Foppiani and Fatton Co-Author Monograph on Japan’s Emerging Autonomous Security Policy
Dr. Lionel Fatton and Dr. Oreste Foppiani of the International Relations Department
have co-authored a monograph on Japan’s emerging autonomous security policy entitled
Japan’s Awakening: Moving Toward an Autonomous Security Policy published by Peter Lang (see below link). In their book, the two authors argue that
Japan has been moving toward a more independent security policy since the early 2010s,
duplicating the military assets of the United States and re-organizing the Japanese
Self-Defense Forces. Fatton and Foppiani posit that Tokyo is facing an “entrapment-abandonment
dilemma” in which any attempt to prevent abandonment by the USA vis-à-vis China negatively
affects its national security by heightening the risk of entrapment in the Korean
Peninsula. A move toward autonomy is the only way for Japan to resolve this dilemma.
The new policy is a departure from traditional Japanese security policy and the assumption
of everlasting reliance on the United States for protection.
From Job crafting to Duty of Care: Employee well-being initiatives in Geneva
Job crafting can be a powerful tool for re-energizing your work life. Dr. Liza Jachens
offered job crafting workshops to employees in two different settings, one at Collège
du Léman International School and the other at the United Nations. Job crafting is
about taking actions to redesign what we do at work by changing and influencing the
tasks, relationships and perceptions of our jobs. The main premise is that we can
get more meaning out of our jobs by changing what we do and how we think about our
roles. Employees learn how to ‘craft’ themselves a job where they can excel, and simultaneously
be more aligned to their strengths, motives, and passions. Job crafting has been linked
to better performance, engagement and well-being.
Duty of care is being increasingly discussed within the humanitarian community and becoming a vital area within risk management practice for organisation's wishing to better address health, safety and security issues for their staff. Jachens was an invited guest speaker for this topic at the IFRC Global HR Conference. Around 60 HR professionals from many Red Cross National societies came together to discuss this important topic. Some of the key messages from her talk will be published soon in an editorial paper in Europe's Journal of Psychology entitled "Humanitarian Aid Workers' Mental Health and Duty of Care." A new collaborative occupational health research project between Webster University and ICRC is soon to be launched. Updates will follow soon!
Jachens has also recently qualified as a mental health first aid instructor in order to continue to offer mental health support and training to organizations. This qualification is new to Switzerland, it is the Swiss Version of the Australian Mental Health First Aid program (MHFA). It was launched in Switzerland in 2019 by the Swiss Foundation Pro Mente Sana with the support of the Beisheim Foundation. The objective is to provide a first aid training program for mental health problems similar to the broadly accepted principles for physical first aid. "The idea is to train and empower non-experts to provide initial support to people close to them who are developing mental health issues, experiencing a worsening of an existing mental health problem or an acute mental health crisis. In the ensa first aid course, specially trained instructors teach basic knowledge about mental health disorders in four modules of three hours each, as well as concrete first aid measures for problems and crises."
Foppiani Present Monograph in Leiden
On Sept. 27, Dr. Oreste Foppiani, Associate Professor of International History and
Politics and Head of the Department of International Relations, presented his latest co-authored monograph and gave a guest lecture at Webster University Leiden focused on Japan’s new autonomous
security policy. A score of curious IR undergraduate students of Webster’s Dutch campus
attended the lecture and engaged in a lively Q&A session (Webster Leiden Campus-Webster
University USA).
Sociocultural Political Psychology Forum
On Dec. 8, the Department of Psychology and Counseling at Webster Geneva Campus co-organised
in London with the Department of Psychological and Behavioral Science at the LSE and
the Digital Humanities at EPFL / Swiss National Science Foundation the first meeting
of the Sociocultural Political Psychology Forum (SPPF). This forum brings together
world leading experts working in areas of research at the intersection between social,
cultural and political psychology. This first meeting was attended by colleagues from
five different countries (Estonia, Malta, Portugal, Switzerland and the U.K.) and
represents a forum for exchanging ideas and exploring new opportunities for research
and practice in sociocultural political psychology. The second meeting of the SPPF
will take place in Switzerland in the spring and the third one in Portugal next fall.
Publication of Book Chapter by International Relations Department Faculty Member in Major Volume on the Syrian Conflict
Jubin Goodarzi, Associate Professor and Deputy Head of the International Relations
Department at Webster Geneva Campus, recently published a chapter in a major volume on the role and importance of regional and international actors in the eight-year-long
Syrian war. The main editor of the volume was Professor Raymond Hinnebusch, a distinguished
and long-time scholar of Middle Eastern politics, Syria and the international relations
of the region, who is also the founder and head of the Centre for Syrian Studies at
St. Andrews University in Scotland, and the author and editor of many books and publications
over the past three decades. Jubin Goodarzi contributed a chapter on the role of Iran,
the main regional backer of the Syrian regime in the ongoing civil war. Other chapters
by prominent scholars covered the involvement of other important actors such as Turkey,
Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Qatar, Russia, the United States, the European Union and non-state
actors such as Lebanese Hezbollah and the Palestinians in the Syrian tragedy. The
book was published by Routledge in the U.K., and is available in hardback, paperback
and electronic format.
Glaveanu Conference Keynote Presentations
Vlad Glaveanu, Head of the Department of Psychology and Counseling and Director of the Webster Center for Creativity and Innovation (WCCI) gave an invited keynote at the International Conference on Creativity, Emotions and the Arts that took place at the Centro Botín in Santander, Spain, between Oct. 9 and 11. Vlad’s talk was titled “Crafting the future: The role of creativity in economical, societal and cultural growth” and spoke about the multiple ways in which creativity contributes to the creation, maintenance and transformation of the societies we live in. His session can be viewed online (with a simultaneous translation in Spanish). This conference was one of the few events dedicated to the links between creativity and emotion and brought together a group of prominent international speakers who considered the many facets of this relationship.
Dr. Glaveanu was also an invited keynote at the ECHA Thematic Conference ‘Creativity Research and Innovation in Gifted Education’ that took place in Dubrovnik, Croatia, between Oct. 16 and 18, 2019. The keynote, titled “Cultivating creativity, expanding the possible: Sociocultural reflections”, proposed and developed the notion of ‘pedagogy of the possible’ as a way of identifying and fostering the special abilities of each student in the classroom. This was the first time the European Council for High Ability (ECHA) had a special conference dedicated to creativity research.
Fatton on RTS/TV5Monde and interviewed by Svenska Dagbladet, 24heures, Tribune de Genève, Global Times
Dr. Lionel Fatton, Assistant Professor of International Relations, discussed the evolution of Japan’s foreign and security policies in the TV program Géopolitis. The program was screened by the Swiss public channel RTS on Sunday, Sept. 29, and by the French television network TV5Monde one week later. Géopolitis website.
On Oct. 5, Dr. Fatton was interviewed by the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet on the working-level talks between the United States and North Korea in Stockholm.
In late July, he was interviewed by the Swiss newspapers 24heures and Tribune de Genève on the unstable situation in Hong Kong and its impact on Taiwan.
In early July, Dr. Fatton was interviewed by the Chinese newspaper Global Times on the evolution of Japan’s security and foreign policies toward China and the United States.
Fatton tours Asia and Europe for book promotion
Dr. Lionel Fatton, Assistant Professor of International Relations, embarked in early July on a tour in Asia and Europe to promote his new book entitled Japan’s Awakening: Moving toward an Autonomous Security Policy, co-authored with Prof. Oreste Foppiani. In Asia, he gave conferences at The Charhar Institute in Beijing and at Meiji University and Waseda University in Tokyo. In Europe, he presented the book at the International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS11), which took place in Leiden.