Southeast Asia, IDEV, STRAT and Korean Studies top student approval charts

For some, the concentration choice is nearly innate.  An undergrad toiling over Swahili, 2 years of Peace Corps in Kenya, a passion for microfinance and a life size blow up doll of Amartya Sen in your bedroom meant you had IDEV tattooed on your inner thigh the day you got your acceptance letter.  Watching the years fall away as you increased your understanding of derivative markets and securities, perfected your pronunciation of ‘May our partnership bear us years of prosperity’ in Mandarin and that funny warm feeling you get deep inside your suit when the boss starts talking about a successful ‘stimulus package,’ – you knew you were a dead ringer for a Finance Specialization and China Studies.

For others it couldn’t be done more haphazardly. ‘See Mom and Dad, I told you I could do something with my life, I got into SAIS!’  ‘Well dear, what are you studying?’ ‘Uhhh…’ A cursory glance of available options, a check on the box next to IR General, and away we go.

And yet for a chosen few selecting a concentration is a mind boggling burden.  ERE or Eurasian Studies?  Your passion for hydro-power and the carbon trading system cannot be contained, but those 3 years in Estonia taking moonlit walks in the icy Baltic air were the best of your life.

Does it all make a difference, anyway? How much does selecting a concentration really alter our brief 2 year visit to the hallowed halls of SAIS?

Last semester 150 students answered a 20 question survey regarding their concentrations’ coursework, faculty, sense of community, and marketability.  Responses were overwhelmingly positive, but did vary from one concentration to the next.  Quantitative data was briefly discussed in a previous article and is presented in detail above.  All program coordinators were contacted however several faculty and staff were unavailable for interview or did not respond to Observer requests.  Those concentrations who had either 10 people or 20 percent of their group respond are included.

Respondents:

Overall Rankings based on Positive Responses (Note Several Concentrations had less than 5 people or 10% of their students respond and were not considered here).  Concentration Codes: SEA: Southeast Asia. CM: Conflict Management. ILAW: International Law.  IP/ERE: International Policy (now Energy Resources and Environment).  STRAT: Strategic Studies.  IDEV:  International Development.  KOR: Korean Studies.  SA: South Asian Studies. ME: Middle Easter Studies. RES: Russian and Eurasian Studies. IRGTH: International Relations, Global Theory and History.

Total Responses:

Responses based on Courses

Responses based on Faculty

Responses based on Community

The results hinted that available and helpful faculty combined with a strong sense of community mattered most in students’ overall impression of their concentration.  Coursework may not have played as large a role in determining how much respondents liked their area of study, but was often listed as a weakness.  Departments who boasted more long term and non-adjunct faculty also rated highly in questions pertaining to sense of community.  According to Shelley Su, Program Coordinator for Southeast Asia Studies, “I really enjoy the job, though I am jealous of the students here; I love the faculty.  Students will come into the office to chat, study or just relax on the couch; the professors’ doors are always open.”  Some concentrations also emphasized events offered which strengthened student-student and student-professor relations.  “We host consistent events every 1 or 2 weeks; public seminars, ambassador forums, and lunches that allow students face time with guest lecturers.  I, myself, am interested in the topics and am having a ball with this job,” stated Rahul Madhavan, Program Coordinator for South Asia Studies.  Director of the International Development program, Professor Francis Fukuyama, stressed that what set IDEV apart was the preparation provided for students to become well-rounded development practitioners with hard analytical skills and a deep understanding of the issues.  The distinguished professor did concede that fun played a role as well, mentioning IDEV barbeques, camping trips and losing paintball matches to Strategic Studies.

Coursework and a somewhat distant faculty were often cited as issues by students concentrating in subjects that did not fare as well.  “One challenging aspect of the program is the high number of adjunct faculty.  The concentration has brought a variety of different experienced adjuncts in to the program, but as their primary attention is not at SAIS, students have to work harder to make a connection,” responded one  ERE concentrator.  “(Conflict Management) seems to focus more on domestic conflicts even though this is an international relations school.  They offer Peace Kidz which is working in local middle/high schools- I’m sure it’s a great experience but it’s not international relations.  A mediation class I took last year was very interesting and taught by a knowledgeable professor, but it used land disputes between local farmers and child custody cases as references.  We should be discussing ongoing, live international disputes,” stated one 2^nd year student in Conflict Management.

Despite the variation, nearly all departments had a majority of favorable responses. It appears those who ranked near the top had friendly faculty and staff that ensured students felt welcomed and wanted.  So if still in pursuit of your academic bliss, shop around and pay attention to both the welcome you’re given and the folks you’ll be studying with.  Apparently, even hardcore workaholic IR grad students like to feel a little love.

Robert McDonald is a second year M.A. candidate in Southeast Asia Studies and is happy to provide the data for this study.  Have a question, a bone to pick or a different viewpoint? Please contact the Observer at observer@jhu.edu.

By Jessica Lamberston

Switching from a full time career to a full time job as a student (as many SAISers do) can’t always be easy. Although studying new topics and class time full of discussions may be a great break from the drone of every day life, there is a certain strain on the pocketbook during the life of graduate study. Luckily, SAIS is full of opportunities to make money; you just need to know where to look.  Many student leadership positions, research gigs, and of course teaching assistant positions will get you a chuck of extra cash – something always helpful around this time of year.

The most obvious positions at SAIS are the hired student employee jobs.  Positions such as assistants in the library, desk help in the Language Lab, and even manning the phones for JHU Advanced Academic Programs are almost always options.  These types of positions generally pay around $10.50 an hour and are some of the most relaxed working atmospheres on campus.  In many, you can actually do your homework while you’re at work – as long as you jump to help anyone who may stop by.  Often, these positions are listed on the SAIS forums, but the Business Office and individual departments may have information about these types of positions as well.

If you’re looking for a more fulfilling (or pocketfilling) line of work, check out teaching assistant opportunities. Before the start of each semester, the Career Center will often send out an email with available TA spots. Many students find these jobs exciting and a good review for orals. One TA who spoke with the Observer says, TAing is “a great way to really get in depth and master the materials, as there’s no better way to retain information learned than by teaching it to someone else. It also feels good to help others who are struggling with the material (which I hope I’ve done!).” Of course, that warm fuzzy feeling isn’t the only benefit to being a TA: as one of the highest paid positions at the university ($18 an hour this semester), it can add some nice padding to your budget. One thing to know before you sign on to be a TA, is that the workload can be the most rigorous.  You are expected to run office hours, have a tutorial session each week, attend class, grade assignments and exams, prepare material when necessary, and proctor exams.  Although the hours are many, you are compensated for all of your time (even if it’s spent copying and stapling). You can also talk to Lois Weiss in the International Economics program for more about TAing or about the workload and expectations of a graduate level TA.

Another route are research assistant jobs.  These can sometimes be more difficult and competitive to find.  But, if you land one, these can be the ultimate in part time jobs.  As a research assistant, you often work closely with a professor as he or she prepares materials for books, journals, or other publications. As a research assistant myself last year, I formed a close relationship with a professor in my department, got a few mentions in journals articles that I researched for, and was even able to write materials that ended up in international publications.  It was a great way to conduct research in my own field, and of course the pay was quite nice.  Research assistant jobs are usually very flexible, and the work can be done on your own time.  If you work better late at night while watching trashy reality TV, no one has to know.  The pay for these positions varies by department and position, but I was paid the going rate at SAIS (around $10.50 per hour). Some departments need extra help in other capacities as well.  Running the concentration’s blog, helping organize events in the department, and doing generalized small tasks can be an easy way to stay in touch with your fellow concentrators and make a few dollars in the process. The best way to find out about research and departmental positions are to ask – talk to your department’s coordinator or speak with a professor you’d especially like to work with.

Student groups are also a great way to get involved and get paid for what you do.  As a member of SGA, you are compensated with an annual stipend in the range of $2000.  Being an SGA member can be a lot of work. You’ll have to be present on campus, but if this is something you’re passionate about it’s easy to do.  Student groups also often compensate their leadership. Our own editors of the SAIS Observer are given a stipend of $1500 per year.  Andre Castillo, a Co-Editor-In-Chief of the paper, definitely recommends this type of work, and tells the Observer “It’s a great opportunity to meet people and actually see the fruits of your labor, unlike those papers we’re always writing that collect dust in our filing cabinets!  I’ve really enjoyed my time as an editor.”  Getting into a leadership position like the Observer or another student group does take some work, but Castillo says, “the workload is very manageable. I spend about 10-15 hours each [monthly] issue putting together the layout and conducting meetings, etc.  Other than that we had to put in some time for getting trained, which was only a couple of hours, and occasionally taking care of tasks like updating the website and getting food and materials as needed.”

Other positions exist as well.  Writing and language TAs are hidden, yet well-paid opportunities.  Working in other Johns Hopkins programs on Mass Ave are also viable options.   The key is to walk in, introduce yourself and make then realize they need a student worker, and that you are it!

Jessica Lamberston is a second year M.A. candidate in Latin American Studies.

By Neil Shenai

I’ve been affiliated with Johns Hopkins SAIS since 2006, first as an MA student (Class of 2008) and currently as a first-year Ph.D. candidate.  As a TA for both the International Economics program and a functional studies program, I have a keen understanding about the average SAIS student psyche writ large.  This psyche can be distilled into one simple observation: we, students, really like to complain.

Over the period of a week, I tried to do a non-scientific study about the tendency of SAIS students to complain.  Here’s a sample of what I heard second-hand in public settings at SAIS:

• “Why do professors assign so much reading?  Between four classes, a language, my clubs, and career services, I don’t have time to do it all!”
• “The printers in the computer lab never work.  And I am already out of free pages!”
• “Professor X teaches too slowly.”
• “SAIS’ health insurance doesn’t cover my acne cream!”
• Etc.

It could be that I simply surround myself with pessimistic people.  I’m not above sampling bias, after all.  To prove this for yourself before you go on, perform the following thought experiment: when was the last time you said something resoundingly positive about SAIS?  When was the last time you heard one of your fellow students do the same?  Now, think about the times you heard somebody gripe about some aspect – any aspect – of this school.  Count them in your head.  Which category has more?  I would bet the latter. 

This complaining epidemic plagues our student body.  And it has to stop.

Nearly all of us elected to come to SAIS.  There’s no law of nature that says that we need to be enrolled in a terminal Master’s program in International Relations.  We chose to be here.  Period.  SAIS is routinely ranked among the top IR schools in the world.  In coming here, did you expect to earn this degree easily?

Among us, we are supposed to have the next Wolf Blitzers, Timothy Geithners, Madeline Albrights, Francis Fukuyamas, and yes, dare I say, even Paul Wolfowitzes.  For most of us at SAIS, we have to learn a new foreign language, get the equivalent of a rigorous undergraduate degree in economics, read reams of theoretical political science academic writing, form a regional or functional expertise, and manage a social schedule of clubs, careers, friends, and family. 

Think about your average day at SAIS.  You probably interact with top scholars in their field.  Your peers will soon be leading members of the foreign policy community directing the behavior of the most powerful country in the world.  You might even attend brown bag lunches with elite government officials.  All SAIS asks in return for providing this special environment to you is that you work hard.

Yes, hard work sometimes sucks.  And it’s fun to complain about how much work we have.  I should know; I am a reformed complainer.  As a Master’s student, I would routinely complain about how much work I had – how unreasonable the myriad deadlines I faced were, and how much I hated the stacks of reading I had to complete.  But then I left the SAIS bubble and entered the real world.  Coming back to SAIS this time around, I have a unique perspective of the benefits and costs of attending an institution like this.  Given my experience, I have a newfound appreciation for how special SAIS really is.

Here are seven things to keep in mind, then, to help you fight against your natural tendency to complain:

1. Realize that top people in their field rarely complain about the hard work associated with it.  They don’t have time to do so – they’re too busy succeeding.
2. Understand that there’s a certain pedagogical approach of the school that its founding members envisioned.  This approach is meant to stress you out, to give you more work than you can reasonably accomplish, and to push you in different directions.  This cauldron of stress will help you push your boundaries, and this is a good thing. 
3. Being optimistic is the harder choice.  I’m not saying you should walk around school with a faux smile, raving about how excited you are to sink your teeth into the latest edition of Keynes’ General Theory.  But you should realize that being happy to be at SAIS is a choice.  The easier choice is pessimism, but the more rewarding one is optimism. 
4. Complaining scales exponentially.  As a corollary, complainers tend to move in herds.  If you have friends who moan about their SAIS experience, you are more likely to do so yourself. 
5. This will likely be the last time in your life when your only job is to learn.  Learning is a lot more fun than doing.  As tough as SAIS is, it is far more sympathetic to your personal development than the real world.
6. Do something about it – top students work in study groups, divide up readings, find new ways to practice their languages, and work the system in such a way to get the best results with an efficient approach.  If you notice a grave injustice, mention it to the readily accessible deans and the SGA.  If you don’t try to do something constructive to fix your own problems, you don’t have the right to complain about them. 
7. You being here means that somebody else isn’t.  Many prospective applicants to SAIS would salivate at the opportunity to be a student here.   Respect that. 

In short, being a student at SAIS is a privilege.  Yes, the school has some sub-par aspects.  I wish we had a proper campus.  I wish Nitze had wood paneled classrooms with mahogany conference tables.  And I sure wish that all printing could be free.  But by and large, things at SAIS are good.  We learn from veritable geniuses in their fields.  Our peers are some of the smartest in the world.  And the SAIS name will be a badge of honor we will wear for the rest of our careers.  It’s time we stop complaining and start appreciating the beautiful hand we’ve been dealt.  Life could be a lot worse. 

Neil K. Shenai is a Ph.D. candidate studying the political economy of financial crises. 

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper successfully passed his federal budget on February 4th with the support of the opposition Liberal Party, marking a return to the uneasy status quo in Canadian politics. The fate of the Conservative minority government has been in doubt since the three opposition parties attempted to form an unprecedented coalition to topple Mr. Harper two months after a general election.

Canada’s staid political culture was shaken loose by the proposed coalition as supporters of both sides staged public demonstrations. The Liberal Party would have been the senior partner in a government with the left-wing New Democratic Party, and supported in the legislature by the separatist Bloc Quebecois from Quebec.

Prime Minister Harper took to the airwaves to denounce the proposed alliance with the Bloc as a betrayal of the country and undemocratic. Conservative support exploded outside Quebec from 37% to 50% and the party set new fundraising records. After a tense 2 hour meeting with the Governor General (the head of state), Mr. Harper secured the prorogation or temporary suspension of Parliament until the end of January to prevent the coalition from voting down the government.

Soon thereafter, the coalition began to show signs of instability. The then-leader of the Liberal Party, Stephane Dion, had just suffered the worst electoral result for the party in decades and had agreed to resign shortly. Opponents of the coalition within the party soon forced Mr. Dion’s ouster, short-circuiting the selection process to install human rights expert and former Harvard professor Michael Ignatieff as leader.

Mr. Ignatieff played coy until the budget was unveiled, extracting a high political price from the Prime Minister for his support. The budget is brimming with stimulus goodies that send the country into deficit for the first time in 12 years.

But what caused this unprecedented and un-Canadian crisis? It stemmed from Mr. Harper’s attempt to eliminate all public subsidies for federal political parties. The opposition parties are heavily dependent on the $1.95 per vote subsidy to fund day-to-day party operations and retire campaign debt. Critics have argued that this clause was intended to bankrupt the opposition parties and cripple their campaign capacity for future elections.

Supporters argue that the policy would particularly punish the Bloc Quebecois, who receive 95% of their total funding from the federal government. Eliminating these supports would weaken the party and create opportunities for federalist parties, Liberal and Conservative alike, to secure electoral victory.

On the whole, the episode has left the Conservative government in a weakened position, although their public support has not diminished. The media has decidedly placed the blame on Mr. Harper. The Prime Minister also faces a formidable foe in Mr. Ignatieff, who is seemingly off to a strong start as leader. The Liberal Party does not appear keen for an election, as they are satisfied to let the government wear the recession. Mr. Harper is eager for a fresh start, beginning with President Obama’s first foreign visit to Canada on February 19th.

SAIS students may be asking: how does this relate to my regional interests? The Canadian calamity speaks to how political parties relate to the state. Eliminating supports for subsidy-dependent parties caused an immediate and drastic reaction. After all, these programs are usually designed to the mutual benefit of all involved. Once these programs are in place, political parties will never relinquish the comfort of cold, hard cash.

Jamie Huckabay is a first year M.A. student in the Canadian Studies program.

Career Service’s New York City Career Trek examined gender issues in an unprecedented way this January. More than 75% of alumni speakers on the trek worked on engaging women in development, tools for empowerment, and gender focused strategies. Meanwhile, the alumni discussed general career advice, family roles, accommodating settings for family issues, and work-life balance.

With gender lacking in the SAIS curriculum and gender mobility issues pertinent for SAIS faculty, the Career Trek refreshingly included organizations that are primarily focused on women’s issues and gender, with the majority of the speakers (11 out of 12) being female and in relatively high positions.

Throughout the trip, students had the opportunity to travel to different high ranking and important organizations – the very places many students will apply to once they complete their SAIS education.

The career advice given by the many individuals who spoke provided insight and support for male and female students alike. Sarina Beges, Senior Coordinator of Synergos’ Arab World Social Innovators, advised students to take at least one IDEV course, saying it was the missing piece she really wished she had from her SAIS education.

In a field so reliant on common interactions, the speakers discussed tools for utilizing already established networks, and how to form new ones. Susannah Leisher, Director of Programs at Trickle Up, discussed using her network to advance her career. While living abroad, Leisher planned a trip to the US with specific back to back meetings set up to aid in her networking, which she made clear was a necessary asset for success in any career. Be it with micro finance, international politics, or human rights relief work, connections provide the basis for interaction.

All but one of the institutions visited stressed the need for 2-3 years of consecutive experience abroad. Programs like UN Volunteers, P2 level UN positions in Peacekeeping missions, Peace Corps and the like were strongly recommended. Leisher encouraged students to “pack up and go” with or without a program. Many students felt frustrated with this advice. Given large student loan payments and the need to support one’s family, the “pack up and go” strategy seemed feasible for few.

Jane Buchanan of Human Rights Watch, Susannah Leisher of Trickle UP, and Kristina Koch-Avan from the UN all spoke about gender roles and work-life balance. Leisher described an arrangement she had made with her husband; she stayed home with her children while her husband was the breadwinner and then after a set number of years they switched roles. It was encouraging to hear this high-ranking woman speak positively about her opportunity to return to the workforce, and her husbands willingness to assume the caretaker role.

Buchanan discussed how her research trips abroad had to be shorter than previously in order to accommodate her family arrangement. She spoke highly of the willingness of Human Rights Watch to allow time for researchers freshly back from the field to attend to family care, and of their ability to accommodate schedules, both in and out of country to facilitate work-life balance.

Some students expressed concern with the trend of large sacrifices being placed upon successful and talented women. First year student Amanda Moderson-Kox recalled that the speakers discussed sacrifices they had to make and she found it disconcerting. In only one instance did it seem that the male spouse was making equal career sacrifices.

The tight balance between home and work that exists for most women in the workforce seems even more stressed for females seeking jobs in the competitive world of development and international organizations.

The Career Trek highlighted the importance of knowledge in gender theory and issues for a successful career in international relations and development. For the majority of alumni presenters, gender issues were a part of daily work. Given the meager coverage of gender issues in the SAIS curriculum, one wonders if SAISers are at a disadvantage.

At the same time, career advice demonstrated the increased burden placed on women through family roles. The young women of SAIS increasingly need an example of the capabilities of women, not the struggles. Although the Career Center’s NYC Trek provided priceless tools for the students who attended, and more fully addressed gender issues than many other areas of SAIS, it is clear that there is still a long way to go for full and fair participation for women, in both the workforce and the world.

Jessica Lamberston is a first year M.A candidate in Latin American Studies. Samantha Watson is an M.A.3 concentrating in International Policy.

By Nikolas Foster

Ahh, the International Policy Practicum. More fodder for the first day of school verbal sparring along the lines of: “What did you do over break? Oh, I went to the moon.” Excellent material for hyperbolic talk in the annual contest to out-travel our fellow students.

So where did we go? This year we went to Tanzania, South Africa, Zanzibar, Mexico, Senegal, China, and Arkansas—ask Jason about his exciting endeavors there. We did not go to Argentina—ask the World Bank about that one. But was it all about the travel?

Actually, the projects were just as fascinating as the locales: Researching bio-fuels, upgrading electricity production and grids, reducing timber overuse, and consulting environmental SMEs.

My team worked for the WWF (not the wrestlers, the World Wildlife Fund for Nature) to examine China’s position as “factory of the world” and to come up with policy recommendations that would reduce China’s demand for resources in “priority areas,” such as the Congo Basin. We came up with a topic after talking to the head of sustainable development of a Chinese computer company. This company is one of WWF’s partners and was interested in using more recycled materials in the production of their computers. We smelled a win-win situation coming along. Could we possibly come up with recommendations good for both business and the environment? Recommendations that increased computer recycling, reduced China’s demand for resources from “priority areas” and lowered production costs for computer companies?

The theory sounded great. But in practice, this proved to be a quite formidable task. We soon discovered that the country already had a highly efficient albeit unofficial recycling infrastructure in place. Given China’s huge supply of cheap labor and relatively low wages, scrap metal scavengers and computer buyers (the first tier of the unofficial recycling system) can make a decent living of about $150 a month and thus prevent the official system from working efficiently.

How so, you might wonder? If, for example, your computer dies on you, you can either take it to an official recycling center and collect 200 RMB (about $30) or cash in up to 1000 RMB (about $150) by selling it to one of the many private collection stores. If you chose the latter (and who wouldn’t) the computer will then be brought to a site like Ba Jia Cun in Beijing, where the functioning parts will be extracted and resold. What doesn’t work will then be transported to one of the disassembly sites in southern China. Places like Guiyu have become infamous for their entire population making a living by manually taking apart the computers, melting away plastics and bathing motherboards in acid baths to extract the precious metals from the computers (for some shocking pictures punch in “Guiyu” at Google images).

Officially, this should not be happening. This procedure is harming the environment and also the health of its workers while the official recycling facilities are running idle. But both the local and the central government know that millions of people make a living from sorting through trash, picking out the valuables, bringing those to collecting points, and then taking the items apart by hand. What alternative form of livelihood could the central or provincial government offer? How could they prohibit this form of recycling without causing civil unrest, one of the biggest fears of the Chinese government?

To complicate things even more, there is a huge foreign component to the problem. Every year, an estimated 20-50 million tons of e-waste are shipped to the developing world. We realized that it could not just be up to China to enforce its laws and ban e-waste from being imported or recycled that way. While China is hesitant to enforce laws that could potentially force millions of people (the scavengers, sorters and acid bathers) out of their jobs, we in the “West” haven’t paid too much attention to what actually happens to that old computer we tossed or gave to the Good Will store last time we moved.

So much for the environmental side. On the economic side, things did not look much better. While our team was still trying to establish the relationship between higher amounts of recycling and lower production costs for manufacturers, the current drop in commodity prices dampened the prospects for companies seriously interested in recycling. And in the long run, China’s efficient unofficial recycling system will fall apart once the scavengers and sorters need more than $150 a month to pay the bills. Would we then just ship our e-waste to Vietnam? Or Somalia?

Our time in China gave me a lot to think about for the plane ride home. After eight hours at 35,000 feet, when even the usually tantalizing distractions of finally watching all those “B” movies with Jennifer Aniston seemed utterly dreary, I began thinking about end life cycles and carbon footprints. I began thinking about the fact that my school (courtesy of the Luce foundation) had just spend a small fortune on me and my teammates in the hopes that we would come up with the suggestions this planet needs.

I realized that this trip, our project, would have to in an abstract way contribute not only to ameliorating my current carbon footprint, but also to addressing resource overuse and coming up with a more sustainable way of living. But how can we address this without changing consumer behavior? Can we go on shipping our stuff to China under the pretext of their comparative advantage in taking computers apart? Should we buy that ultra thin Laptop while our old one still works and we do not know how the new one is produced or the old one discarded?

Looking back at our fantastic time in China and ahead at the task of turning all our data into a presentable research paper, I guess the best thing I got out of the International Policy Practicum is that it unearthed many more questions than I had going in to it. But while the answers are out there, we might not want to hear them.

Nikolas Foster is a second year M.A. Candidate in International Policy.

By Niv Elis

As bombs were falling in nearby Gaza, a group of 20 SAIS students and professors gathered in Cyprus for the 4th Conflict Management field trip. Like previous trips to Haiti and Northern Ireland, the program included high-level meetings with political leaders, academics, civil society groups, and multi-lateral organizations to present views of the conflict from a multitude of angles. Amidst the busy meetings and talk of conflict, the colorful silhouettes of families that adorn the Ledra Street border crossing in Nicosia, the world’s last divided city, did not convey a sense of brutal conflict. Students pondered why a conflict that had not seen widespread violence in nearly 35 years remained frozen and unresolved.

The conflict of Cyprus is unique and interesting to study. Cyprus, created by treaty in 1960, is a divided island with a dichotomy of Greek-identified and Turkish-identified Cypriots. When the military junta ruling Greece attempted to integrate the entirety of the island in 1974, the Turkish military rebuffed on authority of the founding “treaty of guarantee.” In the violence that ensued, the Turkish and Greek Cypriots segregated, establishing the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus (TRNC – recognized only by Turkey), the Greek Cypriot Republic of Cyprus in the South (recognized by everyone but Turkey), and a well-guarded UN buffer zone in between.

EU membership is a major bone of contention. The Republic of Cyprus acceded into the EU after voting overwhelmingly against a UN-sponsored reunification plan in a 2004 referendum, on which the Turkish side voted “Yes” in similarly overwhelming proportions. Because the whole island is technically in the EU, residents of the North, whose unrecognized government is not in compliance with EU regulations and standards have ambiguous EU status.

With an impressive level of access, a testament to both the name recognition of SAIS and the networking abilities of Professors I. William Zartman and Phillip T. Hoppman, SAIS students were able to examine all sides of the conflict. Before even leaving Washington, the group met with ambassadors and representatives from the EU, Greece, the TRNC, and the Republic of Cyprus.

Among the highlights of the trip were meetings with the pro-negotiations President of the unrecognized government of the TRNC, Mehmet Talat. Taking advantage of the rare opportunity to question the President of an unrecognized government, the students were surprised to learn that recognition was a secondary goal to reunification for Turkish Cypriots.

Even Serdar Denktas, the leader of the Democratic Party and son of the intransigent former TRNC President Rauf Denktas, agreed that a “bi-zonal, bi-communal, federal solution” would be acceptable, despite preferences for “taksim,” a two-state solution.

In the Republic of Cyprus, the group met with the mayor of Nicosia, the divided capital city, who described the successful cooperation with Turkish Cypriot elected leaders for practical issues such as sewage. She pointed out that to get around the issue of non-reconition, the Greek Cypriots had to consider their counterparts as private citizens, not as mayors. One participant noted that cooperation seems to be possible among even the worst of enemies if the alternative is “swimming in your own excrement.”

Other meetings included university professors, political party leaders, think tank participants, and one delightful evening of Cypriot wine and food.  On a tour of the U.N. buffer zone, the group saw sections of Nicosia frozen in time since the inception of the buffer zone in 1974, including advertisements, stores, and cars abandoned in the fighting. The UN commanders, some of whom had served in places like Darfur, emphasized the difference in their experiences: in Darfur, violations included murders, shootings, village raids, and rape; in Cyprus, complaints included people painting barrels around the guard posts, and disputes over whether the buffer zone started at building fronts or the edge of the balconies protruding from those buildings. Even recollections of violence were tinged with absurdity; the last act of violence, sometime in the early 1980’s, involved a Turkish Cypriot guard shooting a Greek Cypriot who had run across the buffer zone, stolen the Turkish flag, and bared his bottom in taunting.

Since returning from Cyprus the group has met with former UN Special Envoy to Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto, and a representative from the Turkish Embassy. Using the rich material from meetings, interviews and field observation, the participants returned from Cyprus and continued their work through papers on the various aspects of analysis on the conflict and recommendations for how to move forward. The papers will be edited, compiled into a book, and sent to the various groups with which SAISers met, in hopes that they will take the students’ suggestions to heart.

For students of conflict management, the trip is one of the best opportunities to put the theory of their classes into practice; a quick glance through SAISworks will reveal very few postings for “Conflict Managers,” making the experience unique indeed.

The willingness of the Greek and Turkish Cypriots to come back to the negotiating table has created hope that 2009 will be a year of progress for a conflict that all agree has needlessly persisted too long. Hopefully, the suggestions and ideas put forth by the Conflict Management field trip participants will help push the process along.

Niv Ellis is a second year M.A. candidate in Conflict Management.

Middle East students travel to the Arabian Gulf

We stood at the peak of an especially large sand dune as the chilling wind of the desert evening cut through the fabric of our clothes. A not-so-subtle hint that the sun was setting on what would be our last of fourteen enlightening days and nights in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. Though the perfect setting to reflect on our junket, we had little time to do so, for we were in the presence of royalty and had to uphold the reputation of our venerable school of advanced international studies.

A combination of cutting edge and old world symbolizes these oil states, which manifests itself in unexpected places. That evening we would meet a Sheikh, his royal entourage and his birds engaging a sport of kings thousands of years old: falconing. But, it was falconing with GPS.

Strapped to their tail feathers, tracking devices kept tabs on the sleek, well-trained and expensive birds as they pierced the desert sky on a beeline to catch their tasty pigeon dinner. It was shocking and exciting. Especially after the falcon catches his prey and you recklessly careen at high speeds through the desert in Mitsubishi 4×4s to chase him.

The Emirates part of our trip was mostly designed for us to have fun. We toured the Gulf in a yacht over dinner, went on a safari, visited every seven star hotel in the country and ate camel in the palace of a man we called “Your Excellency”. The wealth that surrounds you there is so incalculable–Caviar Body Treatment at the Burj al-Arab Hotel is 900 Dirham for instance–that after a while we simply stopped trying. It is a country obsessed with the “est”, as in biggest, tallest, largest and best.

Juxtaposing Kuwait with the UAE was unavoidable. “We have a Manhattan coming up next to us that is making us look like a village,” bemoaned one Kuwaiti professor. When asked what they do on weekends, young Kuwaitis said they “…go to Dubai because there is nothing to do here.” Despite this detectable inferiority complex, Kuwaitis take pride in upholding the traditions of free speech and democratic participation unique to their country.

“Dubai is a revolutionary place, but you can’t speak your mind,” explained a CEO of one of Kuwait’s largest investment firms. “That democratic process is missing in so many ways,” said Dr. Shafeeq al-Gabra, a professor at the University of Kuwait. “Many of the parliamentarians who got elected don’t like democracy…religious men elected are confused between their religion and their politics.”

Apart from religious-state issues, another complication to the Kuwaiti system is a law banning political parties. “We have fifty members in Parliament,” explained Jassem el-Khorafi, Kuwait’s speaker of parliament, “and I consider each member to be a political party.”

To many Kuwaitis, these men (there are women in the cabinet, but none are elected officials) paralyze the legislative decision-making process. “There is no business in Kuwait because they [the parliament] delay everything,” said Waleed al-Nisf, editor in chief of one of Kuwait’s top news publications.

“They talk too much about politics and not enough about improving Kuwait. Everyone in the Gulf does not want a parliament because of what happens in Kuwait.” Said Al-Nisf in one of our last meetings in Kuwait, aptly encapsulating what we saw as a frustrating stasis gripping the country.

Though their differences are stark, in the end, preserving the local culture and citizenship has become the greatest struggle for both Kuwaitis and Emiratis. “Like the war on terror here, it is a matter of national security for them,” as one US Foreign Service officer described.

The first men and women born into the independent oil state have fully internalized this worldview. As recent university graduates, this generation sees citizenship as entitlement, “You may come and work here,” one of our more enigmatic hosts explained, “and you may stay for even thirty years, but ultimately you are a guest in our country. This land is not yours, it’s ours.”

As night fell on our “dune bashing” excursion, we were invited to sit by the fire of a desert camp. When a safe amount of time passed after dinner, there was dancing and our hosts invited us on stage to teach us some traditional dance moves. Once they felt satisfied that we understood its basic concept, we were left onstage. The dancing went on throughout the night, to the tune of a timeless, seemingly unending, local beat. But after a while we found we were dancing alone.

In retrospect that night, fun as it was, illuminated a cold, sobering truth about the Emirates: for all its Sorbonnes and Free Trade Zones, it is not a place any of us could call home. We were treated like royalty and encouraged to return, but only as guests, kept at bay by a sense of belonging jealously guarded.

Nate Rosenblatt is a second year M.A. candidate in Middle Studies.