Women and International Relations

 Posted by Associate Professor Kelly Kadera

Have You Heard?

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified before Congress about the Benghazi attacks. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta lifted the military ban on women serving in combat. Refugees fleeing from violence in Syria are mostly women and children. What roles do women play in global politics? Some of my favorite discussions of this question are really accessible and fascinating:

Joshua Goldstein’s 2001 book, War & Gender: How Gender Shapes the War System and Vice Versa. Goldstein asks why, across so many different countries and so much time, warfighting has almost always been exclusively done by men. He examines all sorts of evidence about gender differences as they relate to war-fighting: biological, physical, historical, and cultural. Now in paperback: http://www.amazon.com/War-Gender-Shapes-System-Versa/dp/0521001803

 

Carol Cohn’s classic participant-observer analysis of the US defense analyst culture. Cohn’s 1987 paper, “Sex and Death in the Rational World of Defense Intellectuals” (Signs 12(4): 687-718) is filled with jaw-dropping passages. Cohn describes her experience at a summer workshop on nuclear defense, and highlights the highly sexualized language defense analysts typically use. Cohn provocatively titles one section of her feminist interpretation “White Men in Ties Discussing Missile Size.” http://www.ic.ucsc.edu/~rlipsch/pol179/Cohn.pdf

 

PBS’s 5-part series on Women, War, and Peace. It offers perspectives from around the world and examines a variety of topics such as women in combat, rape, war crimes, and post-war peacebuilding. The first part in the series, War Redefined, is a great overview. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/women-war-and-peace/

Summer Research Opportunity

If you are interested in pursuing an academic career in International Relations, this is a great summer experience.

This is from Professor Greig at the University of North Texas:

The National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates in Civil Conflict Management and Peace Science at the University of North Texas is currently accepting applications for its Summer 2013 program. The program seeks to provide research experiences for undergraduate students from all majors with an introduction to research in the broad area of civil conflict management and peace science. Students participating in the program develop their own research project while being mentored by University of North Texas faculty members. The program is open to sophomore, junior, and senior undergraduates from all majors and students are selected for the program on a competitive basis. Students admitted to the program receive a $4000 stipend, room and board, and travel expenses. Additional information on the program is attached to this message and can be found at http://untconflictmgmtreu.wordpress.com. For additional information, please contact Professor Greig (greig@unt.edu) or Professor Ishiyama (john.ishiyama@unt.edu).

America's Greatest Foreign Policy Challenge?

Posted by Visiting Associate Professor and Ambassador Ron McMullen

Nuclear-armed Iran?  Aggressively nationalistic China?  A resurgent al-Qaida?  A malevolent Russia? A stagnating European Union?  These would all be plausibly good guesses, but Secretary of State-Designate John Kerry last week said “the greatest challenge to America’s foreign policy … is whether America at last puts is own fiscal house in order.”  In his January 24 confirmation statement, he went on to say, “More than ever, foreign policy is economic policy,” adding (rather ineloquently) “it is hard to tell the leadership of any number of countries they must get their economic issues resolved if we don't resolve our own.”

This echoes concerns raised by former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen, who said in September, 2011, “I believe the single biggest threat to our national security is our debt.”

The White House and Congress backed us away from the fiscal cliff on January 2, but didn’t reach a compromise on fundamental differences about the role and scope of government.  Potential battles loom.  The deep budget cuts mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2011 (aka sequestration, which is Latin for liposuction with a hammer) are scheduled to commence March 1.  The government faces a potential shutdown March 27 when the current Continuing Resolution expires.  It seems likely that if Congress doesn’t pass a formal budget resolution by April 15, members of Congress will have their pay suspended.  (Good--but they should forfeit their pay.) The next debt ceiling confrontation is apt to take place May 19.   This is going to be ugly.  Greatest challenge?  Biggest threat? 

America’s current public debt is about $11 trillion (various parts of the government owe each other another $5 trillion).  China and Japan each hold about $1 trillion of our debt.  Last year Uncle Sam spent about $3.5 trillion and took in about $2.5 trillion.  In addition to last year’s outlays on Social Security ($773 billion) and Medicare ($478 billion), the Defense Department spent $553 billion.  Interest on the national debt totaled $359,796,008,919.00.  By contrast, the State Department’s budget last year was only $51 billion, which included USAID and most U.S. foreign assistance programs.   Thus, interest payments on the national debt cost SEVEN TIMES more than our diplomatic and development engagement with the world.  And it will only get worse as our debt grows by a trillion dollars a year.

If sequestration happens and the State Department is cut by 9%, what embassies should be closed?  Which physical security upgrades should be postponed?  How many Foreign Service Officers should be RIFTed? (The Defense Department already has more lawyers than the State Department has diplomats.) 

Last week a group of young Libyan journalists visited Iowa City as part of the State Department’s International Visitors Program, hosted locally by CIVIC.  Would programs like this be cut before embassies are closed?  Yes.  A mindless slashing of America’s diplomatic engagement with the world would reduce our ability to assert hard power (derived from coercion or payment) as well as our soft power (derived from attraction).  Let’s hope that the Libyan journalists here last week won’t be the last group of influential International Visitors who have the opportunity to travel to America’s heartland, exchange views with Iowans on important matters, and go home with a better understanding of and feeling toward the United States.

Are democracies too self-indulgent to rein in spending and pay off debt?  If you were a reform-minded policy maker in China, Russia, Burma, or some other authoritarian state, what would you make of the United States and European Union’s inability (or unwillingness?) to get their fiscal houses in order?

Study International Relations in the City of Light!

Posted by Associate Professor Kelly Kadera

Introduction to International Relations (30:060 or POLI 1500) will be offered as part of the Iowa International Summer Institute from May 20 to June 14 in Paris, France.

Intro to IR counts toward:

· The International Relations major

· The Political Science major

· The International Business Certificate

· General Education credit in Social Sciences or International and Global Issues.

You can find out more information at:

http://intrelatuiowa.blogspot.com/2012/11/study-international-relations-in-city.html

If you are interested, please go to

http://study-abroad.uiowa.edu/programs/details/index.php?crse=925

Applications are due February 6 and space is limited.

Summer 2013 Internship Program

Posted by Professor Lai

This was emailed to me by the Fund for American Studies. Just an FYI if you are interested and looking for an opportunity in DC this summer. The Political Science Department is not affiliated with this organization. There are two listings. One for the Institute on Comparative Political and Economic Systems and one for Institute on Economics and International Affairs

Institute on Comparative Political and Economic Systems
Washington, DC – June 5 – August 3, 2013
www.DCinternships.org/ICPES

*Guaranteed Internships - Courses for Credit - Housing in DC
*Priority Deadline: February 7, 2013
*Scholarship Funding Available

Spend a summer interning in the nation’s capital and gain that competitive edge. Taking advantage of a Washington, DC internship is a valuable investment in your future that will set you apart after college. The comprehensive programs sponsored by The Fund for American Studies include a guaranteed internship placement, courses for transferable credit from George Mason University, and furnished housing conveniently located in downtown Washington. Students also benefit from networking events, exclusive briefings, and guest speakers.

THE INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE
We’ve been creating academic internship experiences for over 40 years and guarantee all participants an internship placement. Your options are endless – we work with many different federal agencies, policy groups, think tanks, public affairs firms, government relations offices, and nonprofit organizations.

Working in this powerful city will allow you to make professional connections and practice networking skills in a real-world setting. Washington, DC is the perfect place to explore a variety of career paths, and we work with each student’s unique goals and aspirations to match you with the most fitting internship site.

“During my internship I served as a research analyst with Social Compact, an organization that uses cutting-edge methodology and economic indicators to provide detailed analyses of the role of investment in community development. With Social Compact, I was able to collaborate closely with research staff, delve deeper into my interests, and confirm my passion for economics.”

Mercy Ndambuki, Princeton University
Intern, Social Compact

APPLY TODAY
Students will be accepted on a rolling basis until the final deadline of March 7, 2013. Applicants are encouraged to apply for the priority deadline of February 7, 2013 in order to receive preference in admissions and scholarship consideration, as well as internship placement.

For more information and to be begin an online application, please visit www.DCinternships.org/ICPES . Questions may be directed to Jennifer Fantin at admissions@tfas.org or 202.986.0384.

Fund For American Studies
1621 New Hampshire Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20009

Institute on Economics and International Affairs
Washington, DC – June 5 – August 3, 2013
www.DCinternships.org/IEIA

*Guaranteed Internships - Courses for Credit - Housing in DC
*Priority Deadline: February 7, 2013
*Scholarship Funding Available

Spend a summer interning in the nation’s capital and gain that competitive edge. Taking advantage of a Washington, DC internship is a valuable investment in your future that will set you apart after college. The comprehensive programs sponsored by The Fund for American Studies include a guaranteed internship placement in international affairs, courses for transferable credit from George Mason University, and furnished housing conveniently located in downtown Washington. Students also benefit from networking events, exclusive briefings, and guest speakers.

THE INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE
We’ve been creating academic internship experiences for over 40 years and guarantee all participants an internship placement. Your options are endless – we work with many different federal agencies, international affairs organizations, embassies, and international NGO’s.

Working in this powerful city will allow you to make professional connections in foreign affairs and practice networking skills in a real-world setting. Washington, DC is the perfect place to explore a variety of career paths, and we work with each student’s unique goals and aspirations to match you with the most fitting internship site.

“My internship at the Institute of World Politics has been the most rewarding part of my DC experience. IWP gave me the chance to completely immerse myself in the foreign policy world, and I learned more than I ever thought possible.”

Ramy Kalioby, University of North Carolina
Intern, Institute of World Politics

APPLY TODAY
Students will be accepted on a rolling basis until the final deadline of March 7, 2013. Applicants are encouraged to apply for the priority deadline of February 7, 2013 in order to receive preference in admissions and scholarship consideration, as well as internship placement.

For more information and to be begin an online application, please visit www.DCinternships.org/IEIA . Questions may be directed to Jennifer Fantin at admissions@tfas.org or 202.986.0384.

Fund For American Studies
1621 New Hampshire Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20009