Foreign Policy Blogs

AFRICA
Derek Catsam is an assistant professor of history at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. Derek writes about race and politics in the United States and Africa, sports, and terrorism. He is currently working on books on bus boycotts in the United States and South Africa in the 1940s and 1950s, the Freedom Rides, and South African resistance politics in the 1980s. He has lived, worked, and travelled extensively throughout southern Africa. He is also a lifelong sports fan, with the Boston Red Sox as his first true love. He was one of about three dozen people to write books about the 2004 World Champion Red Sox, and the result is Bleeding Red: A Red Sox Fan’s Diary of the 2004 Season. He writes about politics, sports, travel, pop culture, and just about anything else that comes to mind at his blog, dcat.

CENTRAL ASIA
Patrick Frost recently graduated from New York University’s Masters Program in Political Science - International Relations. His MA thesis analyzed the capabilities and objectives of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Central Asia and beyond and explored how these affected U.S. interests and policy.

CHILDREN
Cassandra Clifford is currently a non-profit freelancer, who’s main objective is working to prevent human trafficking, especially with children. Cassandra also works with children on a regular basis, and has worked with both special needs children and adults. She holds an M.A., International Relations from Dublin City University in Ireland, as well as a B.A., Marketing and A.S., Fashion Merchandise/Marketing from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island.

CHINA TRADE
Dorris Lin graduated from Tufts University with a BA in International Relations with focus on Mainland China and a minor in Chinese language and culture. Prior, Dorris lived in China for six years, attending international schools in Shanghai and Beijing. She is currently a communications and policy consultant for DHS.

CLIMATE CHANGE
Bill Hewitt has been an environmental activist and professional for nearly 25 years. He was deeply involved in the battle to curtail acid rain, and was also a Sierra Club leader in New York City. He spent nearly 11 years in public affairs for the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation, and worked on environmental issues for two NYC mayoral campaigns and a presidential campaign. He is a writer and editor and is the principal of Hewitt Communications. He has an M.S. in international affairs and teaches political science at Pace University in New York City

DEFENSE
Curt Ricci is a PhD candidate in International Relations and is an Adjunct Lecturer at CUNY teaching IR as well. He is a former Army infantryman and his interests include: the US military, terrorism, Russia and the post-Soviet states.

DIPLOMACY
Jeff Dexter is a research analyst and writer for a security consulting firm in Washington, DC. He is a graduate of the University of Rhode Island, where he received his B.A. in Political Science and International Relations. Previously, he studied conflict resolution in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, where he focused on the ascension of Hamas in Palestinian politics and its implications for US foreign policy.

Melinda Brouwer holds a Masters degree in Global Politics from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She received her bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Spanish at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has worked on Capitol Hill, at the State Department, for Foreign Policy magazine and the American Academy of Diplomacy. She presently works for an internationally focused non-profit research organization in Washington, DC.

ELECTION 2008
Erin Dian Dumbacher is a research and media analyst in Washington, DC. She holds a degree in International Affairs from the Elliott School at The George Washington University, where she focused on international politics and history in Central and Eastern Europe. She has studied at the Warsaw School of Economics (SGH) in Warsaw, Poland, and the Free University of Berlin, Germany, and has worked with the institute for cultural diplomacy and for US Congressman Bud Cramer.

Mark Dillen heads Dillen Communications LLC, an international public affairs consultancy based in San Francisco and Croatia. A former Senior Foreign Service Officer with the US State Department, Mark managed political, media and cultural relations for US embassies in Rome, Berlin, Moscow, Sofia and Belgrade, then moved to the private sector. He has degrees from Columbia and Michigan and was a Diplomat-in-Residence at the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies at Johns Hopkins. Mark has also worked for USAID as a media and political advisor and twice served as election observer and organizer for OSCE in Eastern Europe.

EUROPEAN UNION
Cathryn Cluver is a journalist and EU analyst based in Hamburg, Germany. She has been writing on international migration since her undergraduate days at Brown University. Cathryn holds a Master’s degree in European Studies from the London School of Economics and has held various positions at CNN in Atlanta and London and the European Policy Centre in Brussels, Belgium.

GLOBAL CURRENTS
Sarwar Kashmeri advises corporations in the areas of strategic communications and marketing strategy. His book, America and Europe after 9/11 and Iraq: The Great Divide, was published by Praeger Security International on November 30, 2006.

IRAQ
Rabia Altaf is a media analyst based in Washington, DC. She received her bachelor’s degree from American University with a double major in political science and international relations. She also attended Université Catholique de Louvain in Brussels in 2004, studying the European Union and defense/security studies.

LATIN AMERICA
Rich Basas, A Canadian Masters Level Law student educated in Spain, England, and Canada (U of London MA 2003 LL.M., 2007), has worked researching for CSIS and as a Reporter for the Latin America Advisor. He went on to study his MA in Latin American Political Economy in London with the University of London and LSE. Subsequently, Rich followed his career into Law focusing mostly on International Commerce and EU-Americas issues. He has worked for many commercial and legal organisations as well as within the Refugee Protection Community in Toronto, Canada, representing detained non-status indivduals residing in Canada. Rich will go on to study his PhD in International Law in 2008.

LEBANON
Manuela Paraipan was awarded the 2005 Scholarship of the World Security Network Foundation. She is a Bucharest based independent foreign policy analyst. She has been published in The Washington Times, World Press, Yemen Times, Global Politician, Lebanon Wire and other publications. She has also been invited as a speaker at multiple political conferences.

MEXICO
Alejandro Quiroz Flores is a PhD candidate at the Department of Politics at New York University. He received a MPhil in Latin American Studies from the University of Oxford and a BA in Political Science and International Relations from CIDE in Mexico City. He is a specialist in international relations and methodology. His doctoral research focuses on political survival and econometrics. His blog focuses on contemporary Mexican politics and economics.

MIDDLE EAST
Brian O’Neill is a freelance writer currently based out of Chicago. He has lived in Egypt and in Yemen, and worked as a writer and editor for the Yemen Observer publishing company. He currently is a contributing analyst to the Jamestown Foundation.

MIDDLE EAST MEDIA
Pete Ajemian is a freelance writer and contributing editor for the journal Arab Media & Society, where he writes on developments in Arab political media. His masters dissertation, during his recent studies at the University of St. Andrews, examined issues of new media, politics and security in the Arab world. His interest in Arab political media developed over the course of his Arabic language studies in Lebanon and the US. Pete has also conducted research on terrorism-related issues for US law enforcement, and has written on the subject matter for the Jamestown Foundation’s Terrorism Focus publication.

MIGRATION
Rich Basas, a Canadian Masters Level Law student educated in Spain, England, and Canada (U of London MA 2003 LL.M., 2007), has worked researching for CSIS and as a Reporter for the Latin America Advisor. He went on to study his MA in Latin American Political Economy in London with the University of London and LSE. Subsequently, Rich followed his career into Law focusing mostly on International Commerce and EU-Americas issues. He has worked for many commercial and legal organisations as well as within the Refugee Protection Community in Toronto, Canada, representing detained non-status indivduals residing in Canada. Rich will go on to study his PhD in International Law in 2008.

Cathryn Cluver is a journalist and EU analyst based in Hamburg, Germany. She has been writing on international migration since her undergraduate days at Brown University. Cathryn holds a Master’s degree in European Studies from the London School of Economics and has held various positions at CNN in Atlanta and London and the European Policy Centre in Brussels, Belgium.

PHILANTHROPY
Kevin Dean is a graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in international conflict management and humanitarian emergencies at Georgetown University. Before returning to school in Fall 2006, he spent six years working in the former Soviet Union - most of that time spent in Central Asia. He has managed a diverse range of international development programs for the US State Department and USAID. He has also consulted for several UN agencies and international NGOs, and is fluent in Russian. Kevin is originally from Des Moines, Iowa and studied Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies at the University of Iowa.

Michele Fugiel Gartner is an independent researcher studying the role of philanthropy and civil society in Canada.  Michele holds B.A. in Communications and a minor in Spanish from the Barrett Honors College at Arizona State University and is an alumna of the Asia Pacific Leadership Program at the East-West Center in Honolulu, HI.  She received her M.A. degree in International Studies and Diplomacy at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.  Most recently, Michele was employed with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle, WA.  During that time, she participated in Rotary International’s Group Study Exchange to Saitama, Japan where she studied the role of philanthropy and Japanese civil society.  Active in a number of community organizations, she was Vice President of the Young Professionals International Network with the World Affairs Council and a grant writer for the Saul & Dayee G. Haas Foundation in Seattle.  She has also worked with the Next Century Foundation in London, Phoenix Sister Cities Commission, and with the Himeji City Board of Education in Japan. 

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
Desa Philadelphia is a Master of Public Diplomacy student at USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and School of International Relations. She has worked as a journalist for more than a decade, in staff positions at The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and Time Magazine, and as a contributor to CNN. She has also provided analysis on politics and entertainment for regional and national television and radio programs, on networks that include NPR, PBS and MSNBC. Desa’s study is focused on filmed entertainment as Cultural Diplomacy.

Mark Dillen heads Dillen Communications LLC, an international public affairs consultancy based in San Francisco and Croatia. A former Senior Foreign Service Officer with the US State Department, Mark managed political, media and cultural relations for US embassies in Rome, Berlin, Moscow, Sofia and Belgrade, then moved to the private sector. He has degrees from Columbia and Michigan and was a Diplomat-in-Residence at the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies at Johns Hopkins. Mark has also worked for USAID as a media and political advisor and twice served as election observer and organizer for OSCE in Eastern Europe.

Melinda Brouwer holds a Masters degree in Global Politics from the London School of Economics and Political Science. She received her bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Spanish at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has worked on Capitol Hill, at the State Department, for Foreign Policy magazine and the American Academy of Diplomacy. She presently works for an internationally focused non-profit research organization in Washington, DC.

Anoush Rima Tatevossian is a Master of Public Diplomacy student at USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and School of International Relations. She has field experience working with various non-profit organizations in Armenia, and most recently served as the Executive Director of the Armenian Volunteer Corps - an NGO based in Yerevan. Her interests within the realm of Public Diplomacy include nation-branding, and the benefits of new media and ICTs for global civil society.

RUSSIA
Vadim Nikitin was born in Murmansk, Russia and grew up there and in Britain. He is a recent graduate of Harvard University where he studied Government and wrote his thesis on American democracy promotion in Russia. Vadim currently lives in Washington DC and works at the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism.

SOUTH AFRICA
Derek Catsam is an assistant professor of history at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. Derek writes about race and politics in the United States and Africa, sports, and terrorism. He is currently working on books on bus boycotts in the United States and South Africa in the 1940s and 1950s, the Freedom Rides, and South African resistance politics in the 1980s. He has lived, worked, and travelled extensively throughout southern Africa. He is also a lifelong sports fan, with the Boston Red Sox as his first true love. He was one of about three dozen people to write books about the 2004 World Champion Red Sox, and the result is Bleeding Red: A Red Sox Fan’s Diary of the 2004 Season. He writes about politics, sports, travel, pop culture, and just about anything else that comes to mind at his blog, dcat.

WAR CRIMES
Daniel Graeber is a writer for United Press International, a mainstay in the press world and one of the three biggest news agencies, along with the Associated Press and Reuters. In 2005, he circulated a White Paper to government officials and academics regarding U.S. policy towards HAMAS. In 2006, he served as an adjunct Professor of Ethics at Grand Valley State University. He has published works on international and constitutional law pertaining to US terrorism cases and on child soldiers. His first major work, entitled The United States and Israel: The Implications of Alignment, is featured in the text, Strategic Interests in the Middle East: Opposition or Support for US Foreign Policy. He holds a MA in Diplomacy and International Conflict Management from Norwich University, where his focus was international relations theory, international law, and the role of non-state actors.

Arthur Traldi is an attorney in Pennsylvania. Before the Pennsylvania courts, Arthur worked for the Bosnian State Court’s Chamber for War Crimes and Organized Crime. His law degree is from Georgetown University, and his undergraduate from the College of William and Mary.

U.S. ROLE IN THE WORLD
Joel Davis is the web editor for the International Studies Association in Tucson, Arizona. He is a graduate of the University of Arizona, where he received his B.A. in Political Science and Master’s degree in International Relations.