Just to kick off the new semester on this blog, and since we were talking about it in class, I thought some of you might be interested in this discussion of whether or not it is politically dangerous to ask about how your state came about, and whether any answers you find should be papered over with myths and lies:
http://www.newappsblog.com/2012/09/%C5%BEi%C5%BEek-and-kant-on-philosophical-taboos-or-on-the-demise-of-philosophical-history.html
Moral Dimensions of Public Policy PUAF 650
Friday, September 14, 2012
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Mock Arms Control Negotiation
As part of the Public Policy School’s International Security
class, I recently had the opportunity to participate in a mock arms control
negotiation with a delegation of Russian students visiting the United States. The
goal of the exercise was to have a U.S. delegation and a Russian delegation of
students come to some kind of agreement about how to take steps to lower the
nuclear arsenals of both countries.
I have worked in groups before, but, in this case, was
struck by how infinitely more complex the task becomes when you have to not
only deal with dynamics within your own group, but also dynamics between two
groups from different countries. Words were chosen extremely carefully. Sentences
were stopped midway, as people would self-censor their ideas. One could chalk up
this dynamic to the normal cultural barriers that exist between citizens from
different cultures or awkwardness that exists when strangers are thrown into a
room together and forced to work together, but, in this situation, there seemed
to be a different dynamic at play, which was the perception that we were also representing
the broader interests of our countries.
If one was to put 15 competent people with background
knowledge of an issue in a room and asked them to come up with a solution to a
problem, it might be difficult, but they would likely be able to come up with a
proposal. However, because there were intra- and inter- group dynamics, as well
as broader political and cultural pressures, the task was nearly impossible.
Further complicating this effort was the issue we were
seeking to address. The United States and Russia each posses thousands upon
thousands of nuclear weapons, more than 90% of those that exist in the world. Part of the original reason both Russia
and the United States developed their arsenals was because of deep seeded
distrust and hostility between the two nations. Although the Cold War is over
and most of the people who participated in the class exercise were not adults
during the Cold War, there was a palpable tension in the room. Coming to
agreement on this goal, not to mention implementing it, would require an
enormous amount trust, transparency, and effective communication between the
parties. These elements were barely a part of our mock negotiation. I can only
imagine how difficult an actual negotiation must be.
For anyone interested in participating in this exercise, it is part of the International Security course taught in the Spring, not in the Fall.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Thursday, May 3, 2012
The Interrupters Documentary and mediation
Here's a clip of the Interrupters. It's about 4 and a 1/2 minutes. It gives one a good sense of the mediator role that law enforcement and associated individuals can play in communities to defuse conflict.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Monday, April 23, 2012
For the hell of it ...
In an attempt to combine past lessons on citizenship/deliberative polling and the role of religion in democracy I invite you to test your own religious knowledge by taking a short quiz created by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.
After completing the quiz, compare your knowledge with the American public -- overall population and specific religions -- by reading the full Pew Forum report on U.S. religious knowledge.
Both the national survey and interactive quiz were inspired by the book "Religious Literacy".
After completing the quiz, compare your knowledge with the American public -- overall population and specific religions -- by reading the full Pew Forum report on U.S. religious knowledge.
Both the national survey and interactive quiz were inspired by the book "Religious Literacy".
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