Penksa Speaks At European Parliament

Susan E. Penksa, an international and European security specialist and professor of political science at Westmont, is in Brussels for two weeks speaking at the European Parliament and participating in the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union’s seminar on security sector reform. Penksa, who has an extensive consulting practice with national governments and international organizations, is also meeting with EU, NATO and national officials as part of her ongoing research and policy advising work.

At the European Parliament on Wednesday, Sept. 10, Penksa spoke on U.S.-EU security relations and led an informal debate on transatlantic security challenges. On Thursday, Sept. 11, she will address the Subcommittee on Security and Defense about EU security operations in the Balkans. On Friday, Sept. 12, she will participate in the French Presidency seminar on security sector reform. Penksa speaks at the Green Conference on the revised European Security Strategy Wednesday, Sept. 17, an event organized by her host, Minister of the European Parliament Angelika Beer of Germany.

Penksa, who received her doctorate in political science from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, will attend a special parliamentary seminar on EU-Russia relations. With 15 years experience in Europe and the Western Balkans, Penksa is an expert on the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP); transatlantic security and defense; civil-military relations; the Balkans; conflict prevention; post-conflict stabilization; organized crime and terrorism; and U.S.-European threat perceptions.

Recent projects include serving as a consultant for U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-Pakistan on gender and economic development and her appointment as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2007-2008.