Security Challenges in Africa
CRN: 57309 Course Number: IAFF 6186.28 Instructor: Dr. Herbert Howe
Instructor Bio: Dr. Herbert Howe served in the Peace Corps in Nigeria during the country's civil war which sparked his interest in African militaries. He has covered the southern African wars as a freelancer for the Philadelphia Inquirer and has taught African studies at Georgetown between 1984 and 2005. He has also worked for DOD's Africa Center For Strategic Studies. Dr. Howe's special interests are in civil-military relations, private security and foreign intervention. He has authored Ambiguous Order: Military Forces In African States (as well as Do Not Go Gentle). Dr. Howe received his Ph.D from Harvard University, his M.A. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and his B.S. from University of Wisconsin.
Description: African development needs greater security, but how to achieve it? The course begins by asking what "security" is and how the political nature of the state--imperialism and personal rule, especially-has affected it. Case studies of several post-1960 conflicts, e.g. in Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, illustrate likely causes, methods, and results of fighting. Security challenges have evolved since 1990, as have regional and international responses to them; the course will focus upon regional military forces and international assistance as possible solutions. Responses pose ethical dilemmas, including aspects of "just war" and the efficacy of humanitarian aid. The course concludes with post-conflict challenges, e.g. restorative vs. retributive justice and what might be the appropriate roles of security forces in helping African development.
*New Day & Time: Monday's 7:10 - 9:00pm
Course will count towards following concentrations:
MAIA- Conflict Resolution, International Security Studies, Africa (Regional Focus)
SPS -Conflict Resolution, Regional Security, Security and Development
Other Programs- course will count as elective
US Foreign Policy and International Organizations
CRN: 57307 Course Number: IAFF 6118.17
Description: The United States is a leading actor in global and regional international organizations. How does action in international organizations help the U.S. address major foreign policy issues from national security to economic globalization to human rights? Students will consider how changing conditions from the emergence of new powers to technological change affect U.S. foreign policy in international organizations. What are the long term trends in U.S. foreign policy in these organizations and do these trends help illuminate current policy issues? Students will examine the role of international organizations as mechanisms to address international issues, to set standards and enable states to meet them, to establish norms, and to rally support to address crises and the relevance of these capabilities to U.S. foreign policy.
Instructor Bio: Dr. Esther Brimmer was nominated by President Obama to the position of Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations on March 11, 2009. In her role as Assistant Secretary, Dr. Brimmer leads the Bureau of International Organization Affairs, which strives to advance U.S. interests through international organizations in areas including human rights, peacekeeping, food security, humanitarian relief, and climate change.
Prior to her appointment, Dr. Brimmer was Deputy Director and Director of Research at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at The Johns Hopkins University. There she specialized in transatlantic political and security affairs. Dr. Brimmer received her D.Phil. (Ph.D.) and master's degrees in international relations from the University of Oxford and her B.A. in international relations from Pomona College in Claremont, California.
Day & Time: Tuesday's 5:10 - 7:00pm
Course will count towards following concentrations:
MAIA -Conflict Resolution, International Security Studies, US Foreign Policy, International Law & Organizations
SPS - US National Security Policy & Process
Other Programs - course will count as elective
International Perspectives on Public Administration
Course Number: IAFF 6118.16 CRN: 57259
Description: This course will address diverse philosophies of public administration and public policy-making that inform governments and international organizations around the world. Using specific policy issues, the course will compare and contrast systems that have evolved from the British, French, German and American traditions. The course will address, inter alia, such matters as the role of elected and appointed officials versus the permanent civil service; the impact of limited versus expansive government on public welfare; international coordination of fiscal policies; the interface between international organizations and national governments; government versus private authority over land use and responsibilities for disaster mitigation and response. Interactive problem-solving sessions will be a central feature of the course.
Instructor Bio: Miguel González Marcos is trained in law. He holds degrees from Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität (Ph.D.); Montpellier 1 University, France (Diplôme d'Université in International Nuclear Law); New York University (LL.M.); State University of New York at Buffalo (J.D.); and Universidad de Panamá (LL.B.). Prof. González has been a legal and policy consultant for the Heinrich Böell Foundation; the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization Preparatory Commission; and a research fellow at the Human Rights Center at the University of Minnesota Law School. He was previously Professor at the University of Panama School of Law; Director of the Institute of National Studies, Panama; and attorney in the international group at the law firm Faegre & Benson. His publications cover constitutional analysis, international law and policy, and legal reform and governance issues. Current research interests include ethics and compliance, comparative and constitutional law, and international law and policy.
Day & Time: Tuesday's 5:10 - 7:00pm
Course will count as an elective for all programs
Political and Ethnic Conflict in South Asia
Course Number: IAFF 6318.10 CRN: 57390
Description: This course examines the political, social, and economic dynamics of civil conflict in South Asia. The course consists for four sections. The first section compares the mobilization of ethno-nationalist separatist movements in Kashmir, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The second section of the course focuses on communal violence and Hindu-Muslim riots in India. The third section assesses a variety of causal explanations for rural insurgency in Nepal, and India's Maoist red corridor and Northeastern states. In the final section, the course explores the origins and determinants of local support for the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This course draws upon the broader theoretical literature on intrastate violence to analyze the structural causes of conflict, group organization of insurgency, and individual motivations to engage in violence.
Instructor Bio: Jennifer Lynn Oetken is a Visiting Faculty member with the Asian Studies Program at the Elliott School of International Affairs. Her research focuses on the mobilization and organization of insurgent groups, political and ethnic conflict in South Asia, and regional security in Asia. She was a 2007-08 David L. Boren Fellow in India where she conducted her dissertation research on Maoist insurgent organizations and studied advanced Bengali. Ms. Oetken has also worked on Asian security within the U.S. policy community as a Fellow at the National Bureau of Asian Research and Deputy Director of the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She is a Ph.D. Candidate in Political Science at Indiana University.
Her publications include "Tribal Participation in India's Maoist Insurgency: Examining the Role of Economic Development Policy," in Development Strategies, Identities, and Averting Violent Conflict in Asia (2013); "Transformation of Kashmir's Insurgency: Azaadi to Global Salafi" in Terrorism: Patterns of Internationalization (2009); "Counterinsurgency Against Naxalites in India" in India and Counterinsurgency: Lessons Learned (2009); and, "Secularism, Democracy, and Hindu Nationalism in India" in Asian Security (2008).
Day & Time:Thursday's 5:10 - 7:00pm
Course will count towards following concentrations:
MAIA - Conflict Resolution, International Security Studies, Asia (Regional Focus)
SPS - Security and Development
Other Programs - course will count as elective
Climate Change & Community Development
Course Number: IAFF 6138.10 CRN: 53983
Description: Vulnerability and adaptation are key concepts in the social science literature on climate change. The development of systematic ideas about adaptation to climate change occurs in a variety of fields - in both the ecological and the social sciences, and in a variety of settings - in academia, development agencies, and communities. This course will investigate the theoretical foundations of decentralized approaches to mitigating climate change, and analyze project documents that translate macro-level climate change policies into community-level practical projects. The course readings and discussions will also explore the local-level effects of environmental interventions and the environmental implications of local-level democratic decision making, using social science theoretical literature and natural resource case studies. Cases studies of global environmental policy will also be used for theoretical and empirical analysis.
Instructor: David Fleischer
Day & Time: Tuesday's 5:10pm - 7:00pm
Science, Technology, & Development
Course Number: IAFF 6158.12 CRN: 57288
Description: In this course, we will review a selection of the most influential theories of international development that grew out of the latter half of the twentieth century. These include theories ranging from modernization and dependency theories to world systems theory. In parallel, we will explore the role of technology in development, juxtaposing theories of international development with the challenges facing policy makers, development practitioners and other stakeholders.
Day & Time: Tuesday's 5:10pm - 7:00pm
