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Stephen Silvia Professor Politics, Governance & Economics

Additional Positions at 小蓝视频
Affiliate Professor, Department of Economics
Degrees
PhD, political science, Yale University; BS, industrial and labor relations, Cornell University

Languages Spoken
German (reading, writing, and speaking) and French (reading)
Book Currently Reading
Jack Kirby, The Fourth World Omnibus
Bio
Dr. Stephen Silvia teaches international economics, international relations and comparative politics. He researches comparative labor employment relations, and comparative economic policy, with a focus on Germany and the United States.
For the Media
To request an interview for a news story, call 小蓝视频 Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.

Teaching

Fall 2024

  • SISU-300 Intro to Int'l Economics

  • SISU-300 Intro to Int'l Economics

Spring 2025

  • SISU-419 Senior Capstone: Int'l Studies: Understanding IR Using Comics

Scholarly, Creative & Professional Activities

Selected Publications

BOOKS

The UAW鈥檚 Southern Gamble: Organizing Workers at Foreign-Owned Vehicle Plants.听Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2023.

Holding the Shop Together: German Industrial Relations in the Postwar Era.听 Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2013.

ARTICLES AND CHAPTERS

鈥淭he UAW鈥檚 Southern Gamble: The Sequel.鈥 Perspectives on Work 28 (2024).

鈥淜lasse Mittel.鈥 [鈥淢iddle Class.鈥漖 IPG Journal 9, (November 2023).

"(De-)Globalisierung und Industriepolitik in den USA鈥 [鈥(De-)Globalization and Industrial Policy in the USA.鈥漖 In Wolfgang Lemb, ed., Perspektiven eines Industriemodells der Zukunft [Perspectives of an Industrial Model of the Future]. Marburg: Metropolis, 2021.

鈥淎 Silver Age? The German Economy since Reunification.鈥 German Politics and Society 37, no. 4 (Winter 2020): 74-94. https://doi:10.3167/gps.2019.370407

鈥淭he Transnational Activities of German Trade Unions and Works Councils: From Foreign Policy to Active Engagement.鈥 German Politics 29, no. 3 (2020): 404-21, https://doi.org/10.1080/09644008.2018.1551486

鈥淧articipatory Governance in Employment Relations.鈥 In Hubert Heinelt, ed., Handbook on Participatory Governance.听 Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2018, chap. 10, pp. 185-202 [lead author, with Wolfgang Schroeder]. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781785364358.00015

鈥淭he United Auto Workers Attempts to unionize Volkswagen, Chattanooga.鈥澨Industrial and Labor Relations Review听71, no. 3 (May 2018), pp. 600-24 doi: 10.1177/0019793917723620 (Winner of the 2017 Best Paper Competition LERA/ILR Review听Special Series in Employment Relations).

鈥淕ewerkschaften und Arbeitgeberverb盲nde [Unions and Employers Associations].鈥 In Wolfgang Schroeder, ed., Handbuch Gewerkschaften in Deutschland [Trade Unions in Germany Handbook]. Wiesbaden: Springer VS Verlag, 2014 [with Wolfgang Schroeder], pp. 337-65.鈥淲hy do German and US Reactions to the Financial Crisis differ?鈥 German Politics and Society 29,听no. 4 (Winter 2011), pp. 68-77.

鈥淚s the Euro Working? The Euro and European Labor Markets.鈥 Journal of Public Policy 31, no. 3 (December 2011): 147-168. (This is a reprint of an article that originally appeared in August 2004 (vol. 24, no. 2). 听听It was reprinted on the occasion of Richard Rose stepping down as editor of Journal of Public Policy after 31 years of service.听 It is one of the five, 鈥渙utstanding and still topical articles,鈥 that Rose selected from among all those published by the journal over the last 31 years for inclusion in the final issue under his editorship.)

鈥淲hy Germany reformed Public Pensions, but the United States did not,鈥 German Studies Review听32, no. 1 (February 2009): 23-50.

鈥淲hy are German Employers Associations Declining?听 Arguments and Evidence.鈥 Comparative 听Political Studies 40, no. 12 (Dec. 2007): 1433-59 [lead author, with Wolfgang Schroeder].

鈥淓very Which Way but Loose: German Industrial Relations since 1980.鈥 in Andrew Martin, George Ross, Lucio Baccaro, Anthony Daley, Lydia Fraile, Chris Howell, Richard M. Locke, Rianne听Mahon, and Stephen J. Silvia, eds., The Brave New World of European Labor: European听Trade Unions at the Millennium. New York: Berghahn, 1999, chap. 3, pp. 75-174.

鈥淕reen Trumps Red? Political Identity and Left-wing Politics in United Germany.鈥 In Christopher S. Allen, ed., The Transformation of the German Party System in the Post-Cold War Era. NewYork: Berghahn, 1999, chap. 5, pp. 133-159 (with Andrei S. Markovits).

鈥淩eform Gridlock and the Role of the Bundesrat in German Politics.鈥 West European Politics 22,听no. 2 (April 1999): 167-181.

鈥淕erman Unification and Emerging Divisions within German Employers鈥 Associations: Cause or听Catalyst?鈥 Comparative Politics 29, no. 2 (January 1997), pp. 187-208.

鈥淭he Forward Retreat: Labor and Social Democracy in Germany, 1982-1992.鈥 International Journal听of Political Economy 22, no. 4 (Winter 1992/1993): 36-52. https://doi.org/10.1080/08911916.1992.11643847

鈥淭he Social Charter of the European Community: A Defeat for European Labor.鈥 Industrial andLabor Relations Review 44, no. 4 (July 1991): 626-43.

鈥淭he West German Labor Law Controversy: A Struggle for the Factory of the Future.鈥澨Comparative听笔辞濒颈迟颈肠蝉 20, no. 2 (January 1988): 155-173.

Media Appearances

  • ARD German Radio
  • CNN International
  • MSNBC
  • New York Times
  • San Francisco Chronicle
  • Der Spiegel
  • Suddeutsche Zeitung
  • Time
  • Voice of America
  • Wall Street Journal
  • Washington Post

Congressional Testimony

United States Senate, Democratic Policy Committee. Hearing on the Reward Work Act sponsored by Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin, which would prohibit stock buybacks on the open market and require one-third board representation for employees of listed companies, 26 March 2019.

Professional Presentations

  • 鈥淯sing Michel Foucault鈥檚 鈥楻egimes of Truth鈥 as a Theoretical Framework to Explain Changes in Conceptualizations of Employment Relations,鈥 Labor Employment Relations Association, 77th Annual Meeting, New York, NY, 19-23 June 2024.

  • 鈥淒ie deutsche Wirtschaft 33 Jahre nach dem Mauerfall,鈥 Mauer abbauen 鈥 vereint? US Department of State, Foreign Service Institute, 8 November 2022.

  • 鈥淯nion Organizing, Public Relations Firms, and Outside Consultants: The Experience of the United Auto Workers,鈥 Labor Employment Relations Association, 74th Annual Meeting, 1-5 June 2022.

    鈥淭he Rise and Fall and Rise of Industrial Policy in the USA,鈥 Labor Employment Relations Association, 73rd Annual Meeting, 2-6 June 2021.

  • 鈥淭he Promise and Perils of Board-level Employee Representation to empower Workers.鈥 Constructing a New Social Compact: A Public Forum on Empowering the Post-Pandemic Working Class. Kalmanovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor. Georgetown University, 28 April 鈥 1 May 2021.

  • 鈥淭he Impact of Covid-19 on Employment Relations in the United States Automobile Industry.鈥 Addressing the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Workers in the German and US Metalworking Sectors, DC Labor and Employment Research Association International Webinar, 24 February 2021.

  • 鈥淒oes Codetermination really lead to more socially beneficial Management Decisions and make Employees better Citizens?鈥澨 Online Seminar, The German System of Codetermination, Sponsored by the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin, Institut f眉r die Geschichte und Zukunft der Arbeit, Academic-Industry Research Network, 15 January 2021.

  • 鈥淭he Prospects for advancing Co-determination in the United States with the New Biden Administration and Congress.鈥澨 Online Seminar, The German System of Codetermination, Sponsored by the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin, Institut f眉r die Geschichte und Zukunft der Arbeit, Academic-Industry Research Network, 4 December 2020.

  • 鈥淒ie USA haben gew盲hlt 鈥 Was bedeutet das f眉r Arbeitnehmer*innen in Europa und den USA?鈥 (鈥淭he USA has voted 鈥 What does it mean for Employees in Europe and the USA?鈥) Zoom-Onlinekonferenz, Industriegewerkschaft Metall, 9 November 2020.

  • 鈥淒ealing with the Cards You鈥檙e Dealt: Comparing COVID-19 Responses of Germany and the United Kingdom,鈥 The Pandemic and Management Structures: Divergent National and State Responses, Academy of Management, Critical Management Studies, In-Touch Webinar Series, 29 June 2020, .

  • Panelist, 鈥淐OVID-19: A Stress Test for the Global Economy,鈥 Global Insights, A transnational virtual panel discussion series organized by the Balsillie School of International Affairs, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 30 April 2020,

  • 鈥淭he UAW Attempts to Organize Volkswagen Chattanooga: The Sequel,鈥 Labor Employment Relations Association, 72nd Annual Meeting, 12-16 June 2020

  • 鈥淯nderstanding International Relations by reading the Black Panther, Iron Man and Wonder Woman,鈥 Catholic University of America, 25 October 2019.

  • 鈥淥rganizing Using Civil Rights and Foreign Pressure: UAW at Nissan in Mississippi,鈥 American Political Science Association, 115th Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, 29 August 鈥 1 September 2019.听 Dorothy Day Award, Honorable Mention, Labor Politics Group, APSA.

  • 鈥淯sing Civil Rights Discourse and International Political Pressure to Organize: The UAW鈥檚 Campaign at Nissan Canton, Mississippi,鈥 Labor Employment Relations Association, 71st Annual Meeting. Cleveland, OH, 12-16 June 2019

  • 鈥淐an Unions Import Power? Five U.S. Case Studies,鈥 American Political Science Association, 114th Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, 30 August 鈥 2 September 2018.

  • 鈥淕erman Trade Union Attempts to Export Power,鈥 Labor Employment Research Association, 70th Annual Meeting. Baltimore, MD, 14-17 June 2018.

  • 鈥淭he Transnational Activities of German Trade Unions: From Foreign Policy to Active Engagement,鈥 Rethinking German Political Economy: Lessons for Comparative Theorizing after the Social Democratic Century, Goethe Institute, San Francisco, CA, 30 August 2017.

  • 鈥淥rganizing in the South: What works (and what doesn鈥檛). The United Auto Workers鈥 Experience with Freightliner and Mercedes Benz,鈥 Labor Employment Research Association, 69th Annual Meeting. Anaheim, CA, 1-4 June 2017.

  • 鈥淓mployee Representation at German Automobile Plants in the United States: A Tale of Three Companies,鈥 Labor Employment Research Association, 68th Annual Meeting. Minneapolis, MN, 26-29 May 2016.

  • 鈥淕erman Trade Unions Wrestle with Reform:听 The Strategies of IG Metall, IG BCE and ver.di.鈥 Council for European Studies, 21st International Conference of Europeanists.听 Washington, D.C., 14-16 March 2014.

  • 鈥淒iffuse Openness: An Empirical Challenge to the Hegemonic Stability Theory,鈥 International Studies Association, Annual Convention, San Francisco, CA, 3-6 April 2013.

  • 鈥淓uropean Labor Market Performance during the Financial and Euro Crises: Wage Rigidity and the Risk of Hysteresis,鈥 Peterson Institute for International Economics, Washington, D.C., 29 January 2013.
  • 鈥淒ie zwei deutschen Gewerkschaftsmodelle der Nachkriegszeit.鈥 Das deutsche Gewerkschaftsmodell im 脺bergang. Festkolloquium anl盲sslich des 60. Geburtstages von Detlev Wetzel, der zweite Vorsitzende der IG Metall, Frankfurt am Main, 24 January 2013.
  • 听
  • 鈥淕erman Lessons for American Manufacturers.鈥 American Boiler Makers Association, Annual Conference, Palm Springs, CA, 13-16 January 2012.
  • 鈥淓uropean Monetary Union: Philosophy, Organization and Performance.鈥 Foreign Service Institute, United States Department of State, 6 September 2011.
  • 鈥淓xplaining the Difference in European and US Reactions to Financial Crisis,鈥 European Responses to Economic Crisis: Lessons for the US, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 7-8 April 2011.
  • 鈥淯nderstanding Germany鈥檚 Response to Economic Crises,鈥 Three Big Players out of Sync: The United States, China and Germany in the Economic Crisis, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, 1 April 2011.
  • "The Euro Crisis: Out of the Woods, or Waste Deep in the Big Muddy?鈥 Foreign Service Institute, United States Department of State, 8 February 2011.
  • 鈥淎 Comparison of Public Pension Issues in Germany and the USA,鈥 Universit茅 Montpellier, France, 8 October 2010.
  • 鈥淚ndustrial Relations in Europe, Germany and the USA: Different History, Culture and Approach,鈥 Deutsche Post - DHL Legislative Conference, Washington, D.C., 28 June 2010.
  • 鈥淯nemployment and Labor Markets,鈥 IX Annual Meeting of the Global Atlanticists, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C., 14 April 2010.
  • 鈥淓mployee Relations at T-Mobile USA and Deutsche Telekom: More Contrast than Commonality,鈥 Transnational Corporations and Labor Relations: The Case of Deutsche Telekom, A Joint Workshop sponsored by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation; the Kalmonovitz Initiative for Labor and the Working Poor, Georgetown University; and the Communication Workers of America; at Equality Center, Human Rights Campaign, Washington, D.C., 18 November 2009.

Residencies

  • Guest Professor, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan, Fall 2023
  • Guest Professor, Universit茅 Montpellier I, France, October 2010.
  • Guest Professor, University of Kassel (Germany), January 2009. 听
  • DaimlerChrysler Senior Fellow, American Institute for Contemporary German Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Washington, D.C., 2002-2003.听 听
  • James Bryant Conant Fellow in German and European Studies, Minda de Gunzberg Center for European Studies, Harvard University, September 1994 - August 1995.听 听
  • Visiting Scholar, Zentralinstitut f眉r sozialwissenschaftliche Forschung (ZI SOWIFO, Central Institute for Social Science Research), Freie Universit盲t, Berlin, Germany January - August 1993.听 听
  • Visiting Scholar, Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliches Institut D眉sseldorf, Germany August - December 1992.听 听
  • In-Residence Fellow, American Institute for Contemporary German Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Washington, D.C., January - July 1992.听 听
  • Visiting Scholar, Center for International Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, September 1988 - August 1989.听 听
  • Visiting Scholar, Institut f眉r Sozialforschung (IfS, Institute for Social Science Research), Frankfurt/Main, Germany, January - July 1986.