May_2010-FINAL

The ride on the train inside

Fortress Hackenberg,

located in France’s scenic

northeast region, feels like

a journey back in time.

Mannequin chefs cook in

old kitchens. Mannequin

dentists operate on man-

nequin patients where hos-

pitals once stood.

Mannequin French soldiers

stand guard. One hundred

feet underground, in these

quiet and darkly lit gal-

leries, one gets a feeling of

complete safety.

It was a similar sense of

comfort that sixty years

earlier contributed to one

of the most disastrous

defeats in military history.

Wishing to avoid another

confrontation with

Germany, France erected a

barrier and named it the

Maginot Line, after the

Defense Minister who

advocated for its construc-

tion. French desires were

well justified: the country

lost an innumerable num-

ber of soldiers in the First

World War. But hiding

behind a barrier did little to

avoid defeat. With fast

moving panzer tanks, the

Germans flanked the line,

passed through Belgium,

and avoided direct con-

frontation. The soldiers

inside Fort Hackenberg and

the other forts that dotted

the Maginot Line were as

helpless then as the man-

nequins that line up the fort

today.

Every year the SAIS

Strategic Studies program

organizes a trip abroad to

study an historic military

conflict. This year’s trip

focused on the fall of

France in 1940. The trip

attempted to answer a basic

question: why did the vic-

tor of the First World War,

the French military,

arguably the strongest in

the world, lose to Germany

in roughly six weeks? An

intellectual might have

read the innumerable aca-

demic accounts that have

been published on the sub-

ject. A Woody Allen-type

would have taken a girl out

on a first date to see the

documentary, “The Sorrow

and the Pity.”

Deciding that these were

necessary but not sufficient

conditions for answering

the question, members and

friends of the Strategic

Studies program spent their

spring break touring the

places in France where the

action took place: Paris,

Verdun, Metz, Veckring,

and Sedan. Visiting the

Peace Palace in Verdun

(which commemorating the

millions of French lives

lost in World War I), expe-

riencing the Maginot Line

and its above-ground tur-

rets, and seeing the land-

scape on which the battles

took place made under-

standing France’s defeat in

1940 powerfully vivid.

An important part of the

trip was the research and

portrayal of the key mili-

tary, political, and cultural

figures at the time of the

conflict. Often the roles

that trip members played fit

neatly with their own back-

WASHINGTON: Most

SAIS students were sur-

prised on March 31st when

they received an e-mail

from Dean Harrington

informing them that, as of

2011, May oral exams

would only be adminis-

tered to the top 30% of

M.A. students, based on

GPA. All students who do

not qualify for the exam, or

do not wish to take it, will

be required to complete a

“capstone” of some sort, to

be determined by each pro-

gram.

Although some students

are relieved that they will

no longer be required to

take the oral exam, many

are withholding judgment

until they learn more about

how this new policy will

affect them. One first-year

student who is pleased by

the change in policy is

Antonio Martinez, a Latin

American Studies concen-

trator. When asked his

view on the subject, he

said, “It’s a relief for the

most part . . . I really didn’t

care either way, though I

would prefer not having to

go through my pre-term

micro[economics] notes in

May 2011.” His sense was

that most students would

rather not have to take the

oral exams, and are there-

fore happy with the deci-

sion. He also joked that he

would perhaps try to get

lower grades, so as to not

be in the 30% of students

eligible to take an oral

exam. However, Martinez

did have once concern with

the policy. “The problem is

that we still do not know

what will be on the individ-

ual departments’ require-

ments. LASP has told us

nothing.”

Rob Folley, a first-year

China Studies concentra-

tor, was more cautious in

approving of the changes.

“I think it is too soon to

say. As a regional studies

concentrator, I think it

would be useful to have

some sort of paper or proj-

ect as a capstone for all my

China-related course work,

but then again, one of the

reasons I was attracted to

SAIS is that the program

doesn't require an academic

thesis.” Like Martinez,

Folley has not received any

information from his

department on the capstone

project he will be asked to

complete. He hopes the

administration will provide

more information to stu-

dents on the reason for the

change in policy, and how

it will affect the current

first-year M.A. students.

Based on my interviews,

the SAIS administration

has several steps that it

should take soon in order to

inform and reassure current

first-years. Most important

of these is to require

departments to decide soon

what their capstone

requirement will be, and to

disclose this to students.

The lack of information on

the nature of the capstones

appears to be the greatest

source of reservation

towards the new policy.

Lauren G. Cohen is a first-

year M.A. candidate con-

centrating in Middle East

Studies.

WASHINGTON: Prime

Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva

was set to talk at SAIS on

April 12th. He would have

been in D.C. for the nuclear

summit. However, he had

to send his Foreign

Minister Kasit Piromya

instead. Abhisit had clearly

learned the lesson that his

predecessor, Thaksin

Shinawatra, had to learn

the hard way: when things

are hot, don’t leave town.

Thaksin was ousted in a

military coup in 2006 while

at the UN following a year

of almost constant protests

by middle class and elite

yellow clad protesters.

For a month now, thou-

sands of determined red

upholstered protesters are

swarming around the capi-

tal with Harleys and sharp-

ened bamboo sticks over-

running TV stations and

parliament. The reds, an

alliance of farmers from

the North and Northeast

and urban poor, love

Thaksin, the telecom bil-

lionaire and former Prime

Minister. Thaksin used the

1997 “People’s

Constitution” with its sin-

gle-member districts, high

vote thresholds for party

representation in parlia-

ment, and provisions for a

strengthened executive as a

recipe for creating a politi-

cal juggernaut. His Thai

Raks Thai (Thais Love

Thais) party dominated the

polls in 2001 and 2005.

Using modern polling

techniques, a pro-global-

ization/pro-poor policy

platform, and considerable

old-fashioned patronage he

brought all those wily

upcountry politicians

(Godfathers to some) under

his tent. He made good on

his campaign promises and

Thailand’s rural poor got

access to easy credit,

almost free healthcare, and

a whole lot of rhetoric that

they were entitled to a

political voice in a country

where the military, bureau-

cratic, and monarchical

elite have traditionally

called the shots. He also

conducted a war on drugs

where 2,500 were killed

and intimidated media and

May 2010 Volume 9 No. 11 The Student Newspaper of the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies

Bye-bye Orals!Kasit’s Heavy Heart

Continued on page 6

Continued on page 4

Students Travel to the UAE Page 12

SAISers Volunteer in Panama Page 9

Stories from Nanjing Students Page 11

By Lauren CohenStaff Writer

By Seth KaneContributing Writer

Thai Foreign Minister calls for monarchy reform at SAIS

Courtesy: Ted Alcorn

Oleg SvetContributing Writer

Visiting the Past: Strat Students Relive Fall of FranceSpring Staff Ride takes students to heart of France

Strategic Studies Program Assoc. Dir. Thomas Keaney acting as German military leader Hermann Göring

Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya

2 The SAIS Observer May 2010

LETTER FROM THE EDITORS

The SAIS Observer

Editors-in-Chief

Maysam AliSuraj MungaraRyan PallathraElisabeth Resch

Contributors

Paul AloisTed Alcorn

Ingrid BjerkeAndre CastilloLauren Cohen

Samiya EdwardsGeorge Fleeson

Bill GelfeldPaula GuevaraSarah Hexter

Jonathan Hwang

Seth KaneAllison LindenbergSophie LuDavid MartinAnayo OsuekeRyan PallathraPeter RizovEdmond SaranNeil ShenaiOleg SvetJordan ValdésNora Wassermann

As this year’s final issue of the Observer goes to

press, your dedicated editorial staff has been scratching

their heads wondering where all the time has gone. The

karmic consequence of having a whole week off back in

February came into full swing as many students found

themselves with an overly crammed end of the semester.

Dreams of a winter wonderland long gone, the stress

level was especially palpable for first-years enrolled in

core economics classes, as many found themselves trying

to master complicated models and theories that were

only taught a day or two before the final exams. It cer-

tainly does make one pause and question why the pow-

ers that be feel it makes sense to have all core econ exams

over the same two days (when it is obvious that many

students will be enrolled in two core econ classes at a

time), or, for that matter, why language classes continued

on for a week longer after proficiency tests had already

been administered. In addition, the lack of any reading

days this time around seemed unusually harsh, as finals

commenced immediately after the last day of classes.

Nonetheless, in spite of a very busy last few weeks,

many of you were still able to take the time to submit

great contributions for the last Observer issue of the aca-

demic year. We would like to thank all of our fantastic

writers in D.C., Bologna, and Nanjing who contributed

articles and photos for both of our issues this semester,

including both our regular contributors and first-time

writers. We were especially proud to finally have contri-

butions from students studying at all three of our global

SAIS campuses! As many of you will be interning in far-

away and exotic locales, at refugee camps, embassies,

NGOs, think-tanks, banks, etc., we hope you will take a

moment to document and write about your experiences

for our next issue in September 2010. SAIS is fortunate

to have an incredibly diverse and talented student body,

and we encourage each of you to share your experiences,

thoughts and opinions about international affairs,

school-related events, life in D.C. and abroad, or any-

thing else of your choosing. It's these very experiences

which make SAIS such a rich community.

It has been an honor and a pleasure serving as your

editors this semester, and we look forward to continuing

to bring you even better issues in the semester ahead. For

those SAISers who will be graduating this year, we wish

you the very best of luck as you begin to navigate life

after SAIS, and start (or continue) your careers. To the

rest of you, we wish you a safe and exciting summer, and

hope to see as many of you as possible at the next

Observer meeting in September!

As the Spring semester winds down, your tireless SGA remains hard at work to make sure your

year ends with a bang! A few weeks ago we hosted the 2010 SAIS Cherry Blossom Ball. For those of

you who did not attend (or did, but enjoyed the open bar too much), it was a beautiful event. The venue

was perfect, the weather cooperated, the beer lasted until closing, and the dance floor was jumping!

Our famous SAISapalooza on April 25th was fantastic! We had an intense face-off between a J-Pop

and K-Pop dance group for supremacy of the East Asian pop scene, while SAIS’s own Perfect

Substitutes and Ceteris Paribas rocked!

The SGA is also working hard to launch the Young Alumni Scholarship Fund. The YASF will cre-

ate a perpetual fund that future graduating classes can contribute to and will be used to endow fellow-

ships for future SAISers. We learned that the Class of 2008 and Class of 2010 want to donate their Class

Gift to this fund, which should give the YASF around $30,000 to start with.

During the last two weeks of classes, the SGA will have a table in the Nitze Lobby if you want to

donate to the YASF.

Just in case you are wondering why you should give this fund after paying $70,000 in tuition, think

about this:

The cost of running SAIS is about $45,000 per student; the reason we do not pay that amount is

because so many people before us have given to school. So, please consider giving back to a communi-

ty that has given us so much!

On behalf of the whole SGA, I can say that it has been a huge honor serving the school over the

last year, and as our SAIS experience ends, we will leave you with some wise words from Nagarjuna.

“The whole world is on fire, so smile and dance until the flames eat you up.”

SGA Monthly ReportThe student government chimes in with

announcements and reminders

I have been affiliated with

Johns Hopkins SAIS since

2006, first as a M.A. stu-

dent and now as a Ph.D.

candidate. I have seen sev-

eral generations of SAIS

students pass through this

school. Given my long-

standing institutional affili-

ation with SAIS, students

often ask me for advice on

their course selection. Of

course, I am flattered that

my fellow students hold my

opinion in such high

regard, and am happy to

offer them whatever advice

I have.

In the spirit of reaching

the widest audience possi-

ble, I will boil my advice

down into one simple

piece: don’t take Corporate

Finance.

Before I begin, here’s my

only caveat: I do not to take

anything away from SAIS’

fantastic instructors of

Corporate Finance, Dr.

Gordon Bodnar and Dr.

Luis Marques. They are

both first class economists

and deserve all of the praise

they receive for their

instruction.That said, yes,

it’s true. Taking Corporate

Finance is an utter waste of

your time. Most students

hear this and protest, vehe-

mently defending their

decision to enroll in this

class. I am thus writing this

article to debunk the myths

of Corporate Finance at

SAIS with the hopes that

students simply stop wast-

ing their precious time.

Here are three reasons why:

First, Corporate Finance

is simply a flawed science.

Admittedly, all of econom-

ics is a flawed science to a

degree – human beings are

not deterministic automa-

tons operating in pre-

dictable systems, as much

of economics’ microfoun-

dations believe. But

Corporate Finance is

worse, mostly because of

the self-righteousness of

some of its practitioners.

Consider the case of Myron

Scholes, one of the biggest

influences on the modern

practice of Corporate

Finance. If you have taken

Corporate Finance, you

might remember Dr.

Scholes from the infamous

Black-Scholes model of

valuing options. This

model is preached as scien-

tific truth, despite the fact

that many of the core

assumptions of the Black-

Scholes model have been

disproved by the historical

record. One of the biggest

flaws of this model is the

notion that historical

returns on a given security

are the best predictor of

future price movements.

This assumption is funda-

mentally central to the

Black-Scholes model, yet

also patently false.

Like all good charlatans,

Dr. Scholes decided to put

his money where his theory

was, helping found a hedge

fund known as Long Term

Capital Management

(LTCM). Four years after

LTCM’s founding,

Scholes’ hedge fund was

underwater, levered thirty

times over its original equi-

ty and threatening the entire

stability of the financial

system. Scholes bet on his

model and lost big, nearly

toppling the global finan-

cial architecture, had it not

been for an eleventh hour

bailout on behalf of the

Federal Reserve. Such is

typical of the pseudo-sci-

ence of Corporate Finance.

Myths like this abound,

woven intricately into the

entire discipline.

Secondly, in addition to

being a flawed science,

Corporate Finance delivers

no useful tangible skills to

its students. Is knowledge

of pricing options really

going to help you in your

job at the Department of

State? Is running a

Discounted Cash Flow

model magically going to

help you denuclearize the

Korean Peninsula? “Hey,

this guy can talk to Putin;

he knows how to price an

interest rate swap!” Give

me a break. There is a fun-

damental mismatch

between the demand for the

skills taught in the course

and the emphasis put on

those skills by SAIS stu-

dents. My hunch is that

because Corporate Finance

is superficially complicat-

ed, SAIS students instinc-

tively feel that the value of

learning it is high. It is time

SAIS students come to

terms with this uncomfort-

able truth: Corporate

Finance is both complicat-

ed and useless.

“But I want to get a job in

Private Equity!” students

will retort. Oh, really? Then

what on earth are you doing

at SAIS? Did you come to

SAIS to become a global

financier? What kind of

grand delusion led you to

believe that SAIS routinely

places people into

Investment Banks? If this is

your belief, accept the sunk

costs, and apply to business

school. Taking Corporate

Finance at SAIS is about as

useful in your job applica-

tion to Goldman Sachs as

being able to juggle a pair

of multicolored balls in a

warzone – novel in its envi-

ronment, admittedly, but

hardly impressive.

Here is a suggestion – if

you really are fixated on

garnering “hard skills,”

ditch the Corporate Finance

textbook for Econometrics

or another language.

Finally, Corporate

Finance fails to foster the

creative thinking skills nec-

essary to make SAIS stu-

dents competitive in the

international job market.

Thinking back to your

macroeconomics class,

recall that improvements in

living standards comes

from technological

progress and innovation.

Sure, investment needs to

be financed, but would you

rather have the mindset of

the financier or of the inno-

vator? This is a question

that each individual SAIS

student needs to ask for

themselves. Do you want to

be another sheep in the

flock, or someone willing

to repudiate conventional

wisdom in exchange for a

more rewarding education-

al experience?

But it is clear that SAIS

has a finance bubble, where

peer pressure and myths

dominate students’ course

choices. It is better to stray

from your classmates and

take a chance to learn a

more interesting subject

than to train oneself as

another staid practitioner of

this pseudo-science.

Nobody will fault you for a

little bravery.

Neil Shenai is a Ph.D. can-

didate studying Political

Economy.

By Paul Alois

Student Government Association President

Breaking the Finance Bubble at SAISBy Neil ShenaiStaff Writer

The SAIS Observer is a news monthly written, edited, and pro-

duced by the students of the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced

International Studies (SAIS) of The Johns Hopkins University.

SAIS students, faculty and members of the administration at the

Washington, D.C. campus, Bologna campus, and the Hopkins-

Nanjing Center are encouraged to submit articles, letters to the

editor, photographs, cartoons, and other items for consideration.

Material for consideration, comments or inquiries may be sent to

us at: [email protected].

The SAIS Observer is an approved SAIS student organization.

Opinions expressed in the SAIS Observer are not necessarily the

views of the editors, SAIS, or the University.

May 2010 The SAIS Observer 3

So, you’re somewhere out-

side of SAIS, at a social

event. You got your eyes

open, scanning the crowd.

You see a girl. She sees

you. She smiles. FIRST

CONTACT.

A short conversation

ensues, positive signs

abound. You want to ask

for her number, but you’re

not quite sure if it’s appro-

priate. Maybe you should

wait?

Well, by pure happen-

stance, you learn that

you’re going to bump into

each other again soon, so

you say your goodbyes and

plan your next move. Now

what do you do?

Your answer will reveal a

lot about your Game. It

reminds me of a story.

My friend recently met a

girl he liked. I could see his

excitement and hear it in

his voice as he described

her – it was clear that he

was interested in her.

During their first contact,

he learned that she goes to

the same church as him. He

just wasn’t sure what do to

next.

“Well you’re going to get

her contact info aren’t

you?” I asked. “I can’t just

go up and ask for her num-

ber in church. I don’t want

to be that guy,” he says. A

good point, but who said

anything about asking for

her number? There’s lots of

ways to politely ask for

someone’s contact info.

“Just get her Facebook!”

I exclaim, disrupting the

other patrons in the SAIS

library. With such an easy

out, I thought the answer

was obvious – but it wasn’t

to him. He hesitated. Why?

He wasn’t sure if she was

interested. But that’s exact-

ly why you want to ask.

If you’ve often felt the

same way, you have a dif-

ferent approach to “the

Game.” As much as I dis-

dain saying there is a right

or wrong approach to these

things, I would like to offer

what I find to be a more

effective method for

approaching such life deci-

sions – the Game Theory.

If your approach so far has-

n’t included a basic game

theory test, you, my fellow

dating nerd, are just not

viewing the game as com-

pletely as you could be.

Remember, dating is a

two-player game. Do two-

player games sound famil-

iar? They should –you have

all taken this course called

Microeconomics, which –

would you believe it? – has

taught you the very tool

you need to survive this

game.

Why use Game Theory?

Well, because it sounds

awesome. But more impor-

tantly, because you’re play-

ing a Game – a two-player

Game – and need to com-

pare choices and their pay-

offs. You get to go first

because you decided to go

first. (Brilliant isn’t it? You

don’t even have to be a guy

to go first either, how awe-

some is that?). Player 2

here has only two choices

at this point that influence

the game – to be interested

or not. In reality, however,

Player 2 has already made

the choice – he or she is

either already interested in

you. (Or not).

One of your immediate

goals needs to be to figure

out which one it is. Why?

Because it changes every-

thing! So look at the charts.

Notice how every option

you have – every single

one – becomes worse the

longer you take to ask for

that contact info and find

out if they’re interested.

As awful as it might feel

to find out right away if

they’re not interested (and

it shouldn’t really make

you feel that way) it will

feel much worse if you

invest weeks of emotional

stress into wondering about

it first. Waiting won’t

increase your sex appeal

either – obsessing over

something like this only

looks creepier over time.

So what happened with

my friend? Well, turns out

she was interested after all,

and that simple request for

her Facebook ended up

turning into a date later that

week.

Now it might seem

strange that I put “GOOD”

down for asking even when

she’s not interested, but I

sincerely believe that. In

this situation it’s good to

build up your courage and

find out sooner rather than

later so you can move on to

someone who would be

interested. But it really

doesn’t matter what you

put in this box, what mat-

ters is that the “ask later”

payoff will almost always

be worse. (You’ll have to

do your own calculation for

yourself to find out).

As with everything in

life, sometimes there are

exceptions, and sure, it

may be in your interest to

wait. But if you are already

sure that you’re interested,

I – for the life of me – can’t

picture any scenario when

it would be better to wait

for something as simple as

a Facebook contact.

If she’s not sure if she

should even give you that,

why are you bothering at

all? (Of course, if you’re

considering dating within

the workplace – and SAIS

is definitely “within the

workplace” – you may

need to tread carefully,

since a Facebook contact is

not an indication of interest

in this case, so do not – I

repeat do not – take it as

such).

But that’s not the most

important revelation given

by our payoff matrices –

look at the best outcome in

both charts, where both of

you are interested. If you

wait, you could go from

“SWEET!” to a potential

“MAJOR FAIL!” How

awful! How could this hap-

pen? Well, she could, for

one, read your reluctance to

get in touch with her as a

sign of your disinterest and

move on. To someone who

actually has some ball

charts. Sometimes, the ship

sails, and sometimes,

you’re not on it. And who

wants to be “that guy”?

Andre Castillo is a second-

year M.A. candidate in

Middle East Studies with a

specialization in Emerging

Dating Markets.

Dating for Nerds: Understanding Game Theory

Job Prospects: One Student’s Cover Letter

By Andre Joaquin CastilloStaff Writer

By Ingrid BjerkeContributing Writer

“...if you’re con-sidering dating

within the work-

place-and SAIS is

definitely ‘within

the work place”

As graduation draws near, I know you are all engaged in intensive job searches- polish-

ing your salary negotiation technique and fine toning your pitches for that second inter-

view. For those of you who aren’t quite there yet, and might still be struggling with

your cover letters, here is one of mine. I hope it helps:

SAIS Student #456

Library, 7th floor,

Cubicle 4

Sunday, 4am, one month till graduation

Ms. Employer

Pay Check Organization

Washington, DC

Dear Ms. “I-hide-my-name-on-my-website-so-prospective-employees-must-search-for-

three-hours”,

I am very excited about the possibility of working with your institution. Of course, I

was also excited about working with the institution that was the subject of my last

cover letter, but this time, I really, really mean it - working with your team would allow

me to pursue my deepest passions. I am passionate about whatever it is you do.

Because what I’m most passionate about is getting a job, especially one that pays.

Now, that requirement may sound obvious to some, but anyone who’s been around the

internship circus in DC knows that this is far from a given. It appears that, given the

choice, most employees prefer not to pay. Turns out it’s much cheaper, and it has really

become in vogue in DC.

But I disgress. Now, enter the paragraph where I tell you about myself, so that you

will understand that I am a perfect fit for the job. I went to a reputable undergrad of

some variety, and now I’m a SAIS student and up to my grad cap in loans. My concen-

tration is this Energy, Resources and Environment thing (which is odd, because in my

last cover letter my concentration was International Policy, and, in the one before that,

it was really economics). Once upon a time I had held a real job, one with a salary and

everything. But then I became a student and wanted to live in DC. Since that time, I’ve

had six internships, which are kind of like jobs, but without pay. Did I mention that

already?

Now here comes the paragraph where I tell you why you want me to have the job.

You must understand that I am a perfect fit for the job, because, guess what? All those

abilities and characteristics listed in the job description? I have those! I am an excellent

researcher, communicator, organizer, and multi-tasker. My love working independent-

ly, and I love working in teams. Oh, one mustn’t forget time management and dead-

lines. I have so much expertise in these you have no idea. And, as a SAIS student, I’ve

been to far too many countries and speak far too many languages to list them all here.

Furthermore, I simply love menial tasks! Entering names into databases? Sorting out

mail? Taking people on tours? Check, check and check. That’s what higher education is

all about, after all.

Sometimes there’s a third paragraph here. I’m uncertain of its purpose, but I’ve

heard that a three paragraph body is really the most appealing. That’s what Career

Services tells us anyway. They’re actually really helpful – given what they have to

work with. According to this pamphlet I picked up, SAIS has graduates all over DC.

That’s unfortunate, I was hoping to work there. I was also told to get to the point

quickly and avoid rambling, so I think it’s time for the clincher wrap-up.

Please feel free to contact me by email, or call my cell me at any point of the day when

you feel it may be the most inconvenient for me. But don’t feel pressured - I expect to

never to hear from you. I’ll make good use of the waiting time by adjusting to the

prospects of living in a van down by the river. Or perhaps I’ll be preparing to get

deported. Better yet, I may try this “networking” thing I’ve been hearing about and

hunt you down at an event for a 30 second elevator pitch. But for now, I need to sign

off, as I still need to submit an assignment that was due yesterday. Thank you for your

time and consideration, and I hope that if you don’t hire me, you will at least hire

another SAIS student.

Sincere Regards,

SAIS Student #456

P.S. If like what you see, but think it just needs a little touching up, have no fear – I’ll

be visiting the SAIS Career Services again shortly. Instead of relying on this cover let-

ter that I conjured up in a sleep-deprived haze last night to dazzle you (while I have lit-

tle doubt that it did), I will be working on my resume, practicing my interviewing, talk-

ing to colleagues, and getting on mailing lists. Even if it’s May and I’m still not

employed, I won’t panic. I know there are plenty of jobs out there. In the mean time,

you know where you can find me. I’ll be in the library, 7th floor, in the fetal position,

underneath cubicle 4. It’s on the left.

Ingrid Bjerke is a second- year M.A. candidate concentrating in Energy, Resources and

Environment.

“If you wait, youcould go from

‘SWEET!’ to a

potential ‘MAJOR

FAIL!’”

businesses opposed to his

rule.

Kasit opened his remarks

by saying he had a heavy

heart. He was speaking

barely 24 hours after the

worst political violence

Thailand has seen since

1992. That Saturday night

in Bangkok, police and

army units tried to evict the

red protesters from their

camp site and met with

considerable resistance.

The month long protest

had been remarkably

peaceful with the exception

of several mysterious early

hour grenade attacks on

various government and

military instillations that

injured some night watch-

men.

But Saturday night saw

propane tank Molotov

cocktails being rolled at

troops and a “third force”

of snipers blowing heads

off. While the military has

admitted using live rounds

in self-defense on a limited

basis, it is still unclear

whether the snipers were

regular military following

orders, renegade soldiers

under the command of a

military faction with its

own political aims, or para-

military acting on behest of

various red shirt leaders

that have scoffed at the

protesters’ Gandhian tac-

tics. By the next morning,

25 people were dead and

almost 1,000 injured.

Kasit’s appearance was

further strained by the fact

that his Democrat party (by

far the oldest in Thailand)

was recommended to be

dissolved the night before

by the Election

Commission for a dodgy

2005 campaign contribu-

tion. The dissolution still

has to be approved by two

other conservative bodies

and will likely not pass.

Nonetheless, the ruling, a

day after the orgy of vio-

lence, was a sign that vari-

ous institutions with a

strong hand in deciding the

length of political lives

were perhaps ready to

move if the Prime Minister

was unwilling to call for

immediate elections.

Kasit’s heavy heart may

also have been weighted by

the feeling that he was no

innocent bystander in

Thailand’s descent into

interminable and disruptive

street politics.

Before becoming Foreign

Minister he rallied the

“Yellow” protesters at their

two week takeover of

Suvarnabhumi International

Airport that prompted the

courts to dissolve the ruling

People Power Party, the

reconstituted Thai Raks

Thai party.

Notwithstanding a likely

sleepless night trying to

determine if he was still

Foreign Minister, Kasit’s

speech was on point and

brave. The packed auditori-

um of an assortment of

journalists, DC Thai com-

munity, and Southeast Asia

hands was clearly

impressed.

Kasit, a Georgetown

alum and former

Ambassador to a bunch of

global powers, was asked

by moderator Dr. Karl

Jackson to discuss US for-

eign policy in the region

and the Association of

Southeast Asian Nations

(ASEAN).

Kasit discussed the vital

importance of continued

American involvement in

the region, and especially

the new “Mekong-

Mississippi” initiative.

This year the once mighty

Mekong that is the life

blood for millions of rice

producers and fishermen in

Thailand, Laos, Cambodia

and Vietnam was reduced

to a trickle in places.

The role of upstream con-

struction of several dams in

China is contentious and

will likely be an increas-

ingly important issue if

river flows continue to

decrease.

He also welcomed a new

30 million dollar USAID

grant to promote civil soci-

ety in Thailand’s three

insurgency wracked

provinces, saying it was a

helpful initiative to more

effectively integrate a

wider range of voices.

Kasit was sanguine about

ASEAN and keen to clean

up Thailand’s difficulties

so Thailand could once

again take the mantle as

one of the leaders of

ASEAN.

He said the regional

grouping would be vital to

future stability and eco-

nomic growth as well as

enabling the individually

weak countries to play a

major role in world affairs.

But of course the Q&A

took the discussion back to

what the audience came for

– to grill a high official

neck deep in a crisis.

He strongly advocated for

negotiations to solve the

political crisis and said “I

remain optimistic that we

will be able to have the yel-

low, the red, the blue, the

pink and so on, the green,

the white coming to the

negotiating table in the

course of the next few days

and talk to one another.”

However, he turned red

when the subject of

Thaksin came up, demand-

ing that Thaksin return to

Thailand to serve out his

two year prison sentence.

Unfortunately, intransi-

gence seems to have won

out with the Yellow shirts

saying they will come out

onto the streets within a

week to counter the red

shirts. The red shirts have

also refused any more

negotiations with the gov-

ernment.

However, the biggest

story of the day was his

commentary about the Thai

monarchy. “We should be

brave enough to go through

all of this and even talk

about the taboo subject of

monarchy,” adding, “I

think we have to talk about

the institution of the

monarchy, how would it

have to reform itself to the

modern globalized world.”

To hear such a thing from

any Thai person in a

recorded speech would be

quite surprising. But to

hear it from a die-hard

Yellow shirt supporter was

shocking.

While the government

immediately distanced

itself from the comments as

they made their way into

the international media,

saying they were Kasit’s

personal opinion, it was

still an indication that per-

haps there is more open

mindedness amongst the

establishment about the

role of the monarchy then

is popularly imagined. The

revered monarch is eighty

two and ailing, and there is

a big question mark about

how the monarchical insti-

tution will change after his

death. Perhaps it was a sig-

nal there will be more

movement than people dare

to talk about.

Seth Kane is a second-year

M.A. candidate concentrat-

ing in Southeast Asia

Studies.

WASHINGTON, D.C.:

On March 31st, the SAIS

community was treated to

a brilliant lecture and dis-

cussion with U.S.

Supreme Court Associate

Justice Stephen Breyer.

Hosted by SAIS Dean

Jessica Einhorn,

Associate Justice Breyer

delivered the annual

Rostov Lecture on

International Affairs

which honors the memory

of JHU alumnus Charles

I. Rostov.

Justice Breyer spoke on

the theme of “The Court

and Foreign Law”, in

which he assessed the

role played by the inter-

pretation and understand-

ing of foreign law(s) in

the development and evo-

lution of American laws

and practices.

In an eloquent, lively

and riveting discussion,

Justice Breyer did not dis-

appoint his large SAIS

audience. Highly

acclaimed for his engag-

ing teaching style by his

students at Harvard Law

School, we were able to

see first-hand how incred-

ibly passionate Justice

Breyer is about the law,

and how dedicated he is

to his difficult obligation

to both protect the

Constitution, yet remain

open to how the

American legal system

can develop as our global

community becomes even

more interwoven.

Justice Breyer studied

at Stanford University,

then at the University of

Oxford on a Marshall

Scholarship, and then at

Harvard Law School,

where he was editor of

the Law Review. Justice

Breyer was nominated to

the Court by President

Bill Clinton and was con-

firmed as an Associate

Justice by the Senate in

1994.

It became very clear

during his lecture, that

Breyer takes a truly prag-

matic and open-minded

approach to his study of

constitutional and inter-

national law.

The underlying question

which was central to his

talk was whether the

United States Supreme

Court should look at the

behavior and past deci-

sions of other nations’

courts when having to

render its own decisions

in cases which address

constitutional law.

For Breyer, the answer

is emphatically, YES. It is

for this issue, that he

receives the most criti-

cism from those who take

a very strict, conservative

stance on what should

influence the Court’s

decisions. Critics to his

view, as he explained,

argue that looking at for-

eign courts’ decisions is a

breach of our American

constitution’s sovereign-

ty, and that the actions of

other countries should

have no bearing on our

judicial system and this

“American document”.

To this, Breyer, in an

extremely lucid fashion,

explained his response to

that critique.

He explained that in a

world that is increasingly

similar, and one in which

countries’ interests are

steadily merging, why

shouldn’t he be able to

learn from what “other

similar professionals” are

doing? Breyer stressed

the importance of sharing

information and judicial

insights, in this global

community which is

“ever more interested in

democracy”, and where

more and more countries

have independent judici-

aries and constitutions or

similar documents which

protect people’s basic lib-

erty.

Additionally Breyer

pointed out the impor-

tance of helping to give

other developing democ-

racies some judicial legit-

imacy. He explained that

if his legal reference to a

foreign court’s decision

offers their judiciary

improved standing with

their government, as well

as improved insights for

his deliberations on the

Court, then where is the

harm?

Finally, Breyer, a

methodical thinker and

justice, emphasized his

belief that sociologically,

as we read each other’s

work, we improve our

own level of awareness.

Humbly, Breyer con-

fessed that he nor any jus-

tice or lawyer can have

universal knowledge of

international law and its

implications.

His belief in the impor-

tance of sharing judicial

knowledge and referring

to foreign laws, rein-

forces the fact that no

judiciary, however

advanced, is perfect in its

ability to make decisions

in today’s ever complex

international legal sys-

tem.

Ryan A. Pallathra is a

first-year M.A. candidate

concentrating in Strategic

Studies.


“No

judiciary, how-

ever advanced,

is perfect in its

ability to make

decisions in

today’s ever

complex inter-

national legal

system”

“I think we

have to talk

about the insti-

tution of the

monarchy,

how would it

have to reform

itself to the

modern global-

ized world”

Justice Stephen Breyer DiscussesInfluence of Foreign Laws in CourtBy Ryan PallathraObserver Staff

US Supreme Court Associate Justice Stephen Bryer

Thai Foreign Minister

Thai Foreign Minister Calls for ReformContinued from page 1

WASHINGTON: Most

students know Todd Bruce

as the man who sends them

regular e-mail updates on

status of the SAIS renova-

tions.

However, the

Administrative Coordinator

for Finance and

Administration was kind

enough to give the

Observer an interview on

April 14 to provide further

information on the renova-

tion project. The discus-

sion covered the priorities

of the renovation, the cur-

rent status of the work, and

possible future projects.

The renovation project

began two and a half years

ago, when SAIS contracted

with an architect to conduct

a space study. This includ-

ed discussions with the

academic programs, the

administrative staff, and

the students to discuss their

needs. At the end, the

administration realized that

it had an enormous project

on its hands.

The decision was made to

tackle the project in smaller

pieces, with available funds

used to address the highest

priority items first.

The administration gave

highest priority to those

tasks improving the health,

safety, and environment of

the SAIS facilities. These

included replacing the

roofs of both the Nitze and

Rome buildings; upgrading

the boiler, chiller, and

cooling tower; and reno-

vating the bathrooms in

Rome.

Emphasis is being given

to Rome over Nitze, as it

contains the greatest num-

ber of academic offices

and classrooms.

In consonance with Johns

Hopkins President Ron

Daniels’ commitment to

reduce the university’s car-

bon footprint 51% by

2025, the chosen replace-

ment chiller is frictionless,

using magnets instead of

oil. It is estimated that after

the renovation, the Rome

Building will experience a

total energy savings of

24%.

There have been some

difficulties with this por-

tion of the renovation.

Installation of the new

chiller, which weighs 250

tons, was delayed by the

blizzards. This process

involved lifting the chiller

to the roof, which required

good weather and parking

lots completely clear of

both cars and snow. Two

crews instead of one are

putting the new air-han-

dling units in place so that

the cooling system can

come on line sooner.

Remodeling the restrooms

has also proven to be time-

consuming. Workers need

to change the wiring and

plumbing of these confined

spaces without affecting

the rest of the floor. As a

result, only a few workers

can be in the restrooms at a

time, thereby stretching

out the construction time-

line.

The next priority for the

administration is the reno-

vation of educational

spaces. Eighteen class-

rooms are receiving new

paint, carpeting, and win-

dow shades. They are also

being equipped with com-

puters, DVD capability,

and overhead projectors.

Nitze 417 and Rome 203,

as the largest classrooms,

are receiving more robust

upgrades, including the

installation of ceiling

speakers. These class-

rooms will be functional

throughout the renovation

process, as the changes do

not require digging into

any walls. Additionally,

the work is being done dur-

ing the third shift, from 11

PM to 7 AM, to avoid dis-

ruption.

As of the publication of

this article, replacement of

the Rome roof should be

complete. Following that,

the Nitze roof will be

replaced, which is estimat-

ed to require three to four

weeks. Once the cooling

system in Rome is fin-

ished, work will begin on

the heating system.

Bathroom remodeling is

still underway, and will

continue into the fall.

Todd also described a

supplemental project,

which is currently in the

contracting phase. The

goal of this project would

be to increase study space

inside the library. This

will be accomplished by

converting the storage

space on the seventh floor

into group study rooms.

An ambitious redesign of

the eighth floor would

involve placing most of the

periodicals on e-reserve,

shifting the stacks into the

periodicals room, and

adding group study tables

(complete with electrical

outlets) and side chairs or

soft seating to the space

currently occupied by the

stacks.

The study area would be

on the Massachusetts Ave.

side of the building to take

advantage of the incoming

natural light. This project

would be completed over

the summer break, begin-

ning in early or mid-June.

Contingent upon addition-

al funding, SAIS would like

to make improvements in

the areas of community and

administrative spaces.

In the very long-term,

SAIS intends to purchase

two more floors of the

Bernstein-Offit Building,

giving it control of the fifth

through eighth floors.

(Johns Hopkins owns the

building, but rents floors to

other institutions.)

Many of the academic

programs and research cen-

ters would move into BOB

such that programs in the

same geographical area

would be on the same floor.

However, SAIS currently

lacks the funds to imple-

ment this idea. The entire

bill of the renovation proj-

ect, if purchasing the two

floors is included, would

come to $50 million. The

tasks currently underway

account for $10 million of

that total.

When students return to

SAIS in the fall, they will

find a greener, more tech-

nologically-friendly facili-

ties environment.

It will be interesting to see

what will happen when

SAIS is able to realize its

remaining renovation ideas.

Lauren G. Cohen is a first-


centrating in Middle East

Studies.

BOLOGNA: When

NATO convened a simu-

lation in a small town in

Forli, Italy, SAIS students

had to be there. In the cri-

sis simulation, partici-

pants made decisions on a

number of conflicts based

on incoming news and hot

issues, including: seizure

of the straights of

Hormuz, terrorist attack

in the Mediterranean, and

destruction of major ener-

gy infrastructure by state-

sponsored groups.

Robbert Van Eerd and I

headed from Bologna to

represent the United

States and Latvia at the

conference, which was

hosted by the University

of Bologna at Forli. The

conference took place

over the course of two

days. We gathered at the

city’s finest hotel dressed

in suits and ties and

entered a large conference

room that featured every

NATO’s member’s flag

next to his country’s plac-

ard, a giant ring of confer-

ence tables, and huge

screens displaying color-

ful maps of conflict areas,

incoming news feed,

urgent cables, and rele-

vant press releases.

The room was decorated

as felt like a command

center, and featured mili-

tary staff onboard to help

run and provide feedback

during the simulations.

We began the simulation

at 9:00 a.m. and continued

well into the night, break-

ing for lunch and dinner.

It is often the case that

simulations like this take

a while before the excite-

ment peaks and the play-

ers begin to really act

their roles. Participants

this time were off like a

shot, vying for time at the

microphone to represent

their nations, to advocate

a certain course of action,

or just vent about how

ludicrous another nation’s

policy appeared at first –

or had appeared through-

out the history of the

alliance.

In this sense, the occa-

sion provided a fine

example of some of the

tensions that exist in the

practice of international

affairs. France, for

instance, charged the U.S.

of warmongering, but

promised its navy’s finest

ships to accompany

American ones on a joint

NATO mission five min-

utes later (in conference

time). Participants broke

role to laugh at several of

these episodes, and quick-

ly became friends.

On a personal note, I

should mention that for

me as an American (and,

incidentally, representing

America at the conference

table) this experience was

unique in adding value to

my already rich experi-

ence here at SAIS with

students from different

cultures. Many of the con-

ference participants were

from Italy, and had had

little contact with other

American students.

The participants were

eager to learn about

America and asked tons of

questions in the free time

allotted to us. Many of

those students desired to

go to America, and spoke

highly of our country’s

potential to do well in this

world. This was a breath

of fresh air from the criti-

cal environment of

Washington, D.C., where,

no matter what the idea,

criticism thereof comes

more naturally than

praise.

My time at Forli was a

welcome encouragement

to me, and I am sure to

Robbert also, of the value

of knowing one’s country

well and its place in the

world. I am thankful for

the weekend and my

chance to practice, albeit

all too briefly, some of the

things I’ve learned in my

two semesters at SAIS.

George Fleeson is a first-


centrating in Strategic

Studies, and is currently

studying in Bologna.


SAISers Participate in NATO Simulation Conference in Italy

Campus to Undergo Major Changes This Summer

By George Fleeson Contributing Writer

Lauren CohenStaff Writer

Robbert Van Eerd (left) Representing Latvia at NATO Simulation Conference

The group representing NATO member Countries in a Crisis Simulation


ground.

For example, Dr. Thomas

Keaney, a retired U.S. Air

Force Colonel, wore a blue

air force coat as he played

the role of Hermann

Goering, who commanded

the Luftwaffe (the German

Air Force) during the war.

Dr. Eliot Cohen, a mili-

tary historian known for

being a fan of Winston

Churchill’s, delivered a

sober address of the

wartime Prime Minister.

Colonel Ulrich Liss, an

Intelligence Officer for the

Whermacht (the German

Defense force), was played

by Mr. John McLaughlin, a

former Acting Director of

the CIA.

Colonel James Hickey,

who led the U.S. operation

that caught Saddam

Hussein, played General

Heinz Guderian, a maver-

ick German Commander

who led German XIX

Panzer Corp. Lt. Col.

Hermann Balck, the

Commander of the German

1st Regiment, was played

by Lieutenant General

David Barno, who was

Commander of U.S. forces

in Afghanistan from 2003-

2005. Having such distin-

guished visitors on the trip

brought the level of discus-

sion to a new level. The

diversity of the characters

which they and others por-

trayed illustrated that

France’s defeat came from

a plethora of problems,

ranging from political

infighting, crude misman-

agement by the military,

and a popular willingness

to avoid war on French soil

at all costs.

The trip, which lasted for

over a week and included

meals at some of the most

exquisite French cuisines,

was made affordable

through the generosity of

Mrs. Marilyn Fuhrmann

and Mr. Matthew

Fuhrmann. It was excep-

tionally organized by

Andrew Rothgaber and

Will Upshur, students of

the Strategic Studies pro-

gram. An all-around suc-

cess, Lt. Gen. Barno called

it “the best staff ride I had

ever been on.”

Oleg Svet is a second-year

M.A. candidate concentrat-

ing in Strategic Studies.

Strategic Studies Students Study Fall of France




Professors and students of the Strategic Studies Department in Paris

Among the audience: Professors Cohen and McLaughlin and Lt. General David

BarnoFrom left: Andrew Rothgaber, Matteo Faini, and Jonathan Brasher

From left: Dr. Cohen, Colonel Hickey, US Army, and Michael Abramowitz, who

runs the the committee on conscience at the US Holocaust Museum

From left: Brendan O’Donoghue, Quartermasters Andrew Rothgaber and Will

Upshur, Professor Cohen, Tom Rickers and Scott Long

Noah Kanter presenting Blitzkrieg for Dummies The Meuse river

Continued from page 1






WASHINGTON: On

Friday, April 2nd, SAIS

held its annual Cherry

Blossom Ball at the beau-

tiful Carnegie Endowment

for the Sciences building

in Dupont Circle.

Attended by nearly 300

of our SAIS class mates

and friends, it was a night

of bright lights, question-

able music, funky danc-

ing, and libations of

Bacchian proportions.

On the day of the ball,

the ladies gathered at my

house around 4:30 to get

ready and pop open a cou-

ple bottles of champagne.

By 5:30, our “limousine”

(aka party bus) pulls up.

Complete with a sleek

leather interior, two mini

bars, light-up floor, cham-

pagne glasses, two flat

screen TVs, and an amaz-

ing sound system, we set-

tled into our victory lap

around town. Along the

way, we picked up some

dear friends who brought

with them well received

liquid reinforcements and

before long, we were 28

strong. We proceeded

down to the National Mall

to take prom photos in

front of the White House

and the Washington

Monument. As I looked

across the National Mall,

painted dusty red by the

light of the setting sun, I

thought how great it was

to be alive, young, and in

DC.

Unfortunately, the DC

metro police did not think

we were so entertaining.

We quickly clambered

back into the party bus

when we noticed our driv-

er gesturing frantically for

us to return and realized

that he was getting a tick-

et for stopping in the mid-

dle of Constitution

Avenue. A few tense

moments later and we

were on our way back to

Dupont Circle to attend

the ball in style.

I would love to recount

the rest of the night, but I

have to be totally honest

that after stepping off the

party bus, I pretty much

blanked out. I only vague-

ly remember three main

things:

(1) The delicious Cherry

Blossom Martinis that

sold out in the first hour

of the ball; (2) the bar-

tenders ran out of glasses

about two hours into the

night; and (3) one of our

dear Observer editors

(who shall remain

unnamed) made a fool of

himself. As I looked over

the pictures various peo-

ple posted on Facebook in

the following days, I

began to piece together

the night. Needless to say,

it was a truly memorable

night. The following is a

sequence of selected pic-

tures to narrate the night.

Since a picture is worth a

thousand words, I will

write no more. Enjoy *

Many thanks to Peter

Rizov, SAIS Observer

photographer, for the

beautiful pictures. I must

also give a personal hat-

tip to the SGA board for

organizing an amazing

even and our new social

chair, Mikela Trigilio, for

organizing the party bus.

May every SAIS event

next year be like our party

bus.

Sophie Lu is a first-year

M.A. candidate concen-

trating in China Studies.

Cherry Blossom Ball: A Different Side of SAIS“To a night we’ll never remember, but the four of us will never forget”

~Phil (The Hangover, 2009)Sophie LuStaff Writer

Party Bus Crew on the steps of the Carnegie BuildingThe glamorous set

The ladies pose for the camera

Elegant Hopkins students smile for the camera

From left: Amy Deckelbaum, Tina Wong, Lauren Consky

From left: Wu Anjue, Peter Rizov, Jocelynne Tan


During spring break 2010, the SAIS Canadian Studies department had the opportunity to fly out and spend a weekimmersed in the unique land that is South Korea. While no China or Japan, South Korea is certainly a country that

invites further study is relevant both geo-strategically and economically.The SAIS contingent, led by SAIS PhD student Seong-ik Oh, and including 10 current DC students and 2 Bologna

students, experienced an unforgettable week. Not only did we have the chance to meet with interesting political andbusiness figures, but we also had the opportunity to drink, eat, sleep, and do yoga like Buddhist monks as well as to

visit the world’s largest shipyard. All in all, the experience isn’t one that any of us will soon forget.

Text and Photos by Peter Rizov, second-year M.A. candidate concentrating in Canadian Studies and International Law

A South Korean Adventure

Suspiciously eyeing the contents of the local vending

machines: sweat and confidence, apparently, can be

bottled and sold.Meeting Canada’s Senior Trade Commissioner to discuss Canada-Korea trade and economic ties at the

Canadian Embassy.

Team photo overlooking the Hyundai Heavy Manufacturing shipyards: the

largest in the world.

Prim and proper lunchMeeting with Member of Parliament Shin Nak-

Kyoon to discuss women in Korean politics, life, and

international affairs.

Enjoying a lively conversation with Minister Lee Je-Oh, Minister of The Anti-

Corruption and Civil Rights Commission.

A team of four SAIS stu-

dents from the Consulting

Club won second prize in

the Global Challenge, a

business plan competition

sponsored by the US

Agency for International

Development (USAID) and

the University of

Maryland’s Center for

International Business and

Research. The contest gave

students the opportunity to

devise an innovative pub-

lic-private alliance that

would contribute to inter-

national development ini-

tiatives in a particular

region.

The SAIS team of Samiya

Edwards, Naureen Kabir,

Tara Nicholson and Tzyy

Ming Yeh won $2,500 for

their proposal to build an

ecolodge in the northern

province of Preah Vihear in

Cambodia, which would

promote sustainable

tourism near a Cambodian

wildlife sanctuary. Their

final presentation will be

published to the Business

Growth Initiative website

(www.businessgrowthini-

tiative.org).

The Global Challenge

competition received 64

proposals from 32 graduate

programs nationwide. In

the spirit of President

Barack Obama’s Global

Engagement, an initiative

to involve the private sec-

tor and local stakeholders

in development challenges,

the Global Challenge

encouraged students to

employ creativity, research

skills and business acumen

to devise public-private

alliances. For this year’s

competition, all competing

teams were prompted to

propose a public-private

partnership in the tourism

industry in Asia.

Eight teams were selected

as finalists, and a second

team from SAIS, (com-

prised of Ryan Brier,

Anthony Haddad, Sophie

Lu and Benjamin Bryan)

was selected as an alter-

nate. Teams presented to a

panel of judges from

USAID at the Global

Challenge competition

finals held Friday, April

23rd, at the Reagan

Building in Washington,

D.C.

The first place team pro-

posed a public-private

alliance that would promote

micro-tourism in Thailand

through a homestay pro-

gram, while the third place

team proposed an alliance

to build the medical tourism

industry in Vietnam.

Samiya Edwards is a first-

year SAIS-Darden 2012

candidate, concentrating in

African Studies.


AQUA FRIA, PANAMA:

The cacophony of local

voices, the thwack of

numerous machetes, and

the untapped kinetic poten-

tial of a breathtaking water-

fall – all in a day’s work in

trying to bring electricity to

a rural village in Panama.

During our spring break,

ten intrepid SAIS students

travelled to Panama with

SAIS Corps to work on a

rural electrification project

in the remote village of

Aqua Fria. Having raised

over $6,500 from various

fundraisers alongside gen-

erous donations from the

SGA, the SAIS Alumni

Association, the SAIS

Administration, and the

ERE and IDEV

Departments, our group

teamed up with several

Peace Corps Panama vol-

unteers and the local com-

munity to work on a hydro-

electric project that aimed

to bring electricity to the

village for the first time.

Many of the homes in the

village had gained running

water only in recent years,

and the local residents were

eager to tap into the bene-

fits of electricity as well.

Working with Tim Burke,

the resourceful and well-

respected resident Peace

Corps volunteer, the village

had organized a committee

to plan for the implementa-

tion of the electricity proj-

ect. Before our arrival, Tim

had applied to the United

Nations Development

Program in Panama to

secure a $40,000 grant,

which has subsequently

been awarded.

Additionally, all of the

thirty-eight local families

who wanted to have access

to electricity pledged their

support both financially

and in terms of labor com-

mitment. The villagers

were split up into three

teams, and each household

was responsible for con-

tributing one full day’s

labor to the project or one

person to prepare lunch for

the workers. This endeavor

was in every sense a com-

munity project with the

support of seemingly the

entire village behind us.

The project itself was the

result of an innovative

design by Tim, himself a

mechanical engineer, to use

hydropower to generate

electricity for the village.

The water was to be con-

ducted through PVC pipes

from a powerful local

waterfall to a specific area

located above a small tur-

bine engine. The water

would fall from a certain

designated height onto the

turbine, which would pro-

vide the energy to turn the

blades of the fan and in the

process, generate enough

power to supply the entire

village with a moderate but

steady stream of electricity.

The project was to be

completed in three stages:

water diversion, dam con-

struction, and ditch-dig-

ging (for the PVC pipes).

Each day saw the comple-

tion of a different phase of

work as the SAIS Corps

faithful worked hand-in-

hand with their local part-

ners to carry and connect

pipes, lay concrete, and dig

ditches.

While the work was espe-

cially exhausting when per-

formed under the unforgiv-

ing Panamanian sun, the

camaraderie and good

humor of the locals, com-

bined with their penchant

for hollering enthusiastical-

ly and loudly across the

fields, spread infectiously

amongst the group.

At the end of the third day

of work, the combined

efforts of the villagers and

our group allowed for sig-

nificant headway to be

made toward completing

the project. We had a meet-

ing with many of the vil-

lagers where we assessed

the progress of the project

and the nature of the coop-

eration between our group

and the villagers and

between the villagers them-

selves. There was universal

agreement that it was an

important undertaking

made possibly only by the

incredible spirit of commu-

nity and the togetherness

that the local residents dis-

played. They thanked us

profusely, fed us well, and

even let some of us join in

a game of baseball with

them (their sport of

choice).

After we left Aqua Fria,

we ventured to Nuevo

Paraiso, the site of last

year’s SAIS Corps service

trip to Panama, to check on

the status of the latrine

project that had been

implemented the previous

year. We were encouraged

that the compost latrines

that last year’s group had

constructed, again with the

help of the local communi-

ty, were in good use. We

interviewed several locals

who were currently using

the latrines, and the con-

sensus was that they were

more sanitary and environ-

mentally friendly than their

previous facilities.

Rest assured, however,

that our trip was not all

work and no play as our

group had a chance to take

in the sights in and around

Panama City during the

weekend after we complet-

ed our project. Beaches

were frequented, and

Panama hats were pur-

chased. Local cuisine was

sampled, and we may have

shocked and awed the

locals with our karaoke

prowess. The trip, by all

accounts, was a rousing

success, which would not

have been possible

were it not for the generos-

ity of our donors and the

spirit and ingenuity of the

local community and our

friends in the Peace Corps.

Bill Gelfeld is a second-


centrating in International

Development.

Making a Difference in Panama

By Bill GelfeldContributing Writer

Students travel to Panama to help villagers build a better life

Courtesy: xyxyxy

First-year M.A. candidate Johanna von der Weppen mixes the concrete that will

be used to build the damn at the mouth of the waterfall.

Digging a trench through a field in the village, first-

year M.A. candidate Stephan Vitvitsky paves the way

for the pipes that will carry the water to bring elec-

tricity to peoples’ houses.

From left: Samiya Edwards, SAIS-Darden 2012; Tara Nicholson, SAIS-Wharton

2012; Naureen Kabir, SAIS 2011; Tzyy Ming Yeh, SAIS-Wharton 2010

I-Dev Students Earn 2nd Place in National Business Plan CompetitionBy Samiya EdwardsContributing Writer

BOLOGNA: You can ask

any Italian where to find

the best food, and he will

invariably answer, “At my

grandmother’s house or in

Bologna.” Sadly,

Bologna’s culinary status

far exceeds its winemaking

reputation. Fizzy

Pignoletto and sweet

Lambrusco don’t get much

love from a population

used to drinking Chianti

and Barolo. Nevertheless,

the Bologna Center Wine

Club has taken advantage

of the enormous range of

Italian wines available in

Bologna and our proximity

to the great winemakers of

Europe.

This past fall Wine Club

members were treated to a

series of fun and informa-

tive events, including a

dessert wine pairing course

at a local gelateria and an

Italian wine seminar with

samples from twelve dif-

ferent regions. However,

the highlight of the Wine

Club’s year came during

spring break, when four-

teen wine enthusiasts trav-

eled to Logroño, Spain to

explore the Rioja wine

country. Logroño is situat-

ed in northeast Spain about

ninety minutes south of

Bilbao and is the capital of

Rioja, the region that put

Spanish wine on the world

map.

Rioja is famous for its

red wines although it also

produces whites and rosés.

The main red grapes of the

region are Tempranillo and

Garnacha, while whites are

usually made from Viura.

There are regional laws

that restrict winemaking

techniques, and in order to

have the Rioja appellation

on the label, winemakers

must adhere to strict guide-

lines on grape varieties,

fermentation and ageing.

Arriving at the airport in

Valladolid, we piled into

our rental cars and drove

through the Castillan coun-

tryside to Rioja. In con-

trast to the flat fields of

Castilla y Leon, Rioja’s

rocky terrain was dotted

with old gnarled

grapevines and snow-

capped mountains loomed

in the distance.

We had the opportunity

to visit some of Rioja’s

most exciting bodegas,

starting with Marques de

Riscal, a winery founded

in 1858 which garnered

international attention by

commissioning Frank

Gehry to design its new

visitor’s center. After tak-

ing a tour to learn about the

winemaking process, we

had the opportunity to taste

two of their wines, which

were unanimously declared

delicious.

The next stop was

Bodega Classica, a rela-

tively new operation

owned by a dynamic,

young businessman,

Ricardo Arambarri.

Ricardo’s wines were made

in a ‘modern’ style, provid-

ing a contrast to the more

traditional wines of

Marques de Riscal. We

had the opportunity to ask

him and his winemaker

about their approach to the

business and learned that

Ricardo had successfully

lobbied for the creation of a

new appellation for some

of his experimental wines

that did not fall under Rioja

guidelines. When Ricardo

invited the group to his

house in the mountains the

next night to taste from his

cellar, we gladly accepted

his offer.

Other highlights from the

trip included visits to

Dinastia Vivanco and

Lopez de Heredia. Aside

from visiting bodegas, we

spent time exploring the

picturesque Riojana vil-

lages, did tapas crawls on

Logroño’s famous Calle

Laurel and watched proces-

siones, traditional Spanish

Easter parades. The tour

ended on a high note, and

the group went its separate

ways to Madrid, Barcelona,

Leon, Portugal and Bilbao.

Overall the trip was a

unique opportunity: we

learned about winemaking

and Spanish wine culture

while getting to know a

pocket of Spain that is rela-

tively unexplored.

Sarah Hexter is a Bologna

M.A. Candidate concen-

trating in European

Studies.


Aaron Cohen is a former

Israeli Special Forces oper-

ative, founder of the

California-based countert-

errorism consulting group

IMS Security and author of

Brotherhood of Warriors.

Since 9/11, Aaron

Cohen’s company, IMS

Security, has been training

police officers and security

personnel techniques he

learned in Israel to address

terrorist threats. He elabo-

rated by saying, “Good

security is proactive, not

reactive. Security should be

pursuing threats, not solely

screening for them.” He

also emphasized the need

for layers of security.

While some security is pas-

sive, like screening at air-

ports, just as important is

actively pursuing threats.

Cohen is building a career

around counter-terrorism

and advanced police tactics

with IMS Security, the

security consulting firm he

founded. Cohen insists that

America has taken the

wrong path to security, and

seems to prefer the human

mind as the best defensive

weapon, emphasizing pro-

filing and undercover

police work in tandem with

uniformed police officers

to protect our public trans-

portation in major metro-

politan areas. American air

travel defense “is more an

inconvenience than an

actual deterrence” accord-

ing to Mr. Cohen.

Cohen’s IMS Security

trains police officers and

SWAT teams in “active

shooter” scenarios, which

teaches the officers how to

work under extremely

stressful conditions and

eliminate hostile threats.

When speaking of the

training blocks he gives to

police officers and SWAT

teams Cohen said, “On a

tactical level, terrorists aim

to kill as many people as

possible in as short a period

of time possible. So we

train these police officers

to shoot into crowds and

put them (the terrorist)

down quickly.” Asked if

police officers have reluc-

tance toward this kind of

training Cohen said,

“Aggressive tactics are

used to address aggressive

threats, specifically terror-

ist threats. These tactics are

not for everyday use. My

training is aimed to achieve

focus under stress. Pressing

and actively pursuing

threats instead of waiting

and letting someone else be

killed.”

Cohen’s counterterrorism

experience in Israel includ-

ed the Dizengoff Center

suicide bombing, to which

he was a first responder. In

this attack alone 13 were

killed and 130 wounded. It

was the fourth such suicide

bombing in a span of nine

days. He makes it clear that

the stakes of terrorism are

high, always emphasizing

the need for the deterrent of

an armed guard and under-

cover personnel to guard

our malls, metros, buses,

and airplanes.

Another example of the

difference in application of

the different mindsets is:

Police shooter training is

just one layer of domestic

security. Another impor-

tant layer is technology.

Asked about Chicago’s

city-wide camera network

and if metropolitan areas

should follow their exam-

ple, Cohen said that the

network would be great for

counter-terror operations,

but any system that big

must be constantly man-

aged.

Referring to cameras that

may malfunction and the

personnel needed to moni-

tor such a system, he

viewed it as good in reduc-

ing crime, but not a suffi-

cient deterrent for terror-

ists. Instead, Cohen said he

would like to see the

American military take

after the Israeli Defense

Forces (IDF) making it

legal for them to carry

weapons on US soil stating,

“they protect us abroad,

surely they can protect us

here.” This, in Israel, is

viewed as an effective

deterrent and gives new

meaning to protecting the

homeland.

Of course, opposing all of

these security measures is

the possibility of infringe-

ments on civil rights. There

must be a line of balance

between security and civil

rights, as yet to be deter-

mined. Mr. Cohen’s view

is simply that “civil rights

don’t have a place”, mean-

ing one must weigh civil

rights with safety. Having

lived under the shadow of

terrorist threats in his time

in Israel and witnessed the

price we pay for lax securi-

ty both in Israel and the

US, safety must be the pri-

ority.

David E. Martin is a 2010

SAIS International

Relations Certificate can-

didate.

From left: Bryan Vasek, Katharine Cooley, Sebastien Morvan at one of Rioja’s

beautiful vineyards.

SAIS Wine Club Founder Sarah Hexter tours one of

Rioja’s exciting bodegas.

Military Expert Questions Security Initiatives

Wine Tasting in Spain

By David MartinContributing Writer

By Sarah HexterContributing Writer

Bologna Wine Club Members Enjoy the Delights of Rioja, Spain

Former Israeli Special Forces Operative Offers Counter-terrorism Recommendations


Nanjing Students Explore China’s Sichuan ProvinceThey share their experience of the Chinese-American divideBy Jonathan Hwang Contributing Writer

By Paula GuevaraContributing Writer

NANJING: “Look at the

village, Bob. It’s beauti-

ful.” “But, you don’t

understand. It’s poor. It’s

backward.”

We arrived in Bazhong

Monday afternoon, some

of us returning from a

thirty hour train ride,

some visited Emei Shan,

the mountain of danger-

ous monkeys. Literally.

They’ll kill you. Tour

guides even bring wood-

en poles to beat them off

from helpless visitors.

One of my friends was

bit a couple years ago. I

just got in from

Shanghai, attending a

conference at Fudan

University, where I lis-

tened to long diatribes of

how Americans are bad,

from us killing 95 per-

cent of our natives to our

excessive consumption

habits. So, Bazhong was

definitely a change. We

were greeted with fanfare

by the teachers and prin-

cipal of the Second

Secondary School of

Bazhong.

The lodging was con-

trary to what we, twenty

students in our twenties

from the Hopkins-

Nanjing Center, first

thought it would be. We

had hot water. We had

television. Heck, there

was even a sauna and

restaurant downstairs.

We thought we were

coming to the poorest

county of Sichuan, envi-

sioning water buffalo

crossing the roads and

living in semi-dilapidat-

ed shacks. But here we

were, comfortable, tired,

and ready to sleep.

“Good morning, class!”

“Fine, thank you.”

“No, I said good morn-

ing!”

Chinese students are

programmed from a

young age to regurgitate

long scripts of English

phrases. They weren’t

accustomed to much of

the freewheeling spon-

taneity of some of our

teachers. We taught

whatever we could, dis-

pelling stereotypes about

how all Americans have

guns to teaching that

Alaska is the largest state

of the USA to the three

golden rules of learning:

1) Do Your Best, 2)

Make Mistakes, and 3)

Have Fun. We passed out

candy in order to entice

them to participate.

Sugar does wonders.

The kids were mad

about saying George

Washington as loud as

they could. The game of

Jeopardy was a mixture

of applause for those that

won and deathly stares

for those who answered

wrong. It was just for

some sugar but they real-

ly got into it.

One of the funniest

moments was our “Two

truths and one lie game”.

Basically you say two

truths and a lie and your

partner guesses which

one is false.

One kid:

1) I am tall.

2) I am handsome.

3) I like basketball.

The other kid exclaims

in Chinese: “The second

one has to be wrong!” It

turns out that the kid is

handsome, but not tall.

The kids were really

enthralled with having

foreigners in class.

Sometimes I felt like an

anomaly though. As a

Chinese American, I felt

stuck between the Venn

diagrams of Chinese and

American culture on the

board. I’m sometimes

straightforward like what

an “American” should be

and I’m sometimes wind-

ing like a “Chinese”

should be. But I played

the role of the outsider.

This was why we were in

Bazhong. We are all out-

siders.

The teachers came in,

shoulder to shoulder,

eager to hear what we

had to say about the

Chinese educational sys-

tem. So, given, many of

us had no experience

teaching grade school

children, much less in

China; given, that many

of us knew little about

the educational flaws in

the school; we were

treated as gurus. So we

spoke.

Some of us spoke about

how the teachers could

focus on the students that

are falling behind in

classes. In China’s

schools, there is a hierar-

chy of achievers. The

eighth grade, number 1

class literally means that

you are the number one

class in eighth grade.

Children are even seated

according to their stand-

ing in that class. It’s no

wonder that the slackers

often dozed off in the

back of the class, out of

the direct view of teach-

ers.

There is a similar sys-

tem in America with the

proliferation of honors,

AP and International

Bachelorette classes, but

nowhere near the class

distinctions in China.

We also spoke about

the American system in

comparison to China.

Whereas in the West,

focus is placed on indi-

vidual creative produc-

tion through mediums

such as essays, China

specializes in the gift of

memory. This has pro-

duced a comparative

advantage in engineers,

scientists, and jobs in

technical fields. But cre-

ativity is the spark of

ingenuity. This can be

seen in an early stage.

There’s much more I

could write about: the

epic basketball game in

which the entirety of

Bazhong showed up, the

visit with the tenacious

Mayor of Bazhong, the

long hours of Chems

(card game) that we

played in our hotel

rooms, but I won’t bother

the reader. I think there

are perhaps more impor-

tant things to attend to.

However, there is one

thing I would like to say:

The Hopkins-Nanjing

Center exists. Our trip to

Bazhong is just one of

the few adventures that

the Center partakes in.

Feel free to shoot us an

email about being a

SAISer in China.

Jonathan Hwang is first-

year Hopkins-Nanjing

Center M.A. candidate.

WASHINGTON: Nineteen

SAIS students participated

in the SAIS-NBR Asia

Studies Conference

“International Relations of

Asia 2010: Perspectives

and Policy on a Changing

Regional Order”. It was,

as noted by Prof. Karl

Jackson, Director of the

Asian Studies and

Southeast Asia Programs, a

special opportunity for

graduate students, since

they typically don’t get

involved in such things

until late in the Ph.D.

process.

The conference, which

was held at the Kenney

Auditorium and the Herter

Room, was the culminat-

ing activity of Prof. Carla

Freeman’s “International

Relations of Asia” class,

which she co-taught with

China Studies Ph.D. stu-

dent Tabitha Mallory. All

nine students and one audi-

tor of the class presented

papers; they also per-

formed organizational

tasks for the conference.

Ten other SAIS students

submitted papers when the

call for papers was

announced.

The conference gave

attendees a nice overview

of current issues in Asia.

The 6 panels discussed

Energy, Hard Security,

Nontraditional Security,

Regional Issues, South

Asia and Trade & Finance.

The list of discussants

included James Green of

the Department of State,

Lisa Curtis of The Heritage

Foundation, and Alan

Hegburg of CSIS. Before

breaking for lunch, Vali

Nasr, Senior Adviser to the

Special Representative to

Afghanistan and Pakistan

Richard Holbrooke, deliv-

ered a keynote address.

“The discussants and

chairs were of a very high

caliber, and although it was

intimidating, I wouldn’t

have it any other way,”

remarked presenter Chris

Liu, who also enjoyed see-

ing his peers in action.

Fellow presenter Bob

Lyons agrees: “While I

have much to learn, I feel

blessed to have had this

conference to prepare me

for future scholarly work at

SAIS and beyond.”

The conference was held

in lieu of the Asian Studies

Crisis Simulation this year,

but Prof. Freeman, who

also serves as coordinator

of the International

Relations of Asia

Specialization, assures us

that there will, in fact, be an

Asian Crisis Simulation

next year, possibly in the

fall. A second edition of

the conference will be held

in 2012.

Paula Guevara is a first-

year M.A. candidate

Concentrating in Southeast

Asia Studies.

SAIS-National Bureau of Research Asia Studies Conference

A view of Bazhong, where SAIS Nanjing students had the opportunity to interact

with local Chinese students.

Map of Sichuan Province in Central China

“I just got in

from Shanghai,

attending a

conference at

Fudan

University,

where I lis-

tened to long

diatribes of

how

Americans are

bad”

“Chinese stu-

dents are pro-

grammed from

a young age to

regurgitate

long scripts of

English

phrases”


Middle East Studies Students Visit the UAE

When I first heard that the

Middle Eastern Studies

Department at SAIS was

going on a fully funded

trip to the United Arab

Emirates, I had mixed

emotions. At first, I was

reminded of my favorite

childhood cartoon,

“Garfield and Friends.”

Nermal, the intolerably

cute kitten, would visit

the Garfield residence,

full of sunshine and

adorable cheeriness.

Overly sarcastic Garfield

(got to love his attitude)

would inevitably threaten

to mail the little cutie off

to the most remote possi-

ble destination… the end

of the world… the place

symbolizing the most iso-

lated, secluded, primitive

possible location on

earth… Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi can’t be

described as anything less

than extraordinary.

While financially plum-

meting, somehow the

Emirates Foundation for

Philanthropy, a philan-

thropic organization

established by the

Government of the

Emirate of Abu Dhabi,

found the means to fund

all of the second-year stu-

dents in the Middle

Eastern Studies

Department ato travel to

both Dubai and Abu

Dhabi in the UAE---all

expenses paid.

Immediately skeptical of

the motivations behind

this trip, I had a conversa-

tion with a good friend of

mine from high school

who now works for

Bloomberg. He made a

good point to me about

why the UAE would be so

generous in a time when

more than 3,000 cars sit

abandoned in the parking

lot at the Dubai Airport,

left by fleeing, debt-rid-

den foreigners who could

be imprisoned should

they fail to pay their bills.

He said “I don’t know if

there’s already a term for

it, but I would describe it

as a forward-looking lob-

bying junket. Middle

Eastern country wines

and dines the people in

the U.S. who will be mak-

ing Middle East policy

from around 2015-2065.

A few bucks to the starv-

ing graduate students

helps win a lot more

hearts and minds now

than borderline illegal

and much more expensive

bribery can in the next

decades.” With this in

mind, the 15 other SAIS

students and I flew Etihad

Airlines to Abu Dhabi on

March 14, 2010.

When we got off the

plane, there were tons of

photographers taking our

picture as if we were

celebrities. We were

immediately greeted by

Fatima, the organizer of

our trip from the Emirates

Foundation, who handed

us our itinerary on the bus

to our hotel, the five-star

Yaz Resort. Each day

that followed was busier

than the last.

Our first day, we went

to the Federal National

Council of the UAE (their

legislative body) and met

with First Deputy

Speaker Ahmed Shabeeb

Al Dhaheri who described

to us the role of this body

in governmental affairs

and some current issues

being discussed by the

Council including the

UAE’s relationship with

Iran and the development

of a single currency in

GCC countries by 2013.

The day continued and

we made our next stop at

MASDAR City, the

UAE’s first sustainable

city currently being built

with the aim of achieving

carbon neutrality between

2018 and 2020. Clearly

endeavoring to improve

the UAE’s image in our

eyes as the #3 highest car-

bon emitter per person,

the representatives from

MASDAR City explained

to us that Abu Dhabi is

committed to a 7% target

threshold of renewable

power capacity by the end

of 2010. It became clear

to us, as the trip contin-

ued, that each stop on our

itinerary had an agenda, a

piece of the puzzle that

our Emirati representa-

tives wanted us to bring

back describing to our

U.S. classmates and col-

leagues.

Our first day concluded

with a lavish five-course

cruise dinner leaving us

wondering what could

possibly be in store for us

in the days to come.

We began our next day

with my favorite part of

the trip, a tour of the

Shaikh Zayed Mosque,

the third largest mosque

in the world next to the

mosques in Mecca and

Medina. There are no

words to describe this

architectural paradise

other than breathtaking.

From far away, it looked

like the castle in Disney

movie Aladdin, but when

I got into my hijab and

habiyya and entered the

grounds of the mosque, I

realized that this building

had much more of a rich

history (pun intended.)

Worth $800 million, this

mosque has been under

construction since 1996

and was funded by the

current Crown Prince

Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan

Al Nahyan. With the

largest chandelier in the

world (made completely

out of Swarovski crystals)

and the largest carpet in

the world, it was apparent

to all of us that the level

of detail put into the con-

struction of this mosque

was extraordinary.

Our next stop was the

General Women's

Council (GWC), publi-

cized in its literature as

the foremost women's

NGO in the UAE. Here,

we learned about

women’s’ involvement in

the social, economic, and

political spheres. One of

the other students on the

trip, Erin Kelley, queried

the GWC representative

about the issue of female

representation in the

courtroom. We learned

that there are times when

a woman needs a male

guardian in court and,

many times, this is their

spouse, causing a conflict

of interest. “Otherwise,”

the GWC representative

added, “women choose to

wear the veil here to

embrace their cultural

roots despite the rapid

change and

Westernization this coun-

try has undergone in the

past fifty years.”

After another five-

course lunch, we went to

the Center for Strategic

Studies. With its own

“situation room,” this

academic organization

could have resembled any

Washington, D.C. think

They experience urban and desert life in the GulfBy Allison LindenbergContributing Writer

From left: Erin Kelley and Masha Bolotinsky show off local henna designs

Shaikh Zayed Mosque, the third largest mosque in the world

Giusy Massa, second-year Middle East Studies

student, wears traditional Emirati dress Continued on page 13

Courtesy: M

asha Bolotinsky

Courtesy: M

asha Bolotinsky

Courtesy: M

asha Bolotinsky

tank. We toured the

library and were each

generously sent back with

at least six books pub-

lished by the Center on

topics from the economic

effects of Petroleum in

the UAE to foreign direct

investment in the GCC

countries to help us

research as we write our

theses.

The last stop of the day

was the U.S. Embassy

where we met with four

representatives (Political,

Economic, Consular, and

the Assistant to the

Ambassador.) I was

pleased we made this stop

as it was interesting to

hear about our country’s

diplomatic mission in the

UAE. Some issues we

touched upon were the

assassination of Hamas

commander Mahmoud al-

Mabhouh, the prospect of

Iranian sanctions, and

how the UAE sets an

example for the other

countries in the Middle

East as per diversifying

an originally oil-based

economy.

After a very eventful

day, we packed our bags

and made our way for

Dubai, known to many

these days as “the city of

silent cranes.” Growing

up in the New York City

suburbs, I can easily say

that Dubai puts any U.S.

city to shame in all of its

pizazz, and architectural

monstrosities.

After spending our first

night in yet another five-

star resort, the Grand

Hyatt Dubai, we hit the

ground running the next

morning for a full day of

university touring. Our

first stop was the Dubai

School of Government

where we met with Dean

Tarik Yousef to discuss

research projects current-

ly underway in the uni-

versity. Next, we visited

the Higher College of

Technology Men’s

College where we toured

the airplane hangars,

media studios, and many

of the other hands-on

facilities this school had

to offer to its students.

Our next stop,

another highlight of the

trip, was our visit with a

representative from the

Dubai International

Financial Center (DIFC).

With 908 clients ranging

from banks, Islamic

finance companies, asset

investment firms,

lawyers, credit rating

firms, and accounting

firms, there are three tril-

lion dollars floating

around in the DIFC.

One of the main attrac-

tions to this market is its

tax-free zones, making it

enticing for companies to

enter Dubai’s market. To

do business in Dubai, a

company is required to reg-

ister with the DIFC and

have an office location

within its headquarters.

The last days of our trip

included a double-decker

bus tour of the city of

Dubai, a trip to Al Ain, an

oasis built by Sheikh Zayed

for Emiratis to enjoy in the

desert climate, the Zayed

House for Islamic Culture,

the Dubai Mall (the biggest

in the world), and the Burj

Khalifa (the tallest building

in the world).

Finally, if I were writing a

travel brochure for the

UAE, our last night’s activ-

ity would be first on the list.

We ended our trip taking

four Ford trucks through

the Al Bastikyah desert,

riding the dunes, at times

horizontally and vertically

positioned along the way.

When our trucks stopped,

we “sand-boarded” down

the dunes, went on camel

rides, and ended the night

eating dinner in a Bedouin

village. Insha’Allah we

will all be able to go back to

the UAE soon.

Allison Lindenberg is a

second-year M.A. candi-

date concentrating in

Middle East Studies.


Panels and Round-Table Discussions Hosted at the

HNC:

The fall semester featured an especially rich series of

special panel discussions. The session with Jill

Abramson of The New York Times and columnist and

TV-pundit Clarence Page commanded the largest audi-

ence.

Invited Informal Colloquium on the History of the

Cultural Revolution: Led by Prof. Andrew Walder

(Stanford University) and our own Prof. Dong

Guoqiang, the colloquium addressed recent Chinese

and western approaches to the study of the Cultural

Revolution. Participants included Prof. Frank Dikötter

(University of Hong Kong), Director Jan Kiely, Prof.

Ren Donglai, Prof. Adam Webb, Prof. Meredith Oyen,

and HNC MA students Max Massa, Ren Hua, Michelle

Jackson, and Lisa Moore. October 21.

Discussion with World Affairs Council Delegation:

The directors, faculty members Prof. Ren Donglai and

Prof. Feng Chuan, and several student representatives

engaged in a discussion on U.S.-China relations and

China today with the following delegation: Ms. Maria

Wulff, President of the World Affairs Council of

Oregon and Member of the National Board of

Directors of the World Affairs Councils of America;

Ms. Catherine Hanni, Vice President of the World

Affairs Council of Rhode Island; Stephen Lari;

Angela Malaughlin; Emmit Mchaffie; Joe Melookaran;

Kathy Nealy; Kanwarjit Singh; Charles Womack, Vice

President of the World Affairs Council of Tennessee;

and Diane Woosnam. November 13.

A Discussion with Leading American Editors and

Columnists:

Jill Abramson, Managing Editor, The New York

Times; John Byrne, Executive Editor, BusinessWeek;

and Clarence Page, Columnist, The Chicago Tribune.

The panel discussion was made possible by Roger and

Vivian Wang and the Committee of 100. December 12.

A Discussion of Contemporary China Issues:

Joshua Eisenman (HNC’02), Fellow in Asian Studies

at the American Foreign Policy Council and PhD

Candidate, UCLA; Jack Marr, Advising Director,

NYU Stern Program in Shanghai; and Devin Stewart,

Director of the Global Policy Innovations Program,

Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs.

December 22.

Special Traveling Programs:

A continuing initiative this year has been to establish

and promote programs that encourage students to learn

from special experiences in Chinese society. In this

regard, the Center supports a certain number of class

field trips and encourages students to undertake volun-

teering, internships, and research projects. At the heart

of this initiative has been the service learning student

trips to Sichuan inaugurated last year. For 2009-10,

those service learning trips and additional volunteering

projects in Sichuan were generously supported by a

grant from the JP Morgan Chase Foundation. The

grant funding paid for nearly 80% of the costs for the

third Hopkins-Nanjing Sichuan Service Learning

Program that took 20 student volunteers, a mix of

Chinese and American/internationals, to tutor the stu-

dents at the Dongqi Middle School in Deyang Country,

Sichuan, during the week of November 20-26. This

time the delegation was led by Chinese Director

Huang Chengfeng.

The grant funds also were put toward establishing JP

Morgan Chase Sichuan Service Learning Fellowships

for five American/international students to do exten-

sive volunteer work with JP Morgan Chase Foundation

partner Chinese NGOs on education and poverty alle-

viation projects in rural Sichuan during our winter and

summer breaks. With the assistance of the Foundation,

two participating Chinese partner NGOs were identi-

fied: the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation

(CFPA) and the Narada Foundation. After a highly

competitive application process, five American/inter-

national students were awarded fellowships and

matched with the two NGOs as follows:

China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation: Matt

Chitwood, Ryan Fioresi, Madeleine McDougall

Narada Foundation: Patrick Belnap, Kim Fassler.

This initiative and support by the JP Morgan Chase

Foundation, combined with the inspiring role played

by JHU-SAIS China scholar, Professor Ann Thurston,

encouraged other students to take part in volunteering

programs in rural or less-traveled parts of China.

Professor Thurston, for instance, has made it possible

for several students to work with the Chinese NGO

Duan Jun, one of the well-known advocates for those

living with HIV in rural Henan. At least two students

are currently visiting these communities in Henan and

collecting their stories for what is planned to be a

Chinese virtual HIV/AIDS quilt on the web.

Two other students, Mike Aber and Li Shuo, are spent

their winter break working on financial literacy and

micro-financing projects in Sichuan with the DaShan

Foundation.

Career Development:

For the second time, HNC coordinated with SAIS

Director of Career Development, Ron Lambert, on the

Asia Career Trek. Aimed at introducing students pri-

marily to companies in the consulting and financial

services sectors, the Career Trek took ten HNC stu-

dents and ten SAIS students to Shanghai and Hong

Kong in the week of January 10-17. Led by team-cap-

tain Amit Urban, the HNC delegation also included Ed

Barrington, Roy Eriksen, Fan Baoji, Ge Yan, Samuel

Stromeyer, Wang Hang, Bennet Voorhees, Zhang

Yangjia, and Zheng Fangyuan. HNC graduates and

current SAIS students Silas Cardwell and Zhou Lewen

were part of the SAIS delegation. Meetings were held

with Deloitte, KPMG, Nike, Bain, Citibank, JPMorgan

Chase, Morgan Stanley, BNP Paribas, HSBC, Bank of

America-Merrill Lynch, and a number of other firms.

News from the Hopkins-Nanjing Center

Middle East Studies Students Visit the UAE

Students went dune bashing with Emiratis

in the Dubai and Abu Dhabi deserts

Dubai’s Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the

world

Continued from page 12

Courtesy: C

hris Hassaan Francke

Courtesy: C

hris Hassaan Francke

This year, SAIS Runs

other members from the

SAIS community joined

together to organize the

1st Annual SAIS Runs

Charity Run, benefiting

The UNITE Foundation.

A 501(c)3 non-profit,

The UNITE Foundation

was co-founded by SAIS-

er Jeff Finkelman to pro-

vide financial support to

an educational youth

summer camp in Togo,

West Africa called Camp

UNITE.

Each year, nearly 200

young people attend a

week of Camp UNITE

where they learn essential

knowledge about health,

education and gender

equity, while building

new skills like teamwork,

leadership and effective

communication.

The idea to organize the

Charity Run came about

during a chat between

Jeff and I during the sum-

mer of 2009. I’ve always

enjoyed running and

thought that spring races

would be perfect given

the weather, and length

of time needed to train

and raise donations. With

the help of Richard

Kaufman, two teams of

runners and walkers were

put together to participate

in the 2010 Cherry

Blossom Festival 10-mile

Run and George

Washington Parkway

Classic run.

The runners mostly

consisted of SAISers and

UNITE Foundation mem-

bers. Our goal was to

raise enough funds to

send 32 campers to Camp

UNITE 2010, at a cost of

$165 per camper, by race

day in April 2010. Each

runner on the charity

team pledged to raise at

least the amount needed

to send one camper to

camp, some pledged

more.

Throughout the year,

volunteers asked family,

friends and neighbors to

help to meet his or her

pledge. By race day

roughly 90% of the total

fundraising goal had been

achieved.

A better day couldn’t

have been given to us to

run. With good cheer, we

raced our way through

DC already having

accomplished a personal

goal.

On behalf of the SAIS

Runs Race Team, I want

to thank all of our sup-

porters who helped us

send needy campers to

Camp UNITE 2010.

Runners/Supporters:

Jonathan Burks, Tim

Gibson, Richard

Kaufman, Michael

McGuirk, Meghan

Mercier, Anayo Osueke,

SarahWinnan, Chelsea

Coffin, Kris Cronin, Bill

Gelfeld, Sylvan

Herskowitz, Noah Mann,

Sharon Nakhimovsky,

May Nguyen, Robert

Cowden, Kelly Keehan,

Stephanie Lipinski, Jeff

Locke, Annie Magnus,

Margaret O'Connor,

Shiva Polefka, Robert

Staeheli, Yana Hongla,

Simone Grant, and

Pamela Finkelman

Anayo Osueke is a sec-

ond-year M.A. candidate

concentrating in Latin

American Studies.


After a career as social

chair for a string of clubs

during my business stud-

ies, I was eager to take on

a similar role at SAIS.

Surprisingly, I was lucky

to be elected to the SGA

and unsurprisingly - for

some reason it is not the

most popular task - imme-

diately got the position as

the Social Director.

A week later, I found

myself facing a group of

enthusiastic students,

known as the Social

Committee, voluntarily

offering their services to

the student body in order

to stimulate the social life

in our small international

community in Bologna.

What this meant was not

entirely clear, but in my

interpretation our ultimate

goal was to render this

year unforgettable.

Before we could actual-

ly forge initiatives, we

were faced with the first

major event on our social

calendar: “Thanksgiving”.

Apart from the logistical

challenge of providing

food for approximately

200 students, I, as a

European, had never prac-

ticed this tradition myself

and had limited knowl-

edge of it. I was unaware

of the meaningful history

behind the holiday, which

had hitherto appeared to

me as a mere occasion to

eat stuffed turkey.

However, thanks to the

support from my dedicat-

ed committee members

and the student body, who

provided scrumptious

home-made specialties,

the outcome was a won-

derful event bringing

together the student body

and faculty.

It was then that a frantic

cycle of continuous

preparation began with

one event following the

other – our festive

Christmas Party, the

glamorous Austrian Ball,

the hilarious Mr. and Ms.

SAIS Competition, and

the upcoming

International BBQ, to

name only the biggest. In

between parties and

events, the SGA made an

effort to provide services

targeted at students’

needs, such as fruit bas-

kets, coffee and cookies

during midterms, and sup-

port of student clubs as

well as associations.

Working in the Student

Government was reward-

ing, yet fairly challenging

in terms of time commit-

ment and creativity. In the

beginning, I was probably

inclined to repeat the mis-

takes people had made

before me, namely

neglecting my studies and

trying to push for changes

that were not feasible, all

the while trying to look at

the big picture. Although

I experienced frustrations

at times, events turned out

well as I always found the

support I was hoping for.

In this regard, I believe I

can speak for all SGA

members when I say that

the greatest challenge is

staying committed to your

duties while accepting

that you do not have

enough time on your

hands to do everything

perfectly.

The fact that not all of

your actions are visible to

students and that critiques

on your work are always

waiting around the corner

can be demanding. Simple

as it may sound, this is

actually the exact same

challenge for “real” gov-

ernments – namely to find

a balance between benefi-

cial, sustainable changes

for the majority of the stu-

dent body rather than

short-term, popular suc-

cesses.

I hope that we reached

our goal of organizing

some memorable events,

as these are in the end an

important part of our

overall experience at

SAIS. This year has

reasserted my view that

the social capital of our

diverse community is the

most valuable asset we

have and that dedicated

students can achieve

amazing things.

Nora Wasserman is an

M.A. candidate studying

in Bologna.

Spicing Up Life in Bologna

SAIS Runs Club Participates in National Race

By Nora WassermanContributing Writer

By Anayo OsuekeContributing Writer

The SAIS Cherry BlossomRace Team

SAIS runners relax after the race


It is unlikely that I have

to iterate for any of my

peers the difficulty of the

current economic climate

on the job search. On

campus, students spend

hours drafting resumes

and cover letters, and

career services personnel

typically stay beyond

their normal 8-5 working

hours in order to accom-

modate the large numbers

of students seeking guid-

ance.

Private and public sec-

tor entities alike receive

three to four times the

number of job applica-

tions per job announce-

ment due to increased

employment demand.

It is an economic climate

that favors the supplier;

nonetheless, there are

strategies to be utilized

that our Ambassador

roles are preparing us for.

My role at the United

States Department of

Energy has taught me

important lessons associ-

ated with the job hunt:

capitalize on my natural

strengths, be creative in

my use of networking,

pay attention to what

excites me and remain

tenacious in the search.

To become a DOE

Student Ambassador, you

must have completed an

internship at the DOE at

some point in your aca-

demic career.

There are unofficial

ways to go about this by

becoming a Department

Volunteer, which almost

anyone can do.

The duties of an

Ambassador are to serve

as a liaison between the

Department and student

universities and groups

who are interested in

spreading the mission of

the Department and in

potentially becoming

DOE employees down the

road. Interested students

should contact me and I

can give them informa-

tion.

Some of our studies

have qualified us for

work in specific fields,

such as engineering or

law. I have spent the last

two years obtaining a

master’s in an economics-

based curriculum.

Because the nature of

employment in America

can be somewhat sec-

torally segmented (i.e.

policy jobs are largely

located in D.C., finance

and banking jobs in New

York, manufacturing and

agriculture jobs can be

concentrated in the cen-

ter, technology-related

jobs on the west coast

etc.) this plays a part in

our decision making,

sometimes causing us to

pigeon-hole ourselves

without considering our

unique traits.

Yet this is a market that

requires creativity: we

should all become aware

of what natural skills and

abilities we possess that

distinguish us from our

counterparts in our fields:

negotiation, communica-

tion, strategy, language,

organization and procure-

ment come to mind, none

of which I learned in my

undergraduate or gradu-

ate coursework.

I learned as an

Ambassador that I bring

creative ideas to the table

as a result of my experi-

ences working abroad in

media and journalism,

and thinking unconven-

tionally has helped me to

use innovative networks

for job promotion and

peer outreach.

The ability to pick up a

telephone and negotiate a

better price, market a new

product, or promote an

idea are also valuable

skills often untaught in

academic programs, and

I’m certain that my

Federal Student

Ambassador colleagues

have developed some or

all of them.

Networking within the

Ambassador role has also

opened doors for me, par-

ticularly within the

Washington, D.C. com-

munity. The career serv-

ices departments of area

schools all know who to

contact when their stu-

dents express interest in

DOE employment.

Likewise, I know who to

contact when I spot a job

announcement on their

websites that may be of

interest to me.

The Young Professionals

in Foreign Policy (YPFP)

group, which has a chap-

ter in many American

cities, has acted as a por-

tal for dissemination of

DOE job announcements,

and many of its members

reach out consistently to

alert me of other foreign

policy-related jobs and

activities in the area.

Even my professors and

fellow colleagues have

become invaluable points

of contact and sources of

job information through

Ambassadors; the experi-

ence has allowed me to

capitalize on the title in

order to market myself

better in a tough job envi-

ronment.

I would urge my

Ambassador colleagues to

think of every

Ambassador interaction

as having the potential to

turn into a positive net-

working relationship, and

doors will open.

There is of course some-

thing to be said for the

work that naturally

excites you, and if you’re

like me, you have a diffi-

cult time choosing one

area. Politics, interna-

tional energy issues,

finance and economics

are all areas of significant

interest to me, but unfor-

tunately the career paths

associated with them are

often divergent.

When I combine my nat-

ural strengths however

with the topics that I love,

the window of possibility

narrows: I love econom-

ics but don’t care to be an

economist, for example. I

enjoy politics but the

experience of campaign-

ing when I was in college

affirmed for me that run-

ning for a local office

was not for me.

My former job experi-

ences all involved client-

facing interactions that

combined consulting

with fundraising, and I

loved those challenges

and want to integrate

them into my next role.

In short, knowing my

passions and drawing

from past experiences

will help me find a job

that I love, while know-

ing my natural abilities

will help me distinguish

myself from the competi-

tion.

Career-related advice

can often be ambiguous

and difficult to apply, so

I hope some of my tips

have resonated with you.

I am happy to open dis-

cussion for more tips and

advice at any point

should it ever be needed,

and I wish you all the

best of luck in your

searches.

Jordan Valdés is a first-

year M.A. candidate

concentrating in Energy,

Resources and

Environment.

BOLOGNA: If there was

such a thing as an Italian

Culture Appreciation

Award, I would grant it

to the two Austrian stu-

dents who came up with

an idea that without exag-

geration was the best

thing that could have

happened to me in

Bologna.

I am an MIPP student

currently finishing my

last semester. I applied to

the one-year program at

SAIS knowing right away

that I wanted to spend the

first semester in

Washington, DC and the

second in Bologna, Italy.

My intention to spend

one semester in Italy was

based on two reasons.

Firstly, growing up in

Switzerland I wanted to

be closer to home.

Secondly, I had heard

about Bologna’s famous

cuisine. Coming from a

country and a city,

Zurich, which caters to

the most fastidious

palates in the world, eat-

ing well is extremely

important to me. I con-

sider good food one of

the joys in life.

Arriving in Bologna in

February, I did not know

anybody. After having

spent one semester

together, most students

had formed cliques, and,

as a new student, it took

time for me to integrate.

The first three weeks, I

discovered various good

restaurants by myself.

However, as a social per-

son, I soon realized that

good meals are even bet-

ter when enjoyed in com-

pany. It was then that I

received an email titled

‘Cena à la SAIS’, which

would change my rela-

tionship with the Cucina

Italiana forever. The con-

cept of Cena is as fol-

lows: Every Tuesday,

two tables are booked at

various restaurants

around Bologna for up to

10 people.

Students are given two

- three days to sign up for

the coveted seats. Venues

have included well-

known, established fami-

ly businesses, one of the

few sushi bars, and small,

exquisite restaurants, that

have gained popularity

with Bolognesi. Not only

is this a great opportunity

to meet new people in an

intimate setting (after all,

even after one semester not

all 194 students knew each

other). It is also a brilliant

way to discover the won-

derful trattorias and oste-

rias that have earned

Bologna its reputation as a

culinary destination.

To make a long story

short, I have faithfully

attended every single

weekly event and I have

had some of the most

memorable experiences

here in Bologna at these

dinners. Due to its success,

‘Cena à la SAIS’ is begin-

ning to catch on among

faculty members as well.

Recently, a professor

showed up at ‘Cena à la

SAIS’ in Osteria Del Poeti,

proving that even long-

lived Bologna residents

might still discover new

trattorias. We stayed out

until 3AM laughing and

philosophizing on a

Tuesday evening – mostly,

thanks to a typical Italian

drink, Negroni, which

reminded me the next

morning how much fun I

had had.

Edmond Saran is a 2010

MIPP Candidate in

Bologna.

DOE Federal Student Ambassador Offers Career Advice

Cena a la SAIS

By Jordan ValdésContributing Writer

By Edmond SaranContributing Writer

“Because the

nature of

employment in

America can be

somewhat sec-

torally seg-

mented, this

plays a part in

our decision

making”

“Knowing my

passions and

drawing from

past experi-

ences will help

me find a job

that I love”

From left: Julia Schilling and Philipp Lustenberger


Summer Programs

Washington, D.C.

June 1� July 22

The Paul H. Nitze School

of Advanced International Studies

APPLY NOW!

SUMMER COURSES in

international relations,

economics, development,

regional studies and more during

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CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS

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INSTITUTE with intensive

evening courses in

Arabic, Chinese, Hindi-Urdu,

Japanese and Russian

ESL AND INTERNATIONAL

ISSUES for students and

professionals

www.sais-jhu.edu/summer

Educating Tomorrow’s Leaders

May_2010-FINAL

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