The LIEIS was formally founded in October 1990. It grew out of a special relationship with Harvard University. A first major academic conference was held in December 1987 on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Marshall Plan, to be followed one year later by a conference on the Western community and the Gorbachev challenge.
The key project of the LIEIS has been “The Vitality of Nations“. After two more conceptual meetings in 1990 (March 1990 in Luxembourg and September 1990 at Harvard), more twenty conferences have been organised. These conferences analysed the vitality of a specific country or region, or focused on aspects of vitality, such as social capital and nurture. More recently the Institute has turned its attention towards topics that are related to the European Union and the wider Europe, as well as to other areas of the world, above all Russia, but also China, India and others. There is also a stronger focus on economic and social issues as well as on Luxembourg and small countries in general.
The Institute has always involved students and young researchers into its endeavours. Initially, the LIEIS, together with Harvard and other universities, organised simulation conferences, simulating the US Congress, EU institutions and Central and Eastern European parliaments. This activity has been replaced since 1994 by summer courses, which are organised in association with various East European research centers. The Institute offers scholarships for its summer courses and internships to researchers who want to use the Institute and its proximity to the EU institutions to pursue their own research besides being involved in the Institute’s projects. Recent and present projects revolve around the notion of a decent society, in a national as well as an international framework.
Aims & Focus
The Institute aims to engage in an extensive range of research of high quality by keeping in contact with universities and research centers all over the world. It strives to publish works that are academically relevant, but also of interest for political and economic decision-makers. The general approach has been multidisciplinary and multinational: the Institute invites people from various academic disciplines and different countries, both theorists and practitioners, people from the academic as well as from the political, economic, and cultural spheres of life, looking at the past as well as the present and the future.
Fields of Interest:
- European Union, EU integration, EU neighbours
- Strategic and security issues
- Luxembourg; small states
- Vitality of nations
- Decent society