When Edward Snowden blew the whistle on what he deemed as unconstitutional overreach of US government spying, he set off an international controversy with far-reaching implications.

Snowden, a contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA), embodies the perfect intersection of research areas pursued by Professor Allison Stanger. Professor Stanger, who stayed at CERGE-EI on a research leave for much of 2013, is particularly interested in two areas of research: whistleblowing in America, and the contracting of government services to private companies.

In June, with Snowden’s whistleblowing disclosures creating waves across the world, CERGE-EI sat down with Professor Stanger for an exclusive video interview. In a discussion with PhD Student Liyou G. Borga, she touches topics ranging from Snowden to US-China relations, and shares many interesting insights and perspectives.

This interview is one of the most interesting yet as part of the CERGE-EI interview series. Don’t miss it!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qXaUoTxp98

Allison Stanger is the Russell Leng Professor of International Politics and Economics at Middlebury College. A PhD in Political Science from Harvard University, Professor Stanger has published books on international affairs such as One Nation Under Contract: The Outsourcing of American Power and the Future of Foreign Policy and Irreconcilable Differences? Explaining Czechoslovakia’s Dissolution. She is currently working on a new work, ‘Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Leaks: The Story of Whistleblowing in America’. 

Professor Stanger has made media appearances and op-ed contributions in major outlets, including the an interview on The Daily Show with John Stewart.