About CWES
The Center for West European Studies and the Jean Monnet EU Center are both housed in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington, which features one of the largest collections of area studies centers in the United States.
The Center for West European Studies (CWES) was founded in 1994. Our mission is to enhance the quality of teaching and research on West European politics, society, and culture through outreach to universities, community colleges, business, the general public, and the K-12 community. The Center’s programs are uniquely interdisciplinary, fostering collaboration between Europeanists from twenty different departments and professional schools on campus.
Generously funded by a prestigious grant from the European Commission’s Erasmus+ Programme, the CWES-affiliated EU Center is a Jean Monnet Center of Excellence. Established in 1998 with a grant from the European Union Delegation to the United States, the EU Center is well-known for its activities that promote meaningful teaching, outreach, and research programs in the study of European Union institutions and policies, and transatlantic relations. More information on this Center can be found here.
The UW EU Center also hosts a Jean Monnet Chair in Civil Society, Inclusion, and Diversity in the European Union (CIDEU) funded by the Erasmus+ Programme. CWES and EU Center Director Sabine Lang is the current Jean Monnet Chair, and more information about her project is available here. Previously, the Jean Monnet Chair was held by the EU Center former director Dr. James Caporaso.
Both the Center for West European Studies and the Jean Monnet EU Center are members of the European Consortium for Political Research and the Council for European Studies.
