Bringing Practitioner Experience into the Classroom: The United Nations Intensive Summer Study Program

Diplomatic practitioners and policy makers represent an important, although frequently neglected, resource for teaching about international relations. The insights and stories provided by practitioners regarding key processes and events are often able to inspire our students to engage complex material and to play a much more active role in their own learning. While it is possible to argue that any type of practitioner contact is beneficial in terms of going beyond the material covered in textbooks, there are definite challenges associated with how to most effectively integrate these experiences with overall student learning. What type of format is most conducive to providing students with an insider's view? What type of preparation is required before contact with practitioners? How can student learning be evaluated in terms of assignments and debriefing activities? And finally, are traditional student feedback mechanisms appropriate for a course that involves a substantial practitioner component? This article investigates each of these challenges in the course of discussing one mechanism for bringing practitioner experience into the classroom, the United Nations Intensive Summer Study Program.     

A Primer on Problem-Based Learning for International Relations Courses

In recent years advocates of educational reform have encouraged and demanded changes in public education at all levels. A teaching method called active learning addresses many such concerns, promising several advantages to both teachers and students. One version of active learning is called problem-based learning (PBL). PBL is a pedagogically sound, scholastically beneficial, and socially desirable response to concerns about educational reform. According to recent research, PBL is the most effective technique for students to learn, apply, integrate, and retain information. Many students also prefer to learn in this style. Many teachers will find PBL a valuable alternative to current teaching practices. This essay is a brief primer on PBL techniques and resources. Abridged sections survey the structure and process of PBL, discuss the role of teacher as facilitator, describe PBL 'in action' in my courses, and address implementation.     

The United Nations and Terrorism: Rethinking Legal Tensions Between National Security, Human Rights, and Civil Liberties

As the international community responds to the September 11 attacks and the general war on terrorism, member states in the United Nations (UN) must continue to address the balance between the rights of the individual and the security of the state. This study highlights the various roles that the UN plays in combating transnational terrorism through norm setting, codification of human rights law, as well as the drafting and effective implementation of 12 key multilateral agreements aimed at counter-terrorism. In these ways, the UN provides direction and guidance for implementing human rights rules and the ways in which they should be enforced. Even so, national governments must make these rules work. In a system of sovereign states, the role of the UN organization in checking or reversing these human rights abuses remains severely limited and largely dependent upon the political will of the member states. As a consequence, part of the price paid for protecting national security against threats posed by terrorism may well be the curtailment of some human rights and civil liberties within the liberal democratic state.     

United Nations peacekeeping and terrorism: short-term risks and long-term benefits

ABSTRACT

Does the introduction of UN forces impact terrorism? We argue that at least initially, UN peacekeeping missions may significantly shift the local conflict bargaining process, creating incentives for terrorist and insurgent groups to increase their attacks against civilians. UN missions create a symbolic endpoint to initial negotiations, alter the balance of power between combatants, and may change the relationship between local combatants and the civilian population they rely on for support. We test this argument using monthly data from 12 African countries, analyzing the risk of terrorism at the local level. We find that the introduction of UN forces in an area significantly increases the short-term risk of terrorism, but longer missions in the country reduce this risk.     

Trust in international organizations: An empirical investigation focusing on the United Nations

The literature on social capital has strongly increased in the last two decades, but there still is a lack of substantial empirical evidence about the determinants of international trust. This empirical study analyzes a cross-section of individuals, using micro-data from the World Values Survey, covering 38 countries, to investigate trust in international organizations, specifically in the United Nations. In line with previous studies on international trust we find that political trust matters. We also find that social trust is relevant, but contrary to previous studies the results are less robust. Moreover, the paper goes beyond previous studies investigating also the impact of geographic identification, corruption and globalization. We find that a higher level of (perceived) corruption reduces the trust in the UN in developed countries, but increases trust in developing and transition countries. A stronger identification with the world as a whole also leads to a higher trust in the UN and a stronger capacity to act globally in economic and political environment increases trust in the UN.

Engaging International Data in the Classroom: Using the ICB Interactive Data Library to Teach Conflict and Crisis Analysis

The challenges of teaching quantitative research methods in international relations are well documented. The key to igniting interest and engaging students lies in creating a participatory learning environment in the classroom. This article discusses these challenges and describes a new piece of software that may be helpful in that regard. The ICB Interactive Data Library , or the ICB Library for short, enhances access to the information available in the ICB data by organizing it into an interactive software package (Brecher, Hewitt, and Wilkenfeld, 2000). The ICB Library is an especially valuable teaching tool because it allows students to easily access the resources from a major data collection project which, in turn, exposes them to the challenges and opportunities offered by quantitative research in international relations. After describing the ICB Library , this article will discuss how it can be used in the classroom via problem-based learning techniques.     

Exit, voice, and loyalty in international organizations: US involvement in the League of Nations

Recent challenges to traditional international relations theory have questioned the nature of international organizations (IOs) as agents of powerful state-members and have examined various conduits through which non-state actors can voice their concerns. Yet little work has focused on participation in IOs when a powerful state’s official position contradicts the goals of actors within it. This article examines the archival record of American involvement in the League of Nations’ economic section to explore such a circumstance. I correct the prevailing historical view of American isolationism in the interwar period and argue that participation by advanced, industrial democracies can better be understood as combinations of exit, voice, and loyalty on the part of individual components of state and civil societies.

Ethics and Foreign Policy: Structured Debates for the International Studies Classroom

Debates about humanitarian intervention, foreign and defense policy priorities, and the ethics of the use of force have become highly politicized in the post-Cold War era. This article explores the value of structured classroom debates on ethical dimensions of international relations as active teaching and learning tools for introductory and advanced international studies courses. Specifically, this article presents design information for structured debates on the ethics of the use of military force, humanitarian interventions, and U.S. foreign policy toward international institutions such as the International Criminal Court (ICC). Building on the literature on active teaching and learning, the article describes the development of these exercises and assesses their effectiveness through ten years of classroom application.     

Simulating the Creation of a New International Human Rights Treaty: Active Learning in the International Studies Classroom

This article details a simulation of formulating a new international human rights treaty designed for an introductory international studies course. Student understanding and interest in a range of international relations topics—including diplomacy, two –level games, international law, human rights, and group decision making—are reinforced by actively engaging the students in policy formulation and state –to –state negotiations. The article is structured around the four key components of active learning approaches—educational objectives, design parameters, procedures, and assessment and debriefing—in order to provide a full understanding of the goals, set –up, process, and advantages of the simulation. The simulation has been successfully run multiple times at both a large state university and a small liberal arts institution. Supportive student feedback and an interesting variety of outcomes indicate that this simulation is a positive addition to the course and reinforces the use of active learning approaches in the international studies classroom.     

A Battlefield of Meanings: The Struggle for Identity in the UN Debates on a Definition of International Terrorism

For nearly forty years, debates on a definition of international terrorism as part of a comprehensive convention have been preoccupying the United Nations. This article challenges conventional approaches referring to divergences in national interests and preferences, or to institutional constraints and national legal traditions, to explain why no definition has been agreed upon. It analyzes the inconclusive debates from a critical perspective and argues that the continuous search for a definition can be understood through the prism of collective identity struggles: the desire to define terrorism is not only the desire to give a precise content to terrorism and, thereby, create the identity of an Other. It is also the desire to create a collective identity, a “Self,” representing and uniting those who oppose terrorism. By applying a discursive understanding of collective identity construction to analyze the UN debates, the article elucidates how strongly the definition of terrorism hinders a common understanding among those who are opposing terrorism. Thereby, the analysis highlights that the demonization of terrorism foremost impedes a homogeneous understanding of a collective Self, ready to confront and define terrorism in the first place.     

Reform of the United Nations and Transformation of the International System

The reform of the United Nations is closely related with the transformation of the International system. The United Nations has made great success since it started a comprehensive reform in 2005. Such a reform is necessary both for the transition of the largest international organization in the world and transformation of the international system. The United Nations still has a long way to go in the comprehensive reform because of many factors.     

The Disruptive and Transformative Potential of Hypertext in the Classroom: Implications for Active Learning

This article describes a further extension of a strategy to move from a teacher-oriented to a student-oriented learning environment through the use of 'collaborative hypertext.' Students were trained in the use of MidasWeb, a Web-based environment for the organization, storage, and retrieval of hypertext documents and images. Over the course of the term students worked in teams to construct their MidasWeb sites by developing the underlying conceptual frameworks for their subject areas and uploading documents. The results of questionnaire surveys of the students suggest that the MidasWeb exercise did achieve our objective of disrupting the traditional relationship between teacher and student to create a more student-centered environment. The more students became involved in the exercise the more they felt empowered with respect to the subject matter of the course and took responsibility for deriving meaning from the information they had obtained. In addition, the experience encouraged them to think about the subject matter across interdisciplinary lines. Because the MidasWeb exercise was structured as a group activity, the effectiveness of the team coordinators had an impact on the success of the teams as well as the nature of the learning experience of the individuals involved. Although the MidasWeb exercise was a successful application of digital technology to classroom learning, it was not a resounding success, because the impact on the students in the course was not uniform. While a substantial majority of them found MidasWeb to be very involving and moved toward student-centered learning, approximately one third of them, especially students who were uncomfortable with computer technology, did not benefit fully from the exercise. This suggests that in the future more time should be spent on training, and that MidasWeb needs to be made more user friendly for unsophisticated users.     

中国、美国、东盟三边关系略论

中国、美国、东盟三边关系自形成至今,经历了几个不同的发展阶段,每个阶段都有不同的内涵。当前的中国、美国、东盟三边关系较为典型地反映了当今国际社会国家间矛盾与共同利益并存的复杂局面,因而形成于冷战时期的传统三边关系理论无法对其进行合理的解释。未来中国、美国、东盟三边关系的发展将受中美关系的走势、东亚区域一体化、中国的发展及其对外战略的选择3个关键因素的影响,其走势较为乐观。     

联合国的民主及其治理

冷战结束后,联合国在众多国际领域的治理及其影响日益广泛,对联合国的民主问责便成为理论和现实中的一种必然要求.本文从联合国成员内部的民主、成员间民主和全球民主三个层次考察了联合国的民主之内涵.在此基础上阐述了联合国的民主治理及其治理机制完善的主要变革途径.     

Consensus Decisions and Similarity Measures in International Organizations

Voting behavior in international organizations, most notably in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), is often used to infer the similarity of foreign policy preferences of member states. Most of these measures ignore, however, that particular covoting patterns may appear simply by chance (Häge 2011) and that these patterns of agreement (or the absence thereof) are only observable if decisions are reached through roll-call votes. As the relative frequency of roll-call votes changes considerably over time in most international organizations, currently used similarity and affinity measures offer a misleading picture. Based on a complete data set of UNGA resolution decisions, we demonstrate how taking different forms of chance agreement and the relative prevalence of consensus decisions into account affects conclusions about the effect of the similarity of member states’ foreign policy positions on foreign aid allocation.     

国际法律程序中法官和仲裁员因素 ——以中菲南海争端仲裁案为例

国际法律程序包含了司法程序和仲裁程序。在上述程序中,国际司法程序中的法官和国际仲裁程序中的仲裁员的个人因素都或多或少会在法律活动中产生一定影响。国际司法程序的法官具有独立性,需宣誓只效忠法院或法庭,但其独立性是相对的,选举阶段的政治因素以及当选后法官的国籍、思想、观念都会影响他/她对案件的处理;国际仲裁程序的仲裁员的独立性较之国际法院和国际海洋法法庭等国际司法机构的法官更显不足,争端当事方指定的仲裁员往往代表其利益,维护其立场。在国际法律程序中,法官和仲裁员会在程序规则的制定、传唤证人或专家及视察涉案地点、收受证据、查明事实和法律、对判决结果发表个别意见和反对意见等诸多法律环节拥有一定权利并发挥一定作用。了解和掌握上述法律程序以及法官和仲裁员的个人作用,对于中国已卷入的菲律宾发起的强制仲裁案件以及未来的潜在案件会有所帮助。在中国暂未参与仲裁程序,而且放弃指派仲裁员的情况下,对仲裁员因素的研究有利于监督和避免不利于中国的人为因素的影响,同时一旦中国在未来以某种形式参与到仲裁程序时,需在规则范围内去发挥和制造有利于中国的人为因素的影响。     

The Politics of U.S.–UN Reengagement: Achieving Gains in a Hostile Environment

From 1999 to 2001, the United States actively tried to improve its image and role in the United Nations (UN). This was a difficult process due to the many areas of disagreement between the United States and other UN members. However, throughout this period, the focus of reengagement was centered on resolving the large and longstanding U.S. arrears to the UN. While the United States was not able to achieve everything it desired, this period of reengagement resulted in new scales of assessment for the UN's regular and peacekeeping budgets that were much more favorable to the United States. This article draws on practitioner interviews to analyze the U.S. campaign to resolve its arrears, most specifically focusing on six factors that explain why the United States was able to achieve so much in the face of such an inhospitable environment at the UN. In doing so, the article identifies several areas where scholars and practitioners are highlighting similar dynamics, and it uncovers important policy implications for future U.S. efforts to push other UN members in directions that they may not be eager to go. These policy implications are especially relevant for current U.S.–UN relations given the U.S. failure to secure Security Council authorization for the use of force against Iraq in March 2003 .     

巴勒斯坦入联的国际博弈与体系责任

对于巴勒斯坦正式申请加入联合国,国际社会目前存在着明显的分歧,并形成了多种博弈力量、因素以及错综复杂的博弈格局。美国、以色列等少数国家主张入联附加条件,要求巴勒斯坦在和以色列达成最终和平协议以后才能被接纳为会员国,而法国则提出过渡入联方案,即暂时给予巴勒斯坦观察员国身份,金砖国家等大多数国家主张接纳巴勒斯坦为联合国正式会员国。从物质层面上的博弈力量来看,各方的博弈在权力与实力层面没有构成明显的力量悬殊。从非物质性的博弈力量来看,国际观念、原则、规范将对巴勒斯坦入联发挥重大的支撑作用。巴勒斯坦入联是一个事关民族自决、中东和平安全,以及国际社会整体利益的重大国际问题。因此,在是否接纳巴勒斯坦加入联合国的问题上,国际社会成员承担着重大的体系责任,联合国会员国和安理会成员不应任意地裁量行使其手中的特权。基于在实现民族自决权与人权保护上所承担的义务,国际社会有责任给予巴勒斯坦正式会员国身份。