The Liechtenstein Institute on Self Determination (LISD) launched a new research initiative at the start of the academic year—the Program on Religion, Diplomacy, and International Relations (PORDIR). Wolfgang Danspeckgruber, LISD director and lecturer in public and international affairs, and Paul Raushenbush, associate dean of religious life, co-direct the program.

Given the undeniable role religion is playing in interstate and intrastate conflicts, as well as in aspects of international affairs in the twentyfirst century, PORDIR was created to offer Princeton students and faculty the opportunity to study, reflect, and generate ideas concerning the multiple intersections of religion, diplomacy, and international relations. “Part of what it means to be an educated citizen of the world is to understand the ways in which religion factors into both personal lives and public arenas,” observed Dean Raushenbush. “PORDIR wants to solicit a breadth of perspectives and provide a foundation for a better understanding of the nexus of religious practice and the practice of international relations.”

The program explores the influence of religion and religious beliefs in the conduct of international diplomacy, power politics, crisis and conflict management, and other activities of state and non-state actors. While the focus of the program clearly is defined as religion and international relations, it has received an overwhelmingly positive response, attracting participants from the university community representing an array of academic departments, including sociology, religion, economics, politics, philosophy, history, Near Eastern studies, South Asian studies, and African studies. “From the Institute’s work on the Balkans to its current work on Afghanistan, LISD has had a longstanding engagement with the role that religion has played in the conduct of international diplomacy and negotiations,” said Professor Danspeckgruber. “In the post-9/11 world, religion is again front and center in international relations, and we see PORDIR as playing an important role in the ongoing interdisciplinary conversation within the wider University community about this crucial, and often emotional, issue.”

A key component of the program is the opportunity for a cohort of students to participate as Fellows in Religion and International Affairs. Each fellow presents at least one paper during the 2007-2008 academic year at the Program’s luncheon seminar series; produces an academic, journal-length article that will be published in an edited volume; assists in the planning of the program’s annual colloquium; helps select featured speakers for the program’s lecture series; and regularly contributes to the PORDIR blog.

The 12 Fellows in Religion and International Affairs for 2007-2008 are:

• Jon Gandomi, a second-year M.P.A. at WWS studying international relations, with an emphasis on international security and conflict resolution;
• Ali Hamoudi, a first-year M.P.A. at WWS researching the Judea-Christian-Muslim view of history to see how political development, law, and religion interact;
• Manav A. Lalwani, a junior in the politics department who is focusing on international relations and political economy, especially in South and East Asia;
• Celene Ayat M. Lizzio, a senior undergraduate in the Department of Near Eastern Studies and a first-year participant in the Teacher Preparation Certificate Program;
• Christopher MacPherson, a second-year graduate student at WWS studying a range of issues from domestic policy to post-conflict development and counterinsurgency;
• Avi Miller, an undergraduate junior majoring in philosophy, with academic interests ranging from Greek philosophy and Jewish thought, to psychology and film;
• Andrea Nedic, a second-year Ph.D. student in the electrical engineering department, with an interest in movements of political self determination motivated by religious separatism, specifically as related to the European integration process;
• Nealin Parker, an M.P.A. student at WWS interested in religious concepts of post-conflict punishment and reconciliation;
• Jona Repishti, a second-year M.P.A. candidate in international relations at WWS focusing on development;
• Leanne Smith, a WWS M.P.P. student who has been practicing law and public policy across a variety of fields—primarily international and human rights laws—since graduating from the Australian National University (ANU);
• Zvi Smith, a junior undergraduate in the politics department focusing on political theory and international relations, especially in the Middle East; and
• Joshua Walker, a Ph.D. candidate at WWS focusing on international relations and security studies, especially related to Turkey.

The fellows bring a wealth of international relations experience to the program, including work for governments and nongovernmental organizations in Afghanistan, the Balkans, Iraq, Israel, Turkey, numerous African, Asian, and South American nations, and the countries of the former Soviet Union. As noted by Dean Raushenbush, the fellows “represent a remarkable cross-section of Princeton’s student body— including a variety of religious traditions, political perspectives, academic disciplines, and national backgrounds—which makes for incredibly vibrant and productive conversations. The problem when we meet is how to wrap-up the discussion and get them to leave.”

For more information about the program, fellows, upcoming events, and a link to the PORDIR blog visit www.princeton.edu/ lisd/projects/PORDIR.

The Woodrow Wilson School, the Bobst Center for Peace and Justice at Princeton, and the National Academy for Public Administration have announced a new partnership initiative, “Institutions for Fragile States.”

The Institutions for Fragile States is a response to the international demand for problem-focused knowledge, practical lessons, and a general understanding of state formation in volatile political settings. Directed by Jennifer Widner, professor of politics and international affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School and director of Bobst Center for Peace and Justice, the initiative is part of a global effort to develop an understanding of how best to establish accountable and capable governments in fragile or post-conflict states.

“The demand for practical, problem-focused knowledge about building core governmental institutions is intense,” said Widner. “The shame is that, thus far, the international community has been able to offer so little; too much Western research and writing, for example, focuses on donors and on very general principles. We need to generate knowledge that can help citizens of countries size up their options, learn from each other, and make their own decisions.”

Fragile States incorporates existing graduate policy workshops currently offered by the Woodrow Wilson School with two new research initiatives: an oral history program and natural experiments.

The new oral histories program serves as the foundation for the natural experiments studies. It enables students to conduct field research on the basic facts and timelines of institutions and civil services in fragile states in an effort to gain an understanding of and insight into the causal
relationships and best practices for policy intervention. Priority themes for 2007-08 include selected aspects of civilian policing, elections management, mineral resource management, and civil service reform.

The natural experiments program systematically assesses the before/after status of program beneficiaries or institutional performance, or the differences in these outcomes across similar locales—some in volatile environments and contexts that make it difficult to arrive at reliable research conclusions. At least one published academic paper and one presentation to local and global policymakers will result from each team’s work.

As a part of this initiative, this academic year two Woodrow Wilson School graduate policy workshops will address managing elections in fragile states and post-conflict settings, and how Provincial Reconstruction Teams—small, civilian-military units that assist provincial governments in Iraq and Afghanistan—can govern more effectively, promote economic development, and deliver essential services to populations.

More information about the new program may be found at www.princeton.edu/~states.

Woodrow Wilson School faculty traveled to Tokyo, Japan in mid-October for a high-level workshop and alumni forum to explore the future of security cooperation in East Asia. Co-sponsored with the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Public Policy, the Princeton Project on National Security, and the Future of Multilateralism Project, the events brought together leading scholars and practitioners from the United States, Japan, China, and South Korea.

Discussions kicked off with a workshop on “Multilateral Security Architecture in East Asia,” convened by G. John Ikenberry, Albert G. Milbank Professor of Politics and International Affairs at WWS, and Kiichi Fujiwara, professor of international politics at the University of Tokyo. During the two-day private session, over 20 experts debated the prospects for regional security cooperation in light of the conflicting and competing interests of the major states in the region.

“What is needed is a security mechanism that allows the parties to be in an institutional framework that facilitates consultations and agreed-upon expectations of restraint and commitment,” said Professor Ikenberry, who leads the Future of Multilateralism Project and co-directs the Princeton Project.

Woodrow Wilson School alumni held an elegant dinner for workshop participants and area alumni on October 12 at Ramages restaurant, located in Aoyama’s landmark Spiral Building. Toshiaki Ogasawara VS ’66, chairman of the board of NIFCO, Inc. Japan Times hosted the event, and Naoshi Hirose MPA ‘92, director of World Trade Organization affairs at Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry, served as master of ceremonies.

Over dinner, Hidehiro Konno MPA ‘74, chairman and CEO of Nippon Export and Investment Insurance, offered his thoughts on the prospects for institution building in the Asian region, with particular emphasis on the importance of economic relationships.

Workshop participants then held a half-day open forum on October 13, which was well attended by Woodrow Wilson School alumni, University of Tokyo faculty and students, and press. The morning panel on “The Future of East Asian Security” featured professors Ikenberry and Fujiwara, along with Wang Jisi, dean of Peking University’s School of International Studies, Ambassador Chung-in Moon, professor of political science at Yonsei University, Kurt Campbell, CEO of the Center for a New American Security, and Aaron Friedberg, professor of politics and international affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School. The forum concluded with lunchtime keynote address by Kazumasa Kusaka MPA ‘77, president of the Japan Cooperation Center for the Middle East and advisor for Dentsu Inc.