A Message from the Dean
Dean Louis W. Goodman
As the School of International Service celebrates its first 50 years, the pace of global change continues to accelerate. This is no surprise. When SIS was founded, the United States dominated the world's economy and was engaged with the Soviet Union in a "Cold War" for the hearts and minds of the world's citizens. Today, the United States is once again the world's dominant power, but now a dominant power in a world filled with dynamic allies and competitors. Having emerged from the Cold War, nations around the world are trying to consolidate their political systems, advance their economies, and tend to social issues. They are confronted with problems that did not exist fifty years ago – revolutionary new technology, especially communications technology, and environmental issues that affect the world in a new and sometimes frightening fashion.
As this edition of the Diplomatic Pouch indicates, the faculty, students, and alumni of SIS are facing the new challenges presented by the world with the same pragmatic idealism that characterized the School's founders. Throughout this newsletter you can see faculty views on our new world and how the SIS community can contribute to it. (more...)
The Next 50 Years
SIS faculty contemplates what’s ahead
for the study of international affairs
The School of International Service first broke ground in 1957 and opened its doors in 1958. The School has since become the largest school of international affairs in the United States. As the faculty, staff and students celebrate this anniversary and the milestones achieved, we also now look toward the next 50 years of international service, and contemplate the challenges and opportunities ahead.
SIS faculty members were recently asked to share their wisdom and thoughts on rising issues in international relations and potential focal points for future studies. These ideas were generated to consider areas of new research and future academic programs so that SIS continues its leadership in the area of international affairs education. Each professor’s contribution demonstrates his or her particular expertise as well as a commitment to maintaining and furthering the standard of excellence at SIS.
"The 21st century is being marked by the shift from a state-centered world to a multilevel order. With the ascendance of several powerful forces, such as transnational corporations and civil society groups, the foremost challenge is global governance."
James H. Mittelman, University Professor
Comparative and Regional Studies
James H. Mittelman, University Professor
Comparative and Regional Studies
"I believe that the study of how international human rights norms translate into action at the national and local levels will be a predominant focus of international affairs studies and that essential to this work is whether and how local ownership of international human rights norms can help to ensure our survival. In the coming years, we will see many attempts at international institution building, enhanced efforts at enforcement, and increasingly sophisticated systems for monitoring and conflict prevention, but none of these efforts will be of significance unless there is meaningful engagement in these issues at the local level."
Julie Mertus, Associate Professor
Co-director, Ethics, Peace and Global Affairs
Julie Mertus, Associate Professor
Co-director, Ethics, Peace and Global Affairs