Dr. Stephanie Anderson

Professor | Head of School, SPPAIS

Academic Areas of Expertise:

European Union, European Politics, Security Policy, Transatlantic Relations, International relations, Political Communication

Curriculum Vitae

Biography:

Dr. Anderson has worked at the University of Wyoming since 2004. Focusing on the nexus between European Union identity and security policy, she has held senior fellow positions at the Europainstitut at the University of Basel in Switzerland (2016), at the KFG – Transformative Power of Europe at the Free University of Berlin (2011-12), and at the EU Centre in Singapore (2012). In 2008, she published Crafting the EU Security Policy: In the Pursuit of European Identity (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2008). Her book is based on research she did while a Senior Fulbright Research Scholar at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP). She was also a Fulbright Senior Scholar at the Graduate School of International Studies at Sogang University in Seoul, Korea. Her most recent book is co-authored with Rob Godby, Greek Tragedy, European Odyssey: The Economics and Politics of the Eurozone Crisis (Budrich, 2016). She has also published in several journals and edited volumes including Armed Forces and Society, The SAGE Handbook of European Foreign Affairs, and European Foreign Affairs Review.

In 2015, Dr. Anderson was selected as Faculty Senate Speaker. She is a three-time winner of the "Top Prof" award. In 2007, Dr. Anderson won the College's Extraordinary Merit in Teaching award. She teaches cross-listed courses in political science, international studies and gender and women's studies, including Politics of Europe, European Union, International Relations, and Gender in International Relations.

Dr. Anderson has served on the UK Marshall selection committee. She was also elected the European Union Studies Association's (EUSA) Co-Chair of the European Union as a Global Actor interest section (2007-2011). She had previously served on EUSA's executive committee. She was also made a Next Generation Fellow of the American Assembly. The American Assembly, an affiliate of Columbia University, was founded by Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1950 with the mandate to illuminate issues of public policy. As a non-profit, non-partisan organization, the Assembly seeks to provide information, stimulate discussion, and evoke independent conclusions on matters of vital public interest.

Current Research Projects:

Her current project, "When Narratives Collide: The role of news coverage and social media in EU crisis management missions on the EU's identity at home and abroad", asks whether the EU narratives, designed "to assert its identity on the international scene", actually undermine the success of Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions. How do the EU's experiences overseas construct the identity of the EU both in Europe and around the world? Applying social constructivism and narrative communication theory to the case studies of Bosnia, Kosovo, and Aceh, this project compares the EU's image of itself, as depicted in informational videos and press releases, with the local community's image of the EU, and explores what happens when they conflict on the ground. For example, does the EULEX-Kosovo mission provide a conduit for justice or Serbian influence? This interdisciplinary research combines political science, international relations, European integration, and communications with identity-building and successful peacekeeping strategies. It uses content media analysis, government documents, and interviews with press officers, EU officials, and journalists for methodology.

Fun Facts About Stephanie:

Stephanie Anderson was born in New York City, but lived part of the year in Wyoming on her family's cattle ranch. Having spent the whole of her life trying to get her New York family to understand her Wyoming family and vice versa, she decided to study formally the interaction of different cultures in international relations. Her mother sent her to a half French - half American school in New York City so she would be fluent enough to marry the Prince of Monaco. She married Tom Seitz instead. She is the mother of two girls, and has many pets including cats and llamas. She owns a cattle ranch, not too far away, which her family homesteaded about 150 years ago.