Theodore Sedgwick Distinguished Lecture Series – Evolving Central Europe

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Filson Historical Society

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Theodore Sedgwick Distinguished Lecture Series – Evolving Central Europe

Presented by the University of Louisville’s Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute in collaboration with the Filson Historical Society.

This lecture will focus on dramatic changes since the end of the Cold War, rise of China and Russian aggression against her neighbors.

The Iron Curtain, that Communist Soviet Union had built in Europe, crumbled within weeks in 1989. Western Allies have extended “hand of friendship” over the ruins of the Berlin Wall, while welcoming nations in the world of democracy. For three decades we were building a new type of relationship based on respect to international law, sovereignty, and individual pursuit of happiness. Part of this new relationship was understanding that international security is not a zero-sum-game but a collaborative effort where all sides are winning. On 9/11 we had to adapt to the fact that not everybody shared the same vision of good a tolerance, while powerful non-state actors became a crucial terrorist threat. In Russia, revisionist psychology, lack of post-imperial reckoning and slow clampdown on freedom, including freedom of press, started to turn the tables. Ultimately, Moscow decided to enter Georgia in 2008, invade and illegally annex Crimea in 2014 and launch a full-scale attack on Ukraine in 2022. On the global scene, China pursued vigorously her own interests, including through control of critical minerals, advanced technologies, and malign handling of social media. Rules of globally intertwined economy and international legal order, as defined since World War II, are challenged. The future of “doing business globally” is uncertain, isolationists provide easy, but dangerous solutions to protest the way of life. To understand the trends and keep up with speed of information – views from most trusted Allies are important for leading through the muddy waters of divided nations, regions and averting the bad scenarios.

Radovan Javorcík has most recently served as Slovak Ambassador to the United States since January 2021. Prior to his current role he served as Slovak Ambassador and Permanent Representative to NATO from April 1, 2017 to December 2020.

Previously, he served as Chief of Staff of the First Deputy Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic (2011-2015) and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Israel (2015-2017). He also served as Deputy Head of Mission and chargé d’affaires ad interim of the Slovak Republic in the United Kingdom (2005-2009). He held various senior positions at the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic. In 2010-2011 he was Director of Security Policy Department, in 2009-2010 Director of North America, Middle East and Australia Department, and in 1997-1998 he was Deputy Director of the Policy Planning Department. After his posting at the Slovak Permanent Mission to NATO (1998-2002), he continued to work on NATO files. He was part of a team preparing Slovakia’s accession to NATO, mainly in capacity of the Head of PRENAME (Preparation for NATO Membership Programme).

Before joining the Slovak Foreign Service in 1995, he worked at the Office of the President of the Slovak Republic in the Press Department and later Foreign Policy Department.

He graduated from the Slovak Technical University (Faculty of Mechanical Engineering) in 1993 and Institute of International Relations at the Comenius University (Faculty of Law) in Bratislava in 1995. He speaks fluent English, Czech, and Russian as well as basic French, German and Spanish.

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