Wilson Center Experts
Christian F. Ostermann
Director, History and Public Policy Program; European Studies; Cold War International History Project; North Korea Documentation Project; Nuclear Proliferation International History Project
History and Public Policy Program
Contact Information:
T 202/691-4176
// F 202/691-4001
Expertise:
Cold War
; Energy
; Nuclear Energy
; History
; Communism
; Declassification
; Diplomatic History
; Modern Korean History
; Security and Defense
; International Security
; NATO
; Nuclear Proliferation/Non-proliferation
; Nuclear Weapons
; Asia
; Europe
; Russia and Eurasia
Affiliation:
Woodrow Wilson Center
Christian F. Ostermann is director of the History and Public Policy Program (HAPP) as well as the director of European Studies (ES) at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Under his purview as director of HAPP and ES, Ostermann also oversees the Cold War International History Program (CWIHP), the European Energy Security Initiative (EESI), the North Korea International Documentation Project (NKIDP) and the Nuclear Proliferation International History Project (NPIHP). Additionally, Ostermann has chaired the Ion Ratiu Democracy Award since 2006, and currently serves as a co-editor of Cold War History as well as an editor of the CWIHP Bulletin. Ostermann also often works as a consultant on many historical documentaries.
Prior to joining the Wilson Center in 1997 as an associate director of CWIHP, Ostermann worked as a research fellow at The George Washington University’s National Security Archive, involvement that still continues today with his role as a Senior Research Fellow at the National Security Archive. At the same time, Ostermann also worked as a lecturer in history and international affairs at Georgetown University and The George Washington University. Further back, before coming to Washington, he studied in Bonn, Cologne and Hamburg and worked as a research fellow at the Commission for the History of Parliament and Political Parties in Bonn, Germany. Ostermann is the author of numerous publications including The Rise and Fall of Détente on the Korean Peninsula, 1970-1974 (2011), edited with James Person; Crisis and Confrontation on the Korean Peninsula: 1968-1969 (2010), edited with James Person; Connecting Histories: Decolonization and the Cold War in Southeast Asia, 1945-1962(2010), ed. with Christopher Goscha; Inside China’s Cold War (CWIHP Bulletin 16 (2008/2009)) and Uprising in East Germany 1953: The Cold War, The German Question, and the First Major Upheavel Behind the Iron Curtain (2001) with Charlers S. Maier.
More on Christian Ostermann
- Culture Clash at Checkpoint Charlie
- Shudder at the Black Box
- CWIHP Director, Christian F. Ostermann has been appointed as a member to the Department of Interior's Cold War Advisory Committee
- HAPP Director Christian Ostermann is featured in the Kyunghyang Shinmun
- Connecting Histories: Decolonization and the Cold War in South East Asia, 1945-1962, edited by CWIHP Director Christian Ostermann is reviewed on H-Diplo
- Review on Connecting Histories. Decolonization and the Cold War in Southeast Asia, 1945-1962
- Review by Balazs Szalontai on Connecting Histories: Decolonization and the Cold War in Southeast Asia, 1945-1962
- Review by Ruud van Dijk on Uprising in East Germany 1953: The Cold War, the German Question, and the First Major Upheaval Behind the Iron Curtain
- New book by European Studies Program Director Christian Ostermann Reviewed on German Radio
- CWIHP In the News: CWIHP Director Christian Ostermann quoted in Washington Post
- CWIHP Director Christian Ostermann to Provide Keynote Address at Opening Conference of The Diefenbunker, Canada's Cold War Museum
- CWIHP Director Christian Ostermann at Conference on UNESCO and the Cold War
- CWIHP Director Christian Ostermann Delivers Inaugural Lecture in The Cold War in Southeast Asia Seminar Series
- CWIHP Director Christian Ostermann Briefs UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan
- CWIHP Director Christian Ostermann Speaks at Sighet Summer School in Sighet, Romania
- CWIHP Director Christian Ostermann at the International Conference "Soviet-American Relations: The Détente Years, 1969–1972."
- CWIHP Director Christian F. Ostermann participates in Conference on "Italy and the Vietnam War"
- CWIHP Director Christian F. Ostermann gives Keynote at Gorbachev Foundation Conference
- CWIHP Director Christian Ostermann to Chair Panel at Conference Fateful Eights in Czech History
- CWIHP Director Christian Ostermann Participates in Historic Havana Conference on the 1961 Bay of Pigs Episode
- Ostermann visits to Ukraine October 1-9 to develop CWIHP contacts
Related Content for this Expert
A Long Goodbye: The Soviet Withdrawal from Afghanistan
May 26, 2011 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
The current conflict in Afghanistan looms large in the collective consciousness of Americans. What has the United States achieved, and how will it withdraw without sacrificing those gains? Artemy Kalinovsky's latest book entitled A Long Goodbye: The Soviet Withdrawal from Afghanistan discusses how the Soviet Union confronted these same questions in the 1980s, and how the USSR's nine-year struggle to extricate itself from Afghanistan and bring its troops home provides a sobering perspective on exit options in the region. more
From Lisbon to Lisbon: Afghanistan and Russia as Test Cases for the new EU Foreign Policy
June 24, 2010 // 3:30pm — 4:30pm
Two new positions introduced by the Lisbon Treaty will significantly affect EU's ability to conduct foreign policy: the permanent Presidency of the European Union and the appointment of a High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Anne-Marie Le Gloannec argued that the EU's ability to formulate and execute a common foreign policy foreign remains questionable because the Lisbon Treaty "does not simplify representation; does not conjure up coherence; and does not muster will." Given these problems, she argued that Europeans should continue to develop institutions and cooperative representation outside the scope of EU institutions. more
Strategies to Fight Discrimination: Reports from Frontline Activists in Europe and Africa
October 20, 2010 // 11:30am — 1:00pm
Wilson Center and Korea Foundation Establish Junior Scholar Program
Jan 11, 2011The program will provide Korean students currently enrolled in an advanced degree program the opportunity to spend between three to six months at the Center conducting advanced research on an important public policy issue or a topic in international history.
more
Pages
Wilson Center and Korea Foundation Establish Junior Scholar Program
Jan 11, 2011The program will provide Korean students currently enrolled in an advanced degree program the opportunity to spend between three to six months at the Center conducting advanced research on an important public policy issue or a topic in international history.
Peaceful Resolution of Ethnic Tension
March 26, 2012 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
Karl Meyer and Shareen Brysac discuss historical perspective on ethnic peace.
July 1914: Revisited and Revised—or The End of the German Paradigm
March 19, 2012 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
Samuel Williams Jr. discusses and reevaluates German and Russian actions in 1914.
Unmitigated Gaul: The French Confront America, 1980–2000
March 12, 2012 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
Richard Kuisel discusses French attitudes towards American policies, practices, and values during the 1980's and 1990's.
The United States and the 1967 Arab-Israeli War
March 05, 2012 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
Charles Smith from the University of Arizona discusses the legacy of the 1967 War and its long term effects.
Jean Monnet and the Future of Europe
February 27, 2012 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
Sherrill Wells discusses the impact Jean Monnet had on European and American politics after World War II.
Islam & Democracy for the 21st Century
February 13, 2012 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
John Voll will examine the intersection of politics and religion in five Islamic countries.
Barbary Coasts: North Africa, Colonialism, and the Mediterranean, c. 1820-2011
February 06, 2012 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
Wilson Center Fellow Julia Clancy-Smith discusses North Africa, Colonialism, and the Mediterranean from 1820 until present.
Stalin and the Turkish Crisis of the Cold War, 1945-1953
February 28, 2012 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
Jamil Hasanli, former Wilson Center scholar and professor of history at Baku State University will discuss his latest book, "Stalin and the Turkish Crisis of the Cold War, 1945-1953." Hasanli will explore the ups and downs of Soviet-Turkish relations during and immediately after World War II.
Roosevelt and Churchill
January 30, 2012 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
Warren Kimball, Robert Treat Professor Emeritus at Rutgers University will reflect on the problems he faced in compiling letters and other communications, on research in the pre-computer age, and on his thoughts about the two men and their policies at the time.
Abraham Lincoln and the Irish
January 23, 2012 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
Kevin Kenny, professor of history at Boston College will give a presentation entitled "Abraham Lincoln and the Irish."
Pages
North Korean Perspectives on the Overthrow of Syngman Rhee
Jan 16, 2013NKIDP e-Dossier no. 13, "North Korean Perspectives on the Overthrow of Syngman Rhee, 1960," is introduced by Jong-dae Shin, Christian F. Ostermann, and James Person and features twenty translated documents cataloging North Korea’s immediate responses to the April 19 Revolution in South Korea and how the DPRK attempted to take advantage of the events which ultimately led to the resignation of President Syngman Rhee.
Bulletin No. 17/18 - Fall 2012
Oct 15, 2012Now available for download, “The Global Cuban Missile Crisis at 50.” CWIHP marks the 50th Anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis by releasing CWIHP Bulletin 17/18, with over 500 newly declassified and translated documents from international sources.
The Rise and Fall of Détente on the Korean Peninsula, 1970-1974
Oct 25, 2011"The Rise and Fall of Détente on the Korean Peninsula, 1970-1974" features the transcript of the second in a series of critical oral history conferences jointly convened by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars’ North Korea International Documentation Project and the University of North Korean Studies and a selection of primary source documents.
The Road to Helsinki
Jul 16, 2011A CWIHP Document Reader compiled for the international Conference "The Road to Helsinki, The Early Steps to the CSCE," Florence, Italy, 29-30 September 2003
The Rise of Detente
Jul 14, 2011A CWIHP Document Reader compiled for the international conference "NATO, the Warsaw Pact and the Rise of Detente, 1965-1972," Dobiaco/Toblach Italy, 26-28 September 2002
