GW’s Elliott School of International Affairs is leading three major research programs focused on global security, thanks to nearly $2 million in grant funding from Carnegie Corporation of New York and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
The programs—the Rising Powers Initiative, the Project on Middle East Political Science and the Program on New Approaches to Regional Security Eurasia (PONARS)—aim to enhance scholarship, raise public policy awareness and inform international policymaking on global security issues.
“These generous grants testify to the important role the Elliott School plays in illuminating the issues and informing the policies that powerfully affect our nation and the world,” says GW President Steven Knapp.
The Rising Powers Initiative will examine the internal foreign policy dynamics and identity issues of China, India, Russia, Iran, Japan, South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)—actors who will significantly influence U.S. global engagement and international politics in coming years.
A series of regional seminars and roundtables, coursework, Washington briefings, Web site development and a published book volume will examine domestic debates within these countries regarding their place in Asian and world affairs. This initiative, led by GW international affairs faculty members Deepa Ollapally, Henry R. Nau and Mike Mochizuki, is housed in the Elliott School’s Sigur Center for Asian Studies, and is supported by a $349,900 grant from the Carnegie Corporation and a $300,000 grant from the MacArthur Foundation.
With a $475,000 grant from the Carnegie Corporation, Marc Lynch, director of GW’s Institute for Middle East Studies, will lead an effort aimed at building political science expertise in the United States about the Middle East. The initiative will develop Middle East specialists, who are underrepresented currently in political science and international relations despite the significance of the region in global politics, economics and national security.
The initiative will create a network of scholars; provide outreach, training and opportunities for younger scholars to engage with peers, mentors, policymakers and journalists; integrate regional expertise into public and policy debates; and prepare junior faculty for hiring and tenure at leading universities. This initiative will include the development of an outlet for online publication.
In addition, The George Washington University will now lead the Program on New Approaches to Regional Security (PONARS) Eurasia. Founded in 1997 as a multinational network of scholars, PONARS Eurasia seeks to catalyze and sustain collaboration between U.S. and Eurasian scholars on issues vital to global security, such as nuclear proliferation, ethnic conflict, terrorism, energy security, economic reform, climate change, state-building and a host of others. PONARS Eurasia is supported by a $751,500 grant from Carnegie Corporation.
"These three initiatives will substantially enhance international understanding of some of the most important regions and some of the most dynamic challenges in the world today. These programs are superb examples of how GW's Elliott School of International Affairs is bridging the academic and policy communities, bringing scholars and policy experts together, and making our world a better place," says Michael E. Brown, dean of GW’s Elliott School of International Affairs.