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
; Energy Security
; 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
Unfinished Business: Archives After Conflict in Guatemala, Sierra Leone, and South Africa
January 31, 2011 // 3:00pm — 4:30pm
When a country emerges from conflict, citizens demand that perpetrators be held accountable for past violations of human rights; that the governmental system be reformed to prevent a future recurrence of past repressive practices; that the truth be told about what really happened, both in personal terms (such as learning the fate of a loved one) and in terms of how the society came to be what it was; and that reparation be made for the moral and material losses suffered during the period of oppression. Archives are essential to meet these demands. more
States, Nations, and the Problem of the Nation-State
April 19, 2010 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
James J. Sheehan, Stanford University more
Wilson Versus Wilsonian
February 22, 2010 // 3:00pm — 4:30pm
John Milton Cooper, Jr., University of Wisconsin, Madison more
America's International Civil War
April 25, 2011 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
While the military contest between North and South dragged on inconclusively over four years, an equally crucial contest of diplomacy, ideology, and propaganda was waged abroad. Powerful economic interests and anti-democratic sympathies favored the South. On the other hand there was a reservoir of popular good will toward the "Great Republic" and widespread antipathy toward human slavery. Each side sought to shape foreign debate over the "American Question." The Union won only when it learned to align its cause with what foreigners understood to be an ongoing international struggle for liberty, equality, and self-government. more
Ordinary People and the American Revolution
October 25, 2010 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
Timothy H. Breen, William Smith Mason Professor of American History, Northwestern University more
Churchill's Cold War Revisited
February 14, 2011 // 3:00pm — 4:30pm
Winston Churchill's 1946 "iron curtain" speech was the opening shot in the Cold War for Stalin, Khrushchev, and most other Soviet leaders. Churchill's summit diplomacy of the years 1953–55, however, called for German unification on the basis of neutrality and the peaceful end of the East-West conflict. How can this apparent contradiction be explained? What were Churchill's motives? Klaus Larres revisits these issues and argues that Churchill's policies were coherent and made contributions toward possible solutions in a creative way. more
The Eternal Question of Counterinsurgency
May 03, 2010 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
Marilyn B. Young, New York University more
The History of the West Through Arab Eyes
March 08, 2010 // 3:00pm — 4:30pm
Eugene Rogan, St. Antony's College, Oxford University more
The Protestant Boomerang: American Missionaries and the United States
November 15, 2010 // 3:00pm — 4:30pm
David A. Hollinger, University of California, Berkeley 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.
The Civilizing Mission: How France Sees Its Role in the World
June 17, 2011 // 2:00pm — 3:00pm
New York Times correspondent Elaine Sciolino and retired foreign service officer Brinton Rowdybush discuss how the French view their role in global affairs.
Turkey's Elections: Great Expectations for Democratization or Business as Usual?
June 16, 2011 // 3:00pm — 4:00pm
Fuat Keyman, Director, Istanbul Policy Center and Professor of International Relations, Sabanci University (Turkey)
Talking Turkey: On the Heels of Elections and in the Midst of Arab Turmoil
May 18, 2011 // 11:00am — 12:00pm
“When it comes to the Arab revolts and Turkey’s relations with its near abroad, there are more questions than answers to be found,” claimed Cengiz Candar. He argued that Turkey’s foreign policy agenda seems to be complicated by its inconsistent approach to the revolutions in the Middle East and Turkey’s publicity-seeking Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu.
Emissions, Ecology, and the Economy: U.S. and European Perspectives on Waste Management
May 11, 2011 // 12:00pm — 2:00pm
In Germany, the greening of waste management has reduced greenhouse gas emissions, cut waste management costs and has allowed cities to save energy. These benefits have been achieved by treating, sorting and recycling municipal waste, making landfills obsolete.
Cold War on the Home Front: The Soft Power of Midcentury Design
May 18, 2011 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
Greg Castillo, Associate Professor, University of California, Berkeley will discuss his latest book, an in-depth history of how domestic goods and environments were exploited on both sides of the Iron Curtain to promote either capitalism or socialism.
Rethinking the History of the French Welfare State
March 07, 2011 // 3:00pm — 4:30pm
This seminar will delineate the French welfare state in long-term historical perspective and consider the multiple strands of tradition, institutions, and policies that contributed to its founding and development. It will link practices to successive political regimes and make comparisons between French and British welfare systems. What are the possible future directions of French welfare policy in view of past precedents and current conditions?
C. Vann Woodward and the Civil Rights Movement
May 10, 2010 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
Sheldon Hackney, University of Pennsylvania
Churchill's Cold War Revisited
February 14, 2011 // 3:00pm — 4:30pm
Winston Churchill's 1946 "iron curtain" speech was the opening shot in the Cold War for Stalin, Khrushchev, and most other Soviet leaders. Churchill's summit diplomacy of the years 1953–55, however, called for German unification on the basis of neutrality and the peaceful end of the East-West conflict. How can this apparent contradiction be explained? What were Churchill's motives? Klaus Larres revisits these issues and argues that Churchill's policies were coherent and made contributions toward possible solutions in a creative way.
The Eternal Question of Counterinsurgency
May 03, 2010 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
Marilyn B. Young, New York University
Territory, Statehood, and Sovereignty from Westphalia to Globalization
February 07, 2011 // 3:00pm — 4:30pm
The possession of territory or bounded political space has been crucial for the modern state, but historians and political analysts have left its properties unexamined. How have the premises and practices of territoriality changed from the seventeenth century to our own era?
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
