September 11: 20 Years later

9/11 20 years later. Twin towers in the NYC skyline

In commemoration of the twentieth anniversary of 9/11, an event which continues to impact us today, Elliott School faculty have contributed brief reflections on how that day shaped what we do in international affairs. 

To the Elliott School Community: 

Saturday, September 11 will mark twenty years since the terrorist attacks of 9/11. For me, the memory of that morning still remains vivid. I was working in New York City then, running late to catch the subway from my Brooklyn apartment to my job on the Upper East Side, and was buckling a shoe strap when I heard the news that a plane had hit the first tower. The events that followed, as has been well documented, ushered the United States into two decades of a national security focus on global terrorism, and our longest war, Afghanistan. 

Two decades on, how has the world changed, and how has 9/11 affected different aspects of the study and practice of international affairs? We asked some of our faculty members whose work concerns questions of peace and security, geopolitics, Afghanistan and South Asia, and the Middle East to share their reflections on 9/11’s legacy in their worlds. Their observations are as diverse as the regions and fields of their expertise. 

We hope this special edition of our Elliott 360 newsletter offers something for us all to think about as we head into this somber September 11. 

Best regards,
Alyssa Ayres
Dean 

Contributed by Marlene Laruelle, Director, Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies; Director, Illiberalism Studies Program, and Director, Central Asia Program Co-Director, PONARS-Eurasia; Research Professor of International Affairs

“The events of 9/11, which occurred less than 18 months after Vladimir Putin was elected president, confirmed the view of the new Russian elite that terrorism constituted the main threat to developed nations and should be fought using the harshest means.”...

Contributed by Rollie Lal, Professor of International Affairs

“the last 20 years have shown that while we learned, we did not learn enough. We have yet to comprehend the connections between religion, nationalism, and radicalism.” On 9/10, policymakers were positive that conventional military might was the key to...

One Reply to “September 11: 20 Years later”

  1. On September 11th, 2001, I was the Ambassador of Paraguay to the OAS having breakfast with my Minister of Foreign Relations and other members of our delegation in Lima, Peru. We were participating in the Extraordinary General Assembly to approve the Inter American Democratic Charter. Sitting two tables away from us, was U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell with his entourage.

    Suddenly, we saw images of the horrific attack on the World Trade Center on the television screens at the restaurant. Secretary Powell took a phone call and abruptly rushed out of the restaurant.

    Very quickly thereafter, the session to approve the Charter convened ahead of the originally scheduled time. Secretary Powell gave a powerful but brief presentation and left for the U.S. It was a moving moment. A commitment to democracy being approved unanimously in the midst of a terrorist attack- A stark contrast between the world we want and the dangers we face.

    We remember. ¡Nunca más! LAHSPers are committed to the world we want and are preparingvthemselves in manifold ways to make their contributions to this noble objective.

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