The American University in Cairo’s School of Global Affairs and Public policy is coming out with an impressive – and timely – new journal, The Cairo Review of Global Affairs. Here is what they say about the journal’s mission and focus: Its primary aim is to be a focal point for policymakers, officials, academics, experts, […]
France houses over 65 million people – 5 million of whom are reported to be Muslim. Of these 5 million, only 2,000 wear a full face veil. In a country of 65 million, legislation that is targeted at 2,000; is this behavior not reminiscent of school-yard-bullying? Islam is the second largest religion in the country […]
There is a fine line between freedom of expression and obnoxious behavior; which may very well be crossed in the coming weeks in Congress.That said, as a Muslim and as an American – I support the debate. As upset as we were to witness residents of Orange County yelling obnoxious slurs at Muslims gathering for […]
“You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place or worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed that has nothing to do with the business of the State.” – Muhammad Ali […]
Among all the articles about the Middle East over the past two weeks, these three jumped out at me as being highly relevant for U.S. global engagement strategy. 1. Amid Arab protests, U.S. influence has waned by Liz Sly in the Washington Post. The old ways won’t work anymore and if the U.S. seeks to […]
NOTE: This post was co-authored by guest blogger, Robert R. Gosende. Mr. Gosende is a retired Foreign Service Officer who now serves as the John W. Ryan Fellow in International Education at the University at Albany. He was President Clinton’s Special Envoy for Somalia in 1992. —————————————————————————————————————————————— In case you weren’t paying attention before, the […]
Yesterday the Associated Press ran an interesting article on President Obama’s plans to increase engagement with Africa in 2011. President Barack Obama is quietly but strategically stepping up his outreach to Africa, using this year to increase his engagement with a continent that is personally meaningful to him and important to U.S. interests. Expectations in […]
Last night 60 Minutes (a TV news program in the U.S.) had an excellent two-part presentation on Wynton Marsalis and his Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) Orchestra. The followed the band’s trips to London and Havana, where they engaged in cultural diplomacy of the highest order. What made the JALC trip to Havana so interesting […]
Here are a few items worth reviewing from 2010 and some things to keep an eye on in 2011. Notable Events in 2010: Release of the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR): This is the long-awaited (14 months) road map for reform of the State Department and USAID – what they do, how they do […]
Vladimir Sambaiew, President of the Stanley Foundation, recently had an op-ed in the Des Moines Register that very neatly sums up the argument on how multilateralism can work to address (if not always solve) global problems. Sambaiew’s focus is on the G-20 and “responsible stakeholdership.” Two phrases help explain today’s leadership context: the “G-20” and […]
Below are links to three articles that relate to previous postings here at Global Engagement: 1. My previous post on U.S. students seeking to study full-time in the U.K. has been followed up with an article in the Washington Post, “U.S. students crossing pond for college.” The population of U.S. undergraduates at United Kingdom schools […]
The Wall Street Journal recently ran an article on a small but growing number of U.S. students applying to British universities – not as study abroad but as their home institution. The article is here. U.S. high school and transfer students are looking at colleges outside the country as the price of an American college […]
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars has announced a new project focused on strengthening U.S. global engagement and strategic communications (called “Strengthening America’s Global Engagement – SAGE). Here is what they say about the project: In July 2010, the MacArthur Foundation joined with the Wilson Center to host a dinner that included key Obama […]
Last week I attended the latest installment of the Global Challenges Forum, held in Geneva and co-chaired by the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) and the Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization. Here is what NPS says about this effort: The Global Challenges Forum will bring together representatives from governmental and non-governmental partners to explore joint policy research […]
This year the University at Albany’s (SUNY) Department of Educational Administration and Policy Studies created a new organization focused on global higher education. The Cross-Border Education Research Team (C-BERT) is co-directed by faculty members Jason Lane and Kevin Kinser. Here is what they say about their mission and focus: Over the past two decades, there […]