The George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs has appointed Chantal de Jonge Oudraat as the program director of the Master of Arts in International Affairs (M.A.I.A.) and the John O. Rankin Professor of International Affairs.
Chantal de Jonge Oudraat is an internationally known scholar with research focused on gender and security, conflict prevention and resolution, and international organizations. Her passion includes bringing more women into the field of global affairs and preparing the next generation of citizens and leaders for the global challenges they will face in the years ahead.
De Jonge Oudraat studied at the University of Amsterdam before receiving her doctoral degree from the University of Paris. She said she was fortunate to have had professors who were academics as well as practitioners.
“I studied with leading French scholars, such as sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, but also with practitioners, such as Army General Lucien Poirier, who was one of the developers of France’s nuclear deterrence strategy,” de Jonge Oudraat said. “It was a very interesting balance between purely academic work and the application of academic and theoretical knowledge to real-world problems. This reinforced my interest in bringing scholarship to bear on policy issues.”
Her first job after graduating from university was at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research in Geneva, Switzerland.
Throughout her illustrious career, de Jonge Oudraat has held senior positions at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the United States Institute of Peace, Johns Hopkins University and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
She has a long-standing involvement with Women In International Security (WIIS) and served as its president and chief executive officer from 2013 to 2021. The mission of the organization is to help women advance to leadership positions in the field of national and international security affairs.
The organization was started in the mid-1980s by a small group of academic women who were frustrated that they were marginalized in their field. WIIS is now a global network that has many international affiliates.
De Jonge Oudraat remembered when she started out studying political science in college, there were very few women in the field.
“It is very rewarding to see how much progress we have made,” de Jonge Oudraat said. “That said, if you look at the world today, gender inequalities remain glaring. This underscores the continuing need for organizations like Women In International Security. There is still a lot to do. But I am heartened by the fact that we see more and more women interested in international affairs, international security and taking up leadership positions.”
She said the challenges the world faces now are complex and preparing students to face these challenges is a vital task of the Elliott School. As she takes on her new role at the Elliott School, de Jonge Oudraat said one of her main goals is to keep the program current by addressing emerging issues in international affairs, integrating gender perspectives into the curriculum and introducing students to a broad array of international perspectives.
“What makes the international affairs challenges so complex is that they are multidimensional,” de Jonge Oudraat said. “When you talk about the movement of people, you have to also consider climate change and economics. You have to also consider security issues. You have to consider gender and governance issues. These and other international issues intersect in powerful ways.”
In the fall, de Jonge Oudraat will be teaching a graduate course on gender and security, which will examine key concepts and factors shaping gender inequalities and human security concerns.
As de Jonge Oudraat brings her many years of experience and leadership in international affairs to her new role as director of the M.A.I.A. program, she is looking forward to strengthening the already robust program with input from students and her colleagues at the Elliott School.
