Since the attacks of September 11, 2001, many American policymakers have grown increasingly concerned about terrorists or terrorist materials being smuggled into the United States from Canada. The myth that the 9/11 hijackers arrived in the United States through Canada contributed to the passage of laws that have increased the “thickness” of the border and hindered trade in the name of collective security. Do these rules safeguard against the true vectors of North American extremism? The Canada Institute’s “Terror and North America: The Causes and Directions of Cross-Border Extremist Activity” will examine how and why extremists travel between Canada and the United States, what effect these crossings have on our national security, and what possible policy solutions exist to better police the border.

The Cold War was an overarching reality for American presidents from Truman to George H.W. Bush. In fact, prosecuting the Cold War posed a profound dilemma for all presidents, but especially for Dwight D. Eisenhower. Wm. M. McClenahan, Jr. and Wm. H. Becker argue that economic policy was second only to national security in Ike’s mind. How was the United States to engage in the Cold War without undermining American political democracy and a market economy? Preserving the American way of life was to Eisenhower the preeminent objective of the Cold War.

The Department of Contemporary History at the University of Vienna in collaboration with the Wilson Center's Nuclear Proliferation International History Project will host an international conference on the history of the IAEA during the cold war years. The conference will cover a wide range of issues, including the creation of the Agency, its role in the nuclear non-proliferation regime, and the Agency's technical programs. Beyond that, the conference seeks to discuss the cultural, societal, and economic context of the IAEA's early history.