his resistance to what he has denigrated as Western efforts at regime change in Syria under the ‘guise’ of humanitarianism have registered some success. Certainly and sadly the focus of international attention has shifted away from the humanitarian crisis in Syria and the culpability of Syrian military forces for the most egregious violations of human rights in the conflict. The prospect of political negotiations for Syria through a revival of the June 2012 Geneva Communiqué process remains most uncertain and has been thrown further into doubt by growing disarray among the rebel factions, many of which have rejected the leadership of the exiled opposition front the Syrian National Coalition.

In the crisis diplomacy around Syria it has been puzzling to many why Moscow has remained so unyieldingly aligned with Damascus. Russian officials emphasise principles of world order the UN Charter and their support of Syrian state sovereignty vested in international law and they claim that UN enforcement action in Libya was abused in the effort to overthrow the Libyan regime and wish no repetition of this example. But this does not persuasively explain why Russia has so actively continued to support one side in a civil war in Syria – a legally dubious position despite the international recognition which Assad’s government formally still retains. There are three types of explanation which take us further.

First, some suggest that a sense of shared identity and solidarity

derived from the Cold War era underpin Russian-Syrian relations, that military-security elites in particular in Moscow still view ties with Syria as an important vestige of past grandeur that can be leveraged to regional geopolitical advantage – perhaps illustrated by the chemical weapons deal which has placed Russia centre stage in the diplomacy of the region. In this sense Russia has been reluctant to break with a long-term ‘political base’ in the Middle East. Arguably also, Putin views the Russian image of being a steadfast ally as important internationally for the credibility of Russia’s other political alignments, such as with CIS Central Asian states. Secondly, some point to Russian material/economic and geopolitical interests in Syria. However, Russia’s much touted arms trade with Syria is simply too small a proportion of Russia’s total arms deliveries abroad to crucially influence policy by itself. The supply of advanced air defence systems to Damascus appears to be part of a political strategy to deter Western intervention rather than driven by commercial logic. However, Russian strategic interests in the political geometry around Syria count for more. Russia worries about the effects of a possible collapse of Shi’a Alawite rule in Syria in the teeth of a largely Sunni, Western and Gulf State supported rebellion. Moscow also suspects that the toppling of Assad may form part of a broader Western strategy for the eventual destabilisation of Iran – Damascus’s strongest regional ally and a state much more

important for Russia than Syria – despite the new possibilities of Western-Iranian rapprochement since the election of President Rowhani.

Third, Russia’s Syria policy reflects anxiety about the possibility of ‘political blowback’ to domestic state order within Russia. It betrays nervousness about Russian state stability. On one hand Moscow argues that a chaotic overthrow of Assad will fuel further sectarianism in and around Syria and expand the scope for action of Sunni Islamist groupings, some of which might take up cause with the insurgency Russia confronts in the North Caucasus. Russia claims, with growing credibility, that the Syrian opposition relies heavily for its military successes on the

more extreme Islamist factions with transnational agendas. This, coupled with the breakdown of state structures in Muslim lands, Russian security chiefs argue, threatens to fuel terrorism and militancy in Russian regions.

However, Putin has a deeper preoccupation: central political control in Moscow. This underlies his support for incumbent if illiberal regimes in Syria and elsewhere and his insistence on the illegality of steps towards regime change. Putin sees potential challenges to his own rule, to the political structure he presides over, if the overthrow of yet another authoritarian regime (in Syria) were to be legitimised internationally, justified on humanitarian or other grounds. This perception has been reinforced by the large scale political protests within Russia in 2012 and the Arab Spring revolts. The dangers of a highly personalised political system with a strong centralisation of real political power have resonated within the Russian leadership. Therefore, boosted by the success of his chemical arms diplomacy, Putin seeks a political settlement in Syria that would retain the Assad regime essentially in place and at the same time enshrine continued Russian influence in the wider region, even ideally boost Russian global status as an ‘indispensable’ player in major international crises. But events on the ground in Syria may frustrate these goals as the civil war grinds on relentlessly and the Syrian state loses coherence or in the worst case even fragments.

In the crisis diplomacy around Syria it has been puzzling to many why Moscow has remained so unyieldingly aligned with Damascus

Syrians gather in Bolotnaya Square, Moscow, demanding Russia stop supporting the Syrian regime

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Dr Roy Allison, GB FellowRussia, the West and Military InterventionOUP, 2013This interdisciplinary study explores the persistent differences between Russian and Western leaders about most Western-led military campaigns and about Russia’s own interventions in the CIS region. The book argues that Russia’s policies have reflected distinctive attitudes to international order as well as a preoccupation with status. This raises challenging questions about the ability of Russia and Western states to cooperate in contemporary crises, such as over Syria or Iran and about Russia’s wider role in international society.

Dr Ahmed Al-Shahi, Research FellowIslam in the modern worldRoutledge, 2013 (edited by Dr Ahmed Al-Shahi)This collection of essays, by specialists in a variety of disciplines, gives an impressionistic overview of contemporary Islam.

Dr Tryfon Bampilis, SEESOX/AG Leventis Visiting FellowGreek Whisky: The Localization of A Global CommodityBerghahn, 2013The study illustrates how Scotch became associated with modernity, popular music and culture in modern Greece.

Professor Leslie Bethell, Emeritus FellowJoaquim Nabuco: My formative yearsSignal Books, 2012 (edited by Leslie Bethell)A biography of Joaquim Nabuco, best known as the inspirational leader of the campaign in the 1880s for the abolition of slavery in Brazil, which after abolition in the United States and Cuba was the last remaining slave state in the Americas.

Professor Paul Betts, GB FellowWithin Walls: Private Life in the German Democratic RepublicOUP, 2010The volume charts the changing meaning of private life in the GDR across a variety of fields, ranging from law to photography, religion to interior decoration, family living to memoir literature, revealing the myriad ways in which privacy was expressed, staged, and defended by citizens living in a communist society.

Dr Ming-chin Monique Chu, Research FellowThe East Asian Computer Chip WarRoutledge, 2013This research monograph examines the production globalisation of the semiconductor industry and its security repercussions.

Dr Faisal Devji, GB FellowMuslim Zion: Pakistan as a Political IdeaHarvard University Press, 2013Muslim Zion cuts to the core of the geopolitical paradoxes entangling Pakistan to argue that it has never been a nation state in the conventional sense. It is instead a distinct type of political geography, whose closest ideological parallel is the state of Israel.

Geoffrey Elliott, Honorary FellowGentleman SpymasterMethuen Publishing, 2011The biography of Thomas Argyll Robertson, who masterminded the 1944 Operation Fortitude (designed to persuade the Germans that the invasion of France would not take place in Normandy but in Pas de Calais).

Professor Rosemary Foot, GB FellowChina Across the Divide: The Domestic and Global in Politics and SocietyOUP, 2013This book explores China’s world role through the adoption of three conceptual approaches that help to uncover some of the key complex and simultaneous interactions between the global and domestic forces that determine China’s external behaviour.

Professor Roger Goodman, GB FellowHigher Education and the State: Changing relationships in Europe and East AsiaSymposium books, 2013 (edited with Takehiko Kariya & John Taylor)This volume explores the rapidly evolving relationship between the state and higher education in Europe and in East Asia.

Dr Sho Konishi, GB FellowAnarchist Modernity: Cooperatism and Japanese-Russian Intellectual Relations in Modern JapanHarvard University Press, 2013Uncovering cooperatist anarchism as an intellectual foundation of modern Japan, this book offers a fresh approach to Japanese history that fundamentally challenges the “logic” of Western modernity.

New books from Fellows

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Professor Margaret MacMillan, Warden and GB FellowThe War That Ended Peace: How Europe abandoned peace for the First World WarProfile Books, 2013The First World War could have been avoided up to the last moment – so why did it happen? The account begins in the early nineteenth century and ends with the outbreak of the war and deals both with the huge political, social and technological changes of the period as well as the key figures who made the crucial decisions.

Professor Leigh Payne, GB FellowAmnesty in the Age of Human Rights Accountability: Comparative and International PerspectivesCambridge University Press, 2012 (with Francesca Lessa)This volume discusses the persistence of amnesty in the age of human rights accountability. A range of countries are covered: Argentina, Brazil, Cambodia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Indonesia, Rwanda, South Africa, Spain, Uganda, and Uruguay. Lessons are extracted about overcoming impunity and promoting accountability to contribute to improvements in human rights and democracy.

Professor Tariq Ramadan, GB FellowThe Arab Awakening: Islam and the new Middle EastAllen Lane, 2012The volume explores the opportunities and challenges across North Africa and the Middle East, as they look to create new, more open societies.

Dr Terence Ranger, Emeritus FellowWriting Revolt: An Engagement with African Nationalism, 1957-67James Currey, 2013The book is both a history - of the emergence of African nationalist movements in Southern Rhodesia - and a historiography - of early efforts to determine how the history of Africa might be written and of my own particular solutions up to 1967.

Dr David Rechter, Research FellowBecoming Habsburg: The Jews of Austrian Bukovina, 1774-1918Littman Library, 2013This new history of Bukovina Jewry, the first for nearly a century, traces the evolution of the tangled relationship of state and society with the Jews from the Josephinian Enlightenment through absolutism to emancipation.

Professor Gerhard A. Ritter, Honorary FellowThe Rise and Fall of a Socialist Welfare State: The German Democratic Republic (1949-1990) and German Unification (1989-1994)Springer, 2013The volume provides a comprehensive analysis of social policy in the German Democratic Republic (GDR, 1949-1990), followed by an analysis of the “Social Union”, the transformation of social policy in the process of German unification in 1990.

Professor Adam Roberts, Honorary FellowDemocracy, Sovereignty and Terror: Lakshman Kadirgamar on the Foundations of International OrderI.B.Tauris, 2012The volume presents a timely overview and appreciation of the late Sri Lankan foreign minister, who was assassinated in 2005.

Dr Diego Sánchez-Ancochea, GB FellowGood Jobs and Social Services: How Costa Rica Achieved the Elusive Double Incorporation (with Juliana Martínez Franzoni)Palgrave MacMillan, 2013Few developing countries have succeeded in simultaneously providing good jobs and access to social services for all. This book reviews Costa Rica’s experience as one of the few successful exceptions.

Dr Michael Willis, GB FellowPolitics and Power in the Maghreb: Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco from Independence to the Arab SpringHurst & Co and OUP, 2012This book examines the politics of Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco since their achievement of independence from European colonial rule, looking at the roles played by various actors, such as the military, political parties and Islamist movements.

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News from the GCRA message from the GCR President, Emma Lecavalier (MPhil International Relations, 2012)

Over the last year, the College has undergone significant changes, and to this trend the St Antony’s Graduate

Common Room is no exception. It has been an exciting and dynamic year: we have introduced new projects and initiatives to our academic, social and welfare portfolios. We have also worked hard to strengthen our sense of community in St Antony’s, an endeavour of increasing importance as our body of students and fellows continues to expand.

There is a long list of exciting events and

major improvements that have taken place over the course of 2013. Some of these involved bringing our amazing and interesting Antonian community closer together, whether it be through connecting our alumni and students, or highlighting the fascinating work being done by fellows around the College. We had intimate lunchtime discussions with Alumni in our CCR, including Thomas Friedman and Michael Ignatieff. We also hosted academic teas with Rosemary Foot, Tariq Ramadan, and our Warden, Margaret MacMillan. These events

allowed students to meet some of our fantastic Fellows around the College, and reminded us all to appreciate the high calibre of individuals that exist in our little community.

Many of the improvements and activities over the last year also centred around enhancing students’ personal wellbeing. With all of the stresses that come with student life these days, the GCR worked especially hard to improve and expand our Welfare initiatives. We improved our student-run gym, adding a new treadmill and improving the erging room for our award-winning rowers (did I mention that our women’s boat won blades at Torpids?). Additionally, our Peer Support team, which consists of six trained members of College, also expanded their efforts over the last year, and its work over the term can only be considered a resounding success. Their Cookie Fairy scheme was especially popular and they pidged about 60 cookies to students every fortnight. Finally, the GCR ramped up its Welfare activities during exam time, offering additional Welfare teas and even putting on a massage parlour in the Common Room. Judging by the student turnout, which exceeded 80 students, the concept was a hit.

Finally, the GCR negotiated to make tough changes to its own system, and to the College system in general. In Hilary Term, we introduced an online voting system for GCR meetings to keep up with our globetrotting student body. In Trinity, we reassessed every room in college and recategorised over 35 rooms in order to meet our students’ demands for more affordable and lower grade housing. Finally, we worked with the College administration to provide a rent rebate to students affected by the construction of our new Middle East Centre, which began in January. These represent just a portion of the work done by students in College in an effort to improve the Antonian student experience.

Standing now at the beginning of a new year, I can only say that on behalf of the St Antony’s 2013 GCR Executive, I am proud of the progress that has been made in the past few months, and I am certain that, with these new changes and many more that will surely come in the next year, the St Antony’s community will continue to flourish.

Antonians at Matriculation

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Student Profile: Nate PulliamNate Pulliam, currently reading for a DPhil in History at St Antony’s College, is also working as an advisor for Arab troops in Libya. He recounts the joys and difficulties of his work

In 2010 I headed off to Oxford after several years in Iraq, where I had been an advisor to an Iraqi army unit. When I arrived at St

Antony’s for matriculation I was still wearing my dust-covered boots. Three years later, I have finished a MSt and am nearing completion of a DPhil in History, but once again find myself advising Arab troops and wearing dusty boots; I have taken a term off to work with a Libyan army unit that has the mission of guarding an international operation to destroy Gaddafi-era chemical weapons. The job promises to inform my DPhil project, which deals with the hindrances military advisors faced in the Vietnam War and whether there were unrecognised barriers to their success.

Post-revolutionary Libya is a chaotic place with a weak central government; security is poor. Potential threats to our project include smugglers, unruly militias, and radical Islamists. Despite the chaos and

disturbing news reports, I feel quite safe; there is little of the carnage that was the norm in Iraq. However, two members of my team were recently caught in a crossfire between

smugglers and security forces, and a hotel I was in was targeted by a couple of men with a rifle, possibly after a night of drinking. Fortunately, the Libyans in this area seem friendly and are supportive of the project.

There are a variety of tasks to accomplish each week. Among them are advising soldiers, conducting training, coordinating with nearby militia troops, and lugging heavy sandbags up hills too steep for vehicles. Despite little time to relax, I have enjoyed several long desert runs. The work is satisfying and the pay good, but I look forward to being back with my wife, having a pint at my favourite Oxford pub, and getting on with my DPhil research.

I have finished a MSt and am nearing completion of a DPhil in History, but once again find myself advising Arab troops and wearing dusty boots

Nate Pulliam (DPhil History, 2011) hauling a sandbag up a hill in Libya

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Jailbreak!Bas Heerma van Voss (MSc Economic and Social History, 2012) recalls an adventure that brought a group of Antonians all the way to the Canary Islands – on a rowing boat!

In November the Oxford Raise and Give (RAG) started advertising its annual jailbreak. This consisted of a combined

competition: who could raise the most money for five charities (The Against Malaria Foundation, Crisis Skylight Oxford, Helen and Douglas House, Jacari and Oxfam), and who could get away as far as possible from Oxford in 36 hours without spending money. Of course, St Antony’s could not go without a competing team in this double challenge.

Three members of the St Antony’s men novice rowing crew and I signed up. Little did

we know that, with a little bit of luck and a lot of help, we would make it all the way to Gran Canaria. On this chunk of paradise of the West African coast we had the pleasant surprise of celebrating carnival with the locals, and sunbathing with the elderly. After a fantastic two days of playing football, swimming in the sea and some very welcome sunshine, returning to grey Oxford proved to be the most difficult challenge of our journey.

In the weeks leading up to our trip, we also stood our ground in the other half of the competition, raising over £600 for charity.

Between a date-auction for a dinner we cooked ourselves and a recital of a poem for Warden Margaret MacMillan, we had great fun doing so. Although Team St Antony’s won neither competition, we were among the best in both categories. We now remain four proud boys, whom you can find smilingly reminiscing in the halls of St Antony’s. And as part of the team will return next year, our hopes of winning it all for St Antony’s have not faded in the slightest.

STAIR: an insight into academic publishing

The St Antony’s International Review (STAIR) is a peer-reviewed, bi-annual, academic journal of International Affairs.

It was established in 2005 at St Antony’s College and is run by graduate students from the Department of Politics and International Relations. STAIR seeks to develop a forum in which emerging scholars can publish their work alongside established academics and policymakers. Furthermore, STAIR offers students the opportunity to get insights into academic publishing by taking on roles such

as Themed Section Editor, Managing Editor, Copy-Editor, Sales and Marketing Officer, Book Reviews Editor and others.

Each edition of STAIR is composed of a themed and a general section. In 2013, STAIR published themed sections on “Power, the State, and the Social Media Network” (Vol. 8, No. 2) and “The Gendered Refugee Experience” (Vol. 9, No. 1). The general section features papers on a wide range of topics of relevance in International Affairs.

In 2014, STAIR will cover the following

themes: “A Re-examination of Private Military and Security Companies” (Vol. 9, No. 2, February 2014) and “Thinking beyond the State: Redistribution, Responsibility, and Response-ability” (Vol. 10, No. 1, May 2014). While the peer-review process for the themed sections is already well underway, papers to the general section are accepted on a rolling basis.

More information about STAIR can be found at www.stair-journal.org, on Facebook (http://on.fb.me/13bVLn1) and on Twitter (@stairjournal).

From left to right: Allard Duursma (DPhil International Relations, 2012), David Gionet-Landry (MSc Global Governance & Diplomacy, 2012), and Krzysztof Arciszewski (MPhil Russian & EE Studies, 2012). They are the students who fundraised along with Bas Heerma van Voss (MSc Economic and Social History, 2012)

Five Generations of STAIR Managing Editors in one picture. STAIR’s past and current Managing Editors from right to left: Henning Tamm (DPhil International Relations, 2008), Nicole De Silva (MPhil International Relations, 2011), Christine Hobden (MPhil Politics, 2010), Ellen Jenny Ravndal (DPhil International Relations, 2011), and Ulrike Franke - current Managing Editor

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Men’s Football

The men’s football club had a successful season. The men’s first team finished as runners-up in the MCR First Division and narrowly lost 3-2 in the Cuppers semi-final against Wolfson,

in a game attended by the Warden. Meanwhile the second team finished mid-table in the Second Division. The men’s club annual tour went to Florence in March 2013, where they lost 5-2 against a very organised team from the European University Institute (EUI). In the annual ‘Unfriendly’, the traditional end of season finale match against Nuffield, the team won 5-2. Finally, a mixed team from the women’s team, otherwise known as the Foxes, and the men’s team were runners up, having made it all the way to the final, in a charity 5-a-side tournament in memory of Antonia Bruch (who died of meningitis while studying at Regent’s Park College a few years ago).

Women’s Football

In 2013, the women’s football team, the Foxes (composed of graduate students from St Antony’s, Wolfson, Nuffield, and St Cross) were thrilled to advance – undefeated after four matches and an impressive

3-1 win over Keble in the semi-final – to the Cuppers final. After fighting hard, however, they lost 4-2 against St Catz.

Summer EightsJulia Zulver (MPhil Latin American Studies, 2012), President of the St Antony’s Boat Club

All boats trained hard, and the fruits of their labour paid off with excellent races that showcased perseverance, strength,

and a love of rowing. Five boats competed – two men’s, two women’s, and one boat full of bikini-clad, rose-bearing Vikings. The regatta saw some mighty bumps, some hard-fought row overs, and a few infuriating klaxons (out of control swans). Special thanks go to our brilliant coxing team, some of whom had only been on the river for a few weeks, who masterfully guided us to victory.

The Boat Club has, in my opinion, succeeded in achieving its motto: Athletic Glory and Social Bliss. Speaking of social bliss, I thought you might like this photograph of our rowers with the Warden.

From left to right: Jonathan Levin (MPhil Economics, 2012), Samuel Lings (MPhil Economics, 2011), The Warden, Marcel Dirsus (MSc Russian & EE Studies, 2012). Copyright: Nicolás Robinson Andrade

The Foxes

A picture from the men’s club annual tour in Florence

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Liaising with the worldAn overview of St Antony’s Liaison Officer Programme and the fantastic initiatives organised by our volunteer network

The transition from student to Alumnus does not have to be the end of an Antonian’s involvement with the College. Have you often wondered if any fellow Alumni were living in your area, and

how nice it would be to gather together to remember times past and meet like-minded people? Thanks to the St Antony’s Liaison Officers network, this is now possible; Alumni of all generations keep in touch and organise periodic reunions and social gatherings.

The College has recruited, amongst its varied Alumni group, 61 Liaison Officers from 49 different countries; their job is to promote the College abroad and to strengthen the ties between our Alumni in a particular region

and the College. Brunches and dinners are organised, often in conjunction with a lecture by a St Antony’s Fellow; some of our more athletics-oriented groups have even arranged outings to sporting events. On Sunday 28 July and by 37 degrees heat, members of our German chapter – John Bunge (MSc Economics for Development, 2009) and Dr Nina Hall (DPhil International Relations, 2012), prompted by Adrianne Montgobert (MPhil European Politics and Society, 2010), our Liaison Officer for Germany- went for an epic bike tour, cycling from the north of Berlin to Liepnitzsee. You can see them in action in the picture below.

Equally active is the Belgian network, headed by Liaison Officer Roderick Kefferpütz

(MPhil Russian & Eurasian Studies, 2004). On 17 September 2013 the St Antony’s Alumni network in Belgium had an intimate, informal dinner in order to discuss the energy security situation in the Eastern Mediterranean in the context of the large natural gas deposits as well as the civil, political and economic upheaval in the region ranging from Syria and Egypt to Cyprus. Kicking off the discussion was Androulla Kaminara, Senior Strategic Advisor at the European Commission, who was the Head of the EU’s Representation in Cyprus from 2008 to 2012 and the St Antony EU Visiting Fellow for 2012/2013. After providing a tour d’horizon of the energy security interests in the East Mediterranean and its wider geopolitical implications, the

Bike tour from the north of Berlin to Liepnitzsee. Centre: John Bunge (MSc Economics for Development, 2008); right: Dr Nina Hall (DPhil International Relations, 2009). Picture taken by Adrianne Montgobert (MPhil European Politics and Society, 2008), the St Antony’s Liaison Officer for Germany

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Liaison Officer Profile: Roderick KefferpützRoderick Kefferpütz is the Liaison Officer of the St Antony’s Alumni Group in Belgium. He can be reached at sant.belgium@gmail.com. Here, he recalls his experience as Alumni representative

In 2006, my two amazing years at St Antony’s came to an end. At the time, it felt like nothing was ever going to be the same – that my relationship with the place had been irrevocably severed. Moving to Belgium, I was leaving behind great

friends, interesting discussions and many a fond memory. I was wrong. In Brussels I realised that what makes St Antony’s special is not only the place but also its people.

The St Antony’s Alumni Group in Belgium is a fine example of this. This relatively small group brings together Antonians from all walks of life to enjoy each other’s company, discuss issues of contemporary relevance, offer advice on settling in Belgium and reminisce about times past back at College. Our gatherings have ranged from informal pub drinks to a Christmas dinner with Antonian Olli Rehn, Vice-President of the European Commission.

As the capital of the European Union, Brussels is a particularly good place for

Antonians old and new to connect. There’s always someone travelling through or stopping by on business. Earlier this year, for example, our group had the pleasure of having breakfasts with Lib Dem peer Lord William Wallace and Professor Rosemary Foot. We have also established a tradition of organising a dinner discussion with each year’s EU Visiting Fellow at St Antony’s and have been in touch with the St Antony’s International Review (STAIR) to explore possibilities of working together.

The group is steadily growing and with the centenary of the First World War next year, we are very keen to welcome the Warden to Belgium to catch up on goings-on in College and find out more about her new book.

What has made these get-togethers a success has been the Antonians in the group themselves and I am grateful to them for all their continued support. Should you ever find yourself in Belgium and want to connect, don’t hesitate to drop us a line!

In Brussels I realised that what makes St Antony’s special is not only the place but also its people

Roderick Kefferpütz (MPhil Russian & Eurasian Studies, 2004) with Antonian Dr Olli Rehn (DPhil International Relations, 1990), Vice-President of the European Commission

discussion turned towards the Syrian conflict, the new US-Russia agreement as well as the role of Iran and Turkey. Over coffee and tiramisu, the Antonians finished their evening with a discussion on Barroso’s annual State of the Union speech, the German federal elections and the current economic outlook for the eurozone in general. You can read more about Roderick Kefferpütz’s experience as a Liaison Officer on this page.

St Antony’s is extremely grateful to all the existing Liaison Officers for their wonderful work and enthusiasm, and is always happy to recruit new Officers for countries or regions where it doesn’t have a volunteer already. You can find a list of current Liaison Officers on the St Antony’s website: www.sant.ox.ac.uk/antonians/groups.html

If you would be interested in becoming a Liaison Officer for your country, please contact Monica Esposito, the Development and Alumni Communications Officer (email: monica.esposito@sant.ox.ac.uk).

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Reminiscences of a remarkable AntonianGeorge Gömöri (BLitt Medieval and Modern Languages, 1957) was one of the organisers of the student march that started the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. After the Soviet invasion, he fled his homeland and came to study literature at St Antony’s College; he went on to become an accomplished poet, translator and scholar. In the article below, he recalls his student years at College

I was a fourth-year student of Polish and Hungarian language and literature at ELTE (University of Budapest) in 1956 and was one of the organisers of the student march that started the revolution. Once the Soviets crushed the revolution and the arrests of those

taking part began, I had no option but to flee with many other student colleagues to Austria. I knew there was no way back, but little did I dream that within days I would find myself a student in

Oxford. What happened was that Oxford, very quick off the mark, had got together a committee of dons, who travelled to Vienna in the hope of picking out the brightest of the refugee students for further studies at the University. Max Hayward, an eminent Russian scholar, Junior Fellow at the time at St Antony’s, an extraordinary man and a born linguist, happened to be on the selection committee. He had already taught himself a few sentences of Hungarian for this purpose, though in my case he did not need to use this as I already spoke English. Having been selected and flown to England we were allotted to English host families and once we had passed our English language certificates in the following year, we were assigned to various Oxford Colleges. Because of St Antony’s interest in Eastern Europe, and because Max knew that I spoke fluent Polish as well as some Russian, he offered me a place in his college.

The College in those days was one of the most stimulating of all the Colleges in Oxford with members from all over the world. Sir William Deakin was appointed as the first Warden after a distinguished career in politics and with him at the head, St Antony’s became a centre for studies in world politics. Its seminars were regularly attended by members of the Foreign Office and Deakin’s garden parties attracted some of the most interesting people in Oxford, amongst them the great ‘raconteurs’, Sir Isaiah Berlin and Sir Maurice Bowra.

My life in the neo-Gothic first floor room of the main building with a scout who made my bed every morning and a full English breakfast being served in the College hall, certainly was a stark contrast to my life as a student in Budapest, where I had been living at home, sharing a small studio apartment with my mother and artist stepfather. As I had already completed three full years of my degree in Budapest, I was accepted as a graduate student for a BLitt on Modern Hungarian and Polish poetry, the subject being considered too modern for a DPhil.

At St Antony’s I met some fascinating people such as Wolfgang Leonhard, a refugee scholar from East Germany who came to Oxford via Yugoslavia, Joseph, a student from Rwanda-Burundi who later became Prime Minister of his country and was assassinated in 1965,

and Martin (later Sir Martin) Gilbert, a brilliant young historian whom I still count amongst my friends. Of the Fellows I particularly liked George Katkov, a historian with a great sense of humour and amazing stories about his native Russia.

In 1960 I broke my studies, much to the annoyance of the Bursar, to accept a Polish-American Scholarship to Indonesia for a year, but Max assured the Bursar that I would be back to complete my thesis, which I duly did in 1962, and which was subsequently published as a book by Clarendon Press. After finishing my degree, I became Max’s Research Assistant for a year, then went to the University of California (Berkeley) to take up my first teaching post, after that I went to Harvard and Birmingham, before I was offered a Lectureship in Cambridge to teach Polish literature where I remained (also a Fellow of Darwin College) until my retirement in 2001.

I have published over 50 books in three languages including 15 collections of my own poems. Although my Cambridge life was enjoyable and my academic career successful, I am still very much

attached to Oxford – thanks to the happy days spent there as a student of St Antony’s.

already taught himself a few sentences of Hungarian for this purpose, enjoyable and my academic career successful, I am still very much

Once the Soviets crushed the revolution, I had no option but to flee with many other student colleagues. Little did I dream that within days I would find myself a student in Oxford

George Gömöri’s student file

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In this section you will find a selection of Antonian updates. due to limited space, we could not publish all the updates; however, you will receive the complete list in our forthcoming e-newsletter.

M i r a C o m a r a A l e x a n d e r a n d Te d A l e x a n d e r MSc Russian & EE Studies, 2006; MPhil Economics, 2005Mira Comara and Ted Alexander, both fellow Antonians, were married at the Bodleian Library on 8 September 2012.

Dr Maxim Bouev DPhil Economics, 1999In 2012, after seven years in the City of London, Maxim accepted a position at the Department of Economics in the European University at St Petersburg, to head the Department and work on internationalisation of the University.

Sebastien Brack MPhil International Relations, 1999After running a successful campaign for a French MP, Sebastian Brack joined the Kofi Annan Foundation in Geneva in the summer of 2012 as a political affairs officer. He works on peace and security issues, returning to many of the countries where he served as a delegate of the International Committee of the Red Cross from 2002 to 2011 in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. Sebastien can be seen in this picture at the Elysée Palace with Kofi Annan and President Hollande.

Dr Kevin Casas-Zamora DPhil Politics, 1997Kevin Casas-Zamora was recently appointed Secretary for Political Affairs at the Organization of American States in Washington, DC. He just published The Besieged Polis: Citizen Security and Democracy in Latin America (Brookings Institution/Organization of Americas States, 2013).

Dr Matthew Eagleton-Pierce DPhil International Relations, 2002Matthew Eagleton-Pierce recently joined SOAS, University of London as a Lecturer in International Political Economy. His first book, Symbolic Power in the World Trade Organization, was published by Oxford University Press in 2013.

George Gigauri MSc Forced Migration, 2002In July 2013, George Gigauri was appointed as the Chief of Mission for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) mission in Papua New Guinea.

Juan David Gutierrez MSc Public Policy in Latin America, 2010Juan got married on 16 March to Diana Dajer.

Saagarika Dadu and Rory Brown MPhil Modern South Asian Studies, 2008 and MSc Diplomacy, 2008Saagarika and Rory moved to Afghanistan after graduation and they have recently moved to Nairobi, Kenya. They were married in two separate ceremonies – one in Pune, India and one in St Mary’s Church, Chidham, West Sussex. Their wedding was attended by a number of Antonians including Nalini Biggs, Elena Schak, Christine Murphy, Katherine Vyborny, Sarah Grey, Adam Berry and Chana Hoffmitz.

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Katelyn Leader MPhil Development Studies, 2011Katelyn is currently a Fulbright-Clinton Fellow in Haiti, where she is working for Haiti’s Ministry of Planning and External Cooperation. The Fulbright-Clinton fellowship is in its second

year and involves working for a host country government and conducting independent research over a 10-month period. She had the opportunity to meet Former Secretary Hillary Clinton at the official renaming of the fellowship (from Fulbright Public Policy Fellowship to Fulbright-Clinton Fellowship); in the picture, she is the fourth from right in the middle row. She was awarded this fellowship, inter alia, because of her MPhil in Development Studies research, conducted in Haiti last summer (2012) on post-earthquake rural migration.

Leland Miller MSt Modern History, 1999Leland and Ingrid welcomed their first child, Helena Catherine, on 24 July. She is looking forward to becoming St Antony’s first-ever triple legacy (following Leland and his father, Marshall Lee Miller, 1964)

Dr Andrea Molinari MPhil Economics, 1998Dr Molinari is currently working as a Senior Advisor for the Japanese, Argentinean, Austrian, Brazilian and Saudi Arabian joint Chair at the African Development Bank (temporarily based in Tunis, Tunisia).

Marianne Scordel MSt Politics, 1998Financ ia l News voted Marianne Scordel one of the “40 under 40 hedge fund rising stars” in Europe. This is the second year that she has received the award for Bougeville Consulting, the business she founded in 2009 to provide hedge funds with business strategy services.

Dr Michael Petrou DPhil Modern History, 2002Michael Petrou is currently working as a foreign correspondent at Maclean’s magazine in Canada. He has also published his second book, Is This Your First War? Travels Through the Post-9/11 Islamic World.(Dundurn Press, 2012).

Professor Matteo Legrenzi DPhil International Relations, 1997Matteo Legrenzi (MPhil Modern Middle Eastern Studies, DPhil International Relations), is currently an associate professor at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. He was recently elected President of the Italian Association for Middle Eastern Studies (SeSaMO). His term will start in January, 2014 and will last for three years.

Anne-France White MPhil European Politics and Society, 2001Anne-France White moved to Goma, in Eastern Congo, in May 2013 for a field posting with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). In her new field post with OCHA, Anne-France works on a wide variety of issues related to humanitarian coordination in North Kivu, including helping to manage the complex dynamics between a massive humanitarian community and the largest UN peacekeeping mission in the world, advocacy and information management. This map of Goma, hand-drawn by Anne-France, is an attempt to capture some of the paradoxes and idiosyncrasies of life in Goma.

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Professor Mats Berdal DPhil International Relations, 1989 The Political Economy of Statebuilding - Power after Peace, Routledge, 2013 The book examines the impact of international state building efforts on the political economy of post-conflict countries over the past 20 years.

Dr Alexander Betts DPhil Development Studies, 2003 Survival Migration: Failed Governance and the Crisis of Displacement, Cornell University Press, 2013 In this book, Alexander Betts develops the concept of “survival migration” to highlight the crisis in which many new categories of displaced people find themselves. The author outlines the failings of the current refugee regime and argues strongly for an expansion of protected categories.

Dr Thomas Boghardt DPhil Modern History, 1998 The Zimmermann Telegram: Intelligence, Diplomacy and America’s Entry into World War, Naval Institute Press, 2012 In this volume, Thomas Boghardt has tapped fresh sources to provide the definitive account of the origins and effect of the German Zimmermann Telegram scheme, how it was handled by British intelligence, and its impact on world events. The book also shows that the telegram had a profound effect on how governments collect secret information, and influenced how we see intelligence today.

Dr Rebecca Clifford DPhil Modern History, 2003 Commemorating the Holocaust: The Dilemmas of Remembrance in France and Italy, OUP, 2013 This volume reveals how and why the Holocaust came to play a prominent role in French and Italian political culture in the period after the end of the Cold War.

Dr James Densley DPhil Sociology, 2003 How Gangs Work: An Ethnography of Youth Violence, Palgrave Macmillan, 2013 “How Gangs Work” provides a vivid portrayal of gang life, but not as the British traditionally know it. James Densley deconstructs the mythology of gangs to make sense of the profiles and motivations of gang members in straightforward, rational terms.

Dr Roberto Durrieu DPhil Law, 2009 Rethinking Money Laundering & Financing of Terrorism in International Law – Towards a new global legal order, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2013 In this volume, Roberto Durrieu advocates the recognition of money laundering as an international crime stricto sensu that can be tried by a special international tribunal.

Professor Michael Freeden DPhil Politics, 1969 The Political Theory of Political Thinking: The Anatomy of a Practice, Oxford University Press, 2013 What does it mean to say that human beings think politically, and what is distinctive about that kind of thinking? This study examines the actual, real-world patterns people display when thinking politically, identifying six features of political thinking.

Dr Gordon Peake DPhil Modern Middle Eastern Studies, 1996 Beloved Land: Stories, Struggles, and Secrets from Timor-Leste, Scribe Publications, 2014 Blending narrative history, travelogue, and personal reminiscences based on four years of living in Timor-Leste, this volume shows the daunting hurdles that its people must overcome to build a nation from scratch, and how much more the international community must learn if it is to help rather than hinder the process.

Dr Nadia von Maltzahn DPhil Modern Middle Eastern Studies, 2005 The Syria-Iran Axis: Cultural Diplomacy and International Relations in the Middle East, IB Tauris, 2013 This volume examines the motivations, content and reach of cultural diplomacy between Syria and Iran to determine to what degree the two partners have been successful in bridging their world views and political outlooks.

New books from Antonians

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The Gateway CampaignS

t Antony’s would like to thank everyone who has made a donation to the Gateway Campaign. Antonians and friends have raised more than £6.25 million so far. Due to this generosity, the College was able to make the project financially secure and complete the buildings.

Further support remains vital to fully fund the Gateway Buildings and any donation that you can make will be a contribution to the College’s future financial and academic health. This is particularly important during a period where Higher Education in the UK faces the prospect of the Government permanently withdrawing its funding for social science and humanities subjects.

Financial security and independence would enable the College to compete with the best centres of interdisciplinary area studies globally. It will preserve our extraordinarily diverse student population and enable us to continue to recruit the best scholars worldwide, irrespective of means.

One of the on-going initiatives and naming opportunities is the bronze panel. For £500 you can join 60 other Antonians who have their name engraved on a plaque that will adorn the new building.

If you would like to make a donation, please use the donation form enclosed with the Antonian. If you have any further questions or if you would like to discuss a naming opportunity, please contact Wouter te Kloeze: wouter.tekloeze@sant.ox.ac.uk / +44(0)1865 274497.

The Gateway Buildings. Architect: Bennetts Associates Photographer: ©Hufton+Crow

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A gift in your will

Leaving a gift in your will gives you the opportunity to make a lasting impact and to help provide vital funding for the

College. It is possible to support St Antony’s by leaving an unrestricted legacy which could be used where the need is greatest, or by specifying those aspects of College life that reflect your particular interests and priorities.

In 2014, the College will set up a Society for those who have let us know of their intention to leave a legacy in their will. If you would like to have a conversation, or if you would like further information, about leaving a gift in your will for St Antony’s College, please contact the Development Director at legacy@sant.ox.ac.uk.

The Antonian Fund

St Antony’s has launched the Antonian Fund to support a range of initiatives that will enhance all aspects of academic and student life across the College.

By offering graduate scholarships, the Antonian Fund will ensure that the College will be able to attract and support students of the highest calibre from all over the world in their pursuit of academic excellence. The Fund will assist students and Fellows with research-related expenses, for example funding fieldwork or conference attendance. St Antony’s International Review (STAIR) will enjoy the Fund’s support, as will sports societies, the Library, Graduate Common Room and other facilities. Funding will be allocated in response to requests from students and academics. To enrich academic life for students and Fellows alike, the Antonian Fund will award grants for conferences, special lectures and workshops, post-doctoral scholarships, and many other worthy academic activities.

The success of the Antonian Fund depends entirely on the generosity of Antonians and friends of the College. In relation to its importance, the College has made the Fund a fundraising priority and invites all those who are keen to have a direct and positive impact on life at College to donate. Donors may wish to donate to ‘wherever the need is greatest’ or ‘express a preference’ for how their gift is spent (please see the enclosed donation form). Donations of all sizes make a real and significant difference in many important areas. Your generosity will be vital and hugely appreciated by the students and Fellows of St Antony’s College.

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch for further in format ion or i f you would l ike to donate : monica.esposito@sant.ox.ac.uk / +44(0) 1865 284496.

Meet the team!

St Antony’s College has a brand new Development team. Wouter te Kloeze, previously Senior Development Officer

at St Anne’s College, started in May 2013 as Director of Development. He is working with Monica Esposito, the new Development and Alumni Communications Officer. Wouter and Monica both have degrees in International Relations and they very much look forward to becoming a part of the vibrant intellectual and social life at St Antony’s College.

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Individual DonorsMiss Anne AbleyDr Nadia Abu-ZahraProfessor Oladipupo L. AdamolekunProfessor Roger D AdelsonMs Joan C. AlkerDr Carol Amouyel-KentProfessor Evan E AndersonProfessor Toshimitsu AnzaiDr Jessica AshoohMr Kinju AtarashiDr Sylvester W. AwuyeMrs Mayumi AzumaMr Siddik BakirMr Richard J. BalfourProfessor Kenneth D. BarkinDr Volker R. BerghahnMr Christopher W. BishopProfessor Archie BrownMs Jessica M. V. BryanMs Erin Burns & Dr Giles AlstonSir Bryan CartledgeDr Rafael E. CastilloMr Robert B. ChencinerProfessor Norman CigarProfessor Francis R ConteSir James CraigDr William F. CrawleyMr Richard DavyMr Peter DesjardinsMr Paul DesmaraisMrs Nelly di TellaDr Nadia M. DiukDr Leo DobesMs Rachel DowlingMr Alex DuncanDr Roberto DurrieuDr Matthew D. Eagleton-PierceMr David A. EavesProfessor Takayoshi EgamiMr Geoffrey ElliottDr R. Anthony ElsonMr Timothy M. FarmiloeMr Anthony FellMs Cindy L. FerraraProfessor David P. FidlerMr Thomas L. FriedmanMr Adrian H. FuMs Sara-Christine GemsonMr Eiichi GotoDr Helen E. GrahamDr Richard N. Haass

Dr Helen R. HardmanMr Joji HattoriMr John HazeldenMrs Nona M. HeaslipProfessor Joseph L. HelgueraProfessor Dorothy O. HellyProfessor Eugenia W. HerbertMrs Alice HerveProfessor Edmund HerzigThe Honourable Dr John F HillenMr Said H. HittiProfessor Bruce R. HoffmanProfessor Geoffrey A. HoskingProfessor Karl G. HufbauerMrs Catherine E. HughesDr Alessandro IandoloMr J. S. InghamMr John C. JamesMr William H. JosephsonProfessor Jeffrey D. KahnMr Sungjoo KangDr Zuzanna KarpinskaDr Georgia L KaufmannDr John L KeepProfessor Rashid KhalidiProfessor Peter KilbyProfessor Christoph M. KimmichMr Anthony Kirk-GreeneDr Bohdan A. KrawchenkoProfessor Eriko KumazawaMr A. KurkijanMr Daniel LafayeedneyDr Patrick W. S. LaneDr Matteo LegrenziMrs Lindsay R. Levkoff LynnRabbi Asher Z. LopatinProfessor William Roger LouisProfessor Abraham F. LowenthalDr Nancy LubinProfessor Margaret MacMillanMr Thomas C. MacMillanDr Peter MangoldMs Anoushka MarashlianProfessor Alain & Professor Afaf MarsotProfessor Dr Bernd MartinDr J. K. Kenneth McDonaldThe Revd Donald McNeileDr Charles McPhersonProfessor Richard L. MeyerMr Tom MilroyMr Sanjay ModySir Nicholas & Lady Elizabeth Monck

Ms Brittany MorrealeMrs June MorrisDr F.W. Orde MortonMr Robert C. MufflyHE Dr David C. MulfordMr Peter MunkDr Julie NewtonProfessor Tony NichollsProfessor Georges NivatMr Elchi NowrojeeProfessor Koichi OgawaProfessor Henri OrteuProfessor Roger OwenDr Hyun ParkMs Mary J. PhillipsMiss Diana PorterMrs Irena PowellProfessor Richard RiceMr Ralph A. RicksProfessor Masayuki RikihisaMr Robin S. RixMr William P. RosenfeldMr Kevin M. RosserMr Joseph RotmanMr Ludek P. RychetnikMr Erik J. SabotDr Joseph SassoonDr Noa SchonmannDr Joseph C SchullMr David M. ShapiroMrs Suhair SharifProfessor Marshall S. ShatzDr A. Joshua Sherman (dec.)Mr C. ShermanMr George F. ShermanMr Mark M. ShibataProfessor Peter J. SluglettDr Julie E. SmithDr Mark SmithProfessor Robert A. SpencerMs Jennifer E. StanleyProfessor Alfred & Dr Nancy StepanMr Neil A. SternthalMr Hugh StokesDr Yiu-Tung SuenMs Agnes P. ThambynayagamDr Diarmuid TorneyDr Tiffany A. TroxelMs Janice R. UgakiAmbassador Dr Martin I. UhomoibhiProfessor Richard H. UllmanProfessor Dr Jürgen von Kruedener

Mr Marco A. VonhofSir Harold WalkerMr Andrew M. WatsonMr Jed M. WeinerProfessor Claude E. WelchMs Anne-France WhiteDr John T. WilliamsDr Gernot WittlingMr Francis E. WittsProfessor Pak-Nung WongHon. Dov S. ZakheimDr David Zaret

Companies, Trusts & FoundationsA G Leventis FoundationBank of MontrealCanadian Studies FoundationEniHigh Commission of IndiaInvestcorp Bank BSCJohn & Judy Bragg FoundationJohn Swire and Sons LtdKRG Consulting LimitedLuca D’Agliano AwardMikhail Prokhorov FoundationNixon Charitable FoundationOnex CorporationOxford Noble FoundationOxford Peace Research TrustSantander UK PlcWest Oxford U3A

DonorsSt Antony’s College donors 2012-2013

St Antony’s College wishes to thank all donors for their wonderful generosity. The College would not exist without its long history of benefactions, both great and small, and our Alumni and friends

continue this magnificent tradition of philanthropy. As university funding enters a period of unprecedented upheaval, your support is more valuable than ever before.

The list of names on this page is based on all gifts received by St Antony’s College between 1 August 2012 and 31 July 2013 and includes individuals, companies and foundations. Although we have aimed to produce a list as accurate as possible, we apologise for any errors or omissions.

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Antonian eventsWe are delighted to announce that the Warden of St Antony’s College, Professor Margaret MacMillan, will present her new book “The War That Ended Peace: The Road to 1914” and give a short lecture to Antonians in various cities around the world. More details to follow.

Paris Alumni Reunion Tuesday 28 January 2014A special event for our Alumni in France.

London Alumni Reunion Wednesday 12 February 2014An exclusive reunion for our London Alumni. More details to follow.

New Zealand Alumni Reunion Saturday 8 March 2014A special event for our Alumni in New Zealand.

Oxford University Asian Reunion, Hong Kong Friday 21 March – Sunday 23 March 2014For all Oxford alumni and guests. Further information is available on the University of Oxford website.

New York Alumni Reunion Friday 11 April 2014The traditional Antonian Reunion in New York will coincide this year with the 2014 Oxford Alumni Weekend in New York (more details are available on the University of Oxford website). Our Liaison Officer in New York, Suzy Wahba, will host the event in her house.

St Antony’s College Alumni Weekend Saturday 20 September 2014The annual Antonian Reunion, organised in conjunction with the Oxford Alumni Weekend 2014. This year, a lecture and drinks reception are in programme, followed by a dinner at College.

Events information and bookingPlease visit www.sant.ox.ac.uk or contact the Development and Alumni Relations Office:monica.esposito@sant.ox.ac.uk+44 (0)1865 274496