During the first year of the program in the Eastern Mediterranean, five years ago, the issues of security and democracy and leadership and global governance were defined by the unfolding financial crisis as it was engulfing the regional states of the EU and the Arab Spring that was already turning into an "Arab Winter." In 2016 as we are a week before the start of the program the changes in the Arab world have unleashed forces that were not calculated in 2010 and many of the states in the MENA area are no longer viable entities, the Eurozone crisis has evolved into period of ongoing Eurozone transition. In this changing environment the questions of domestic and international governance are more pertinent than ever, but the challenges have multiplied as the global imperatives of communication, technology, markets and resources continuously make the world a smaller space. Food Insecurity, Resource Access, State Failure, Non-State Actor Proliferation, Environmental Degradation are causing greater insecurity, democratic deficits, massive migrations and shifting power politics.
For the next five weeks we will read, hear, discuss, feel and examine all of these themes, in and outside of the classroom, but first we will need to create a base for discussion and familiarize ourselves with the current discussions. To this end I will use this blog in the time leading up to the opening of the program as place of discussion and familiarization on the issues that might not appear to be directly related to the focus of the program, yet they are integral to understanding the complexity and interconnectivity of these issues and democracy, governance, energy, security and geopolitics in the Eastern Mediterranean. Today I would like to post/reference three readings that can serve as a start in what I hope becomes a very intense discussion.
In 1992 Benjamin Barber published in The Atlantic, "Jihad versus McWorld" identifying the debate between globalism and tribalism that was about to gain in intensity following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the bipolar competition of the previous four decades. Even though it's an article written 25 years ago the main arguments are still true today.
In 2012, Robert Kaplan, someone that we are going to revisit in the next five weeks in this program, wrote Revenge of Geography, emphasizing the importance of geography in a changing international setting. In an NPR interview, Kaplan outlined the main points of his thesis as to the significance of geopolitics and geography in understanding upcoming conflicts and challenges. Although we are going to read segments of the book listening to Kaplan might prove valuable.
The last item that I'm going to bring forth today is the role of non-state actors and allocation of resources, which is a very complex issue that relates to the changing definitions of governance. Some of the dimensions range from state-inability and failure, democratic deficit, authoritarian leadership, the emergence of technology as a significant element, to the rise of the multinational corporation, NGO, terrorist group as a player in the international arena. In today's World Street Journal, there was an article that caught my eye, which might not at face value appear to be relevant, yet it relates to all of the issues raised above. The attempted take over of Monsanto by Bayer and the global competition for fertilizers and seeds by limited to an oligopoly of three players. Feel free to read or read and comment and I will make sure to update and provide additional information throughout the week.
For the next five weeks we will read, hear, discuss, feel and examine all of these themes, in and outside of the classroom, but first we will need to create a base for discussion and familiarize ourselves with the current discussions. To this end I will use this blog in the time leading up to the opening of the program as place of discussion and familiarization on the issues that might not appear to be directly related to the focus of the program, yet they are integral to understanding the complexity and interconnectivity of these issues and democracy, governance, energy, security and geopolitics in the Eastern Mediterranean. Today I would like to post/reference three readings that can serve as a start in what I hope becomes a very intense discussion.
In 1992 Benjamin Barber published in The Atlantic, "Jihad versus McWorld" identifying the debate between globalism and tribalism that was about to gain in intensity following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the bipolar competition of the previous four decades. Even though it's an article written 25 years ago the main arguments are still true today.
In 2012, Robert Kaplan, someone that we are going to revisit in the next five weeks in this program, wrote Revenge of Geography, emphasizing the importance of geography in a changing international setting. In an NPR interview, Kaplan outlined the main points of his thesis as to the significance of geopolitics and geography in understanding upcoming conflicts and challenges. Although we are going to read segments of the book listening to Kaplan might prove valuable.
The last item that I'm going to bring forth today is the role of non-state actors and allocation of resources, which is a very complex issue that relates to the changing definitions of governance. Some of the dimensions range from state-inability and failure, democratic deficit, authoritarian leadership, the emergence of technology as a significant element, to the rise of the multinational corporation, NGO, terrorist group as a player in the international arena. In today's World Street Journal, there was an article that caught my eye, which might not at face value appear to be relevant, yet it relates to all of the issues raised above. The attempted take over of Monsanto by Bayer and the global competition for fertilizers and seeds by limited to an oligopoly of three players. Feel free to read or read and comment and I will make sure to update and provide additional information throughout the week.
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