Stanford University

International Development

FSI researchers consider international development from a variety of angles. They analyze ideas such as how public action and good governance are cornerstones of economic prosperity in Mexico and how investments in high school education will improve China’s economy.

They are looking at novel technological interventions to improve rural livelihoods, like the development implications of solar power-generated crop growing in Northern Benin.

FSI academics also assess which political processes yield better access to public services, particularly in developing countries. With a focus on health care, researchers have studied the political incentives to embrace UNICEF’s child survival efforts and how a well-run anti-alcohol policy in Russia affected mortality rates.

FSI’s work on international development also includes training the next generation of leaders through pre- and post-doctoral fellowships as well as the Draper Hills Summer Fellows Program.

Munashe Miranda Mataranyika

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Munashe is a Master's in International Policy candidate at Stanford, specializing in Governance and Development. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Oklahoma where she earned a degree in International and Area Studies with a concentration on Africa and a minor in French. She is a Shelby Davis Scholar, a Rhodes Scholarship Finalist, as well as a fellow under the Susan R. McCaw Fund at Stanford.

Munashe has interned with HigherLife Foundation, where she served an administrative role centered on managing scholarships awarded to orphaned, vulnerable, and academically gifted students. Having been born and raised in Zimbabwe, Munashe's interests are to explore comparative sociopolitics in developing countries from a post-colonial perspective. She has written on topics that reflect her academic interests such as climate change preparedness in the Southern African Development Community and the efficacy of Western-led counterterrorism in Africa. At Stanford, Munashe hopes to further study the varying dynamics of the impact of development, as both practice and theory, on governance and civil society across the African continent and within the Southern African region in particular.

In her free time, Munashe enjoys singing and songwriting, learning languages, exploring creative art forms, and everything within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Master's in International Policy Class of 2023

Me Me Khant

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Me Me Khant, from Yangon, Burma, is pursuing a Master’s in International Policy at Stanford University as a Knight-Hennessy scholar. Me Me comes to Stanford with an interest in the intersection of conflict, democracy, and economic development. As an exiled poet and activist, Me Me works on promoting the fight for freedom and democracy in Burma and had led thousands from the Burmese diaspora in protests and political campaigns. Currently, she serves as the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Students for Free Burma (SFB), a policy-driven advocacy group of Burmese students, scholars, and professionals in the United States. In this capacity, she routinely works with top members of the Myanmar civilian government, US Congressional offices, federal agencies, and various civil society leaders regarding US-Burma policy. At Stanford, she is also expanding her interest in cyber policy and security, exploring how issues of conflict and democracy manifest in trust and safety, privacy issues, and platform policies, especially in the Southeast Asian context. Before coming to Stanford, she graduated in the top 5% of her class from Centre College with a B.A. in International Studies and French. She had previously worked for Camino Seguro in Guatemala, the Delegation of the European Union in Myanmar, JFP Holdings in China, and the Asia Foundation. Outside of class, she loves experimenting with her poetry reading and writing, dancing (heels, modern and contemporary techniques), and traveling. Learning to fly is her new life goal, and she is currently completing her ground training at Stanford Ground School, preparing to sit for FAA Private Pilot Knowledge Exam.

Master's in International Policy Class of 2022

Mother Nature, Bioweapons and Lab Accidents: Guarding Against the Next Global Biological Catastrophe

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For winter quarter 2022, CISAC will be hosting hybrid events. Many events will offer limited-capacity in-person attendance for Stanford faculty, staff, fellows, visiting scholars, and students in accordance with Stanford’s health and safety guidelines, and be open to the public online via Zoom. All CISAC events are scheduled using the Pacific Time Zone. 

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About the Event: With the devastating loss of life, economic disruption, and political instability it has wrought, COVID-19 has revealed that national governments and the international community are woefully unprepared to respond to pandemics—underscoring the world’s vulnerability to future catastrophic biological threats that could meet or exceed the severe consequences of the current pandemic. To effectively guard against future biological risks, leaders should take a longer-term view and recognize that, while naturally occurring pandemics remain a threat, the next global catastrophe could result from a laboratory accident or the deliberate misuse of bioscience and biotechnology.   This talk will provide a high-level overview of the broader biothreat landscape and outline actions that national leaders and the international community should take with a view to preventing catastrophic biological events—specifically by constraining capabilities and shaping the intent of powerful actors who may wish to exploit the tools of modern bioscience to cause harm. This talk will outline two priority NTI initiatives to strengthen international capabilities to prevent catastrophic biological events. We are working to develop and launch the International Biosecurity and Biosafety Initiative for Science (IBBIS), a new international organization that will focus on preventing the deliberate abuse or accidental misuse of bioscience and biotechnology by strengthening international biosecurity norms and developing innovative, practical tools to reduce risks throughout the research and development life cycle. NTI is also working to develop the concept of a new Joint Assessment Mechanism to strengthen UN-system capabilities to investigate high-consequence biological events of unknown origin. The ability to rapidly discern the source of emerging pandemics is critical to mitigating their effects in real time and protecting against future risks.
 

About the Speaker: Dr. Jaime M. Yassif is Senior Director and Lead Scientist for Global Biological Policy and Programs at NTI, where her work focuses on strengthening governance of dual-use bioscience and reducing global catastrophic biological risks. Yassif previously served as a Program Officer at Open Philanthropy, where she led the Biosecurity and Pandemic Preparedness initiative. In this role, she managed approximately $40 million in biosecurity grants, which rebuilt the field and supported work in several key areas, including developing new biosecurity programming at leading think tanks, establishing the Global Health Security Index, and initiating new biosecurity work in China and India. Prior to this, Yassif served as a science and technology policy advisor at the U.S. Department of Defense and worked on the Global Health Security Agenda at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Virtual to Public. Only those with an active Stanford ID with access to William J Perry Conference Room in Encina Hall may attend in person. 

Jaime Yassif NTI
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Stanford e-Hiroshima: Empowering Youth in Hiroshima

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Kouji Yamada (MBA, Harvard), former Visiting Lecturer, Hitotsubashi University Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy, is an advisor to Stanford e-Hiroshima. His parents, Ryuji and Nanako, are supporters of Stanford e-Hiroshima, which is an online course that SPICE offers to high school students in Hiroshima. Taught by Rylan Sekiguchi, Stanford e-Hiroshima was launched in 2019 with the support of the Hiroshima Prefectural Board of Education. SPICE is grateful to Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki for his vision and leadership and Superintendent Rie Hirakawa for her unwavering support.

Ryuji Yamada adjusts the window shades to savor the view that grows elusive to his aging eyes. If you gaze towards Diamond Head from the Yamadas’ condominium, kite surfers glide in and out of your perspective in some random Brownian motion; their paths, pace, and direction seem chaotic. They all share the same wind, waves, and current, but the skill of the rider to look ahead and channel the energies around them sends them on very different and wonderful journeys. 

“I was just 14 living in Hiroshima and still a minor when the bomb dropped. My brother was only one year older but considered an adult and was sent on work detail for defense preparations. He had to walk through ground zero to come home. My father had a meeting at City Hall, but the ferry was cancelled. We all survived, but the blast sent us in very different directions.

“They rebuilt the community with their personality, spirit, and bare hands, but I was pushed inward to my studies. I needed to comprehend the natural force that had wrought so much destruction.

“In the sixties, foreign exchange was scarce, and I was one of the first scientists that the Japanese government sponsored to do research abroad. At Cornell, Robert Wilson guided my career and brought me along to establish what became Fermilab in 1967. We built Fermilab as an oasis of fundamental research in the Illinois prairie. We thought that the pursuit of knowledge would unite us. Wilson’s famous defense in April 1969 of Fermilab to Congress seems even more relevant today.

‘Are we good painters, good sculptors, great poets? I mean all the things that we really venerate and honor in our country and are patriotic about. In that sense, this new knowledge has all to do with honor and country, but it has nothing to do directly with defending our country except to help make it worth defending.’”[1]


Nanako Yamada also grew up in Hiroshima, but her greatest challenges were still ahead of her. “In the ’70s, there were few role models for women in building identity outside of the home in middle America. But when it became apparent that our second child was uncontrollable in his adolescent years, I decided to lead by example and went back to school to rekindle my love for learning. At Northern Illinois University, Helen Merritt guided me through a career in art history, and we authored several books together.

“Our specialty was kuchie woodblock prints from the late 19th to early 20th century. They offered a glimpse into a culture in flux. Western influences disrupting Japanese culture after Commodore Perry’s black ships forced the opening of Japan.

“What to accept, what to reject. What to cherish and what to disavow. Even when you think you stand still, you are always changing, and hopefully growing. Captured in the woodblocks is a narrative. Some cautionary, some celebratory, but all are educational if your eye and mind are willing to engage.

“When we heard about the SPICE program for Hiroshima, we were honored to stand by the Hiroshima Board of Education and continue the legacy of exploration and learning. Technology allows the new generation to not only be buffeted by social media but to also make profound connections to community, both near and far. Hopefully the students can find their own Robert Wilsons and Helen Merritts. We were blessed to make these relations, but we would have never found them without exploring and engaging. We didn’t have a grand plan, but we never stopped looking. We look forward to seeing what wonderful things they will find.”

Stanford e-Hiroshima is one of SPICE’s local student programs in Japan.

To stay informed of news about SPICE, join our email list and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

[1] Fermilab; https://history.fnal.gov/historical/people/wilson_testimony.html [access date: February 5, 2022].

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SPICE Honors Top Students from 2020–2021 Regional Programs in Japan

Congratulations to the eight student honorees from Hiroshima Prefecture, Kawasaki City, Oita Prefecture, and Tottori Prefecture.
SPICE Honors Top Students from 2020–2021 Regional Programs in Japan
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Rylan Sekiguchi at Hiroshima University High School with Kenzi Watanabe, Principal, and Akiyoshi Kai, Head of R&D Department and member of the Mathematics Department
Rylan Sekiguchi at Hiroshima University High School with Kenzi Watanabe, Principal, and Akiyoshi Kai, Head of R&D Department and member of the Mathematics Department; photo courtesy Rylan Sekiguchi
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Ryuji and Nanako Yamada share reflections on their lives in Hiroshima and their American mentors.

The Digital Transformation of Southeast Asia: Issues and Prospects

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The digital transformation of Southeast Asia is in full swing.  In 2021, 8 of the 10 ASEAN countries had internet penetration rates higher than those for Asia (64%) and the world (66%).  But digital access is unevenly distributed between and within Southeast Asian countries.  How are the new technologies impacting the region?  Are they helping civil society or the surveillance state—free speech and economic growth or unaccountable concentrations of power and wealth?  Are Huawei and the Digital Silk Road creating a future with Chinese characteristics?  Who will write the rules of the digital road?  How are specific countries coping?  What is ASEAN’s role?  What should the US do?  Two leading experts, Huong Le Thu and Elina Noor, will discuss these and related questions.

Huong Le Thu
Huong Le Thu is a co-author of Digital Southeast Asia, a just-published policy-focused study of the webinar topic.  A prolific and influential policy analyst of security and diplomacy in the region, she has written widely in journals and global media and for international think tanks including, as a non-resident fellow, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (Wash., DC).  She has held positions at the Australian National University, the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute, and the Institute of International Relations in Taipei. Her alma maters include National Chengchi University (Taiwan, PhD) and Jagiellonian University (Poland, Master’s).  She speaks five languages and has published in four.

Elina Noor
Elina Noor has just launched a podcast, “Between the Binary: Tech and the Global South.”  It assesses technology’s intersections with history, gender, power, and economic growth through the underheard voices of guests from developing countries.  Cybersecurity has figured prominently in her many publications on Southeast Asia.  She is a member of the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace and has held key positions at the Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (Hawaii), the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (Malaysia), and the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP). Her higher degrees are from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LLM) and Georgetown University (MA).

Winter2022_series_NewFrontiers
This event is part of the 2022 Winter webinar series, New Frontiers: Technology, Politics, and Society in the Asia-Pacific, sponsored by the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center.

Via Zoom Webinar
Register: bit.ly/3LjVVTj

Huong Le Thu Senior Analyst, Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Canberra
Elina Noor Director, Political-Security Affairs, and Deputy Director, Asia Society Policy Institute, Washington, DC
Moderator: Moderator

Donald K. Emmerson

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Senior Fellow Emeritus at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
Affiliated Faculty, CDDRL
Affiliated Scholar, Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies
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At Stanford, in addition to his work for the Southeast Asia Program and his affiliations with CDDRL and the Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies, Donald Emmerson has taught courses on Southeast Asia in East Asian Studies, International Policy Studies, and Political Science. He is active as an analyst of current policy issues involving Asia. In 2010 the National Bureau of Asian Research and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars awarded him a two-year Research Associateship given to “top scholars from across the United States” who “have successfully bridged the gap between the academy and policy.”

Emmerson’s research interests include Southeast Asia-China-US relations, the South China Sea, and the future of ASEAN. His publications, authored or edited, span more than a dozen books and monographs and some 200 articles, chapters, and shorter pieces.  Recent writings include The Deer and the Dragon: Southeast Asia and China in the 21st Century (ed., 2020); “‘No Sole Control’ in the South China Sea,” in Asia Policy  (2019); ASEAN @ 50, Southeast Asia @ Risk: What Should Be Done? (ed., 2018); “Singapore and Goliath?,” in Journal of Democracy (2018); “Mapping ASEAN’s Futures,” in Contemporary Southeast Asia (2017); and “ASEAN Between China and America: Is It Time to Try Horsing the Cow?,” in Trans-Regional and –National Studies of Southeast Asia (2017).

Earlier work includes “Sunnylands or Rancho Mirage? ASEAN and the South China Sea,” in YaleGlobal (2016); “The Spectrum of Comparisons: A Discussion,” in Pacific Affairs (2014); “Facts, Minds, and Formats: Scholarship and Political Change in Indonesia” in Indonesian Studies: The State of the Field (2013); “Is Indonesia Rising? It Depends” in Indonesia Rising (2012); “Southeast Asia: Minding the Gap between Democracy and Governance,” in Journal of Democracy (April 2012); “The Problem and Promise of Focality in World Affairs,” in Strategic Review (August 2011); An American Place at an Asian Table? Regionalism and Its Reasons (2011); Asian Regionalism and US Policy: The Case for Creative Adaptation (2010); “The Useful Diversity of ‘Islamism’” and “Islamism: Pros, Cons, and Contexts” in Islamism: Conflicting Perspectives on Political Islam (2009); “Crisis and Consensus: America and ASEAN in a New Global Context” in Refreshing U.S.-Thai Relations (2009); and Hard Choices: Security, Democracy, and Regionalism in Southeast Asia (edited, 2008).

Prior to moving to Stanford in 1999, Emmerson was a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he won a campus-wide teaching award. That same year he helped monitor voting in Indonesia and East Timor for the National Democratic Institute and the Carter Center. In the course of his career, he has taken part in numerous policy-related working groups focused on topics related to Southeast Asia; has testified before House and Senate committees on Asian affairs; and been a regular at gatherings such as the Asia Pacific Roundtable (Kuala Lumpur), the Bali Democracy Forum (Nusa Dua), and the Shangri-La Dialogue (Singapore). Places where he has held various visiting fellowships, including the Institute for Advanced Study and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. 



Emmerson has a Ph.D. in political science from Yale and a BA in international affairs from Princeton. He is fluent in Indonesian, was fluent in French, and has lectured and written in both languages. He has lesser competence in Dutch, Javanese, and Russian. A former slam poet in English, he enjoys the spoken word and reads occasionally under a nom de plume with the Not Yet Dead Poets Society in Redwood City, CA. He and his wife Carolyn met in high school in Lebanon. They have two children. He was born in Tokyo, the son of U.S. Foreign Service Officer John K. Emmerson, who wrote the Japanese Thread among other books.

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Energy Innovation in Japan and the Future of Climate Change

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This event will offer simultaneous translation between Japanese and English. 
当イベントは日本語と英語の同時通訳がついています。

This is a virtual event. Please click here to register and generate a link to the talk. 
The link will be unique to you; please save it and do not share with others.
当イベントはZoomウェビナーで行われます。ウェビナーに参加するためには、こちらのリンクをクリックし、事前登録をして下さい。

March 1, 5-6:30 p.m. California time/ March 2, 10-11:30 a.m. Japan time

This event is part of the 2022 Japan Program Winter webinar series, The Future of Social Tech: U.S.-Japan Partnership in Advancing Technology and Innovation with Social Impact

 

The challenges of climate change require solutions on multiple fronts, one of which is technological innovation. Attempts for innovation for new energy sources have been ongoing in many parts of the world, and Japan has produced a number of new technologies. This session will focus on two of the most promising innovations coming out of Japan, biofuel and hydrogen energy, and assess their promises and challenges, highlighting technological, regulatory, and business aspects of developing new technologies. Where do these technologies fit in the energy portfolio that would address the issues of climate change and what can Japan and the United States do to collaboratively solve the key problems in advancing these technologies further? Three leading experts in the field will discuss these questions that would shape the future of climate change. 

 

Panelists

Headshot photo of Mitsuru Izumo
Mitsuru Izumo is a graduate of the University of Tokyo, having specialised in agricultural structural
management. In 2005, he established Euglena Co., Ltd. to harness the properties of microalgae
Euglena. Euglena Co., Ltd. became the world’s first biotechnology company that succeeded in the
outdoor mass cultivation of Euglena. Currently, Euglena Co., Ltd upholds “Sustainability First” as
their philosophy and has developed the manufacture and sale of foods and cosmetics as the
healthcare domain, the biofuel business, the bioinformatics business, and the social business in
Bangladesh by leveraging Euglena and other advanced technologies.

 

 

Headshot photo of Eiji Ohira
Eiji Ohira is the Director General of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO)’s Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Technology Office In this capacity, he is responsible for the overall strategy, execution and coordination of NEDO’s research, development and demonstration project on fuel cell and hydrogen.

He has also coordinated fuel cell and hydrogen activities with international stakeholders, through International Energy Agency’s Technology Collaboration Program (IEA TCP: Advanced Fuel Cell & Hydrogen), and International Partnership for Hydrogen and Fuel Cells in the Economy (IPHE). 

He joined the NEDO in 1992, just after graduation from the Tokyo University of Science. He served as a visiting scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1997-1998.

 

Moderator

Headshot photo of Kate Hardin
Kate Hardin, Deloitte Executive Director for Energy and Industrials Research, has worked in the energy industry for 25 years.  She currently leads Deloitte research on the impact of the energy transition on the energy and industrial manufacturing sectors. Before that, Kate led integrated coverage of transportation decarbonization and the implications for the oil, gas, and power sectors.  Kate has also developed global energy research for institutional investors and has led analysis of Russian and European energy developments.  Kate recently served as an expert in residence at Yale’s Center for Business and Environment, and she is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.  





 

Shorenstein APARC Winter 2022 Speaker Series Icon with text "New Frontiers: Technology, Politics, and Society in the Asia-Pacific"
This event is part of the 2022 Winter webinar series, New Frontiers: Technology, Politics, and Society in the Asia-Pacific, sponsored by the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center.

Via Zoom Webinar
Register:  https://bit.ly/3LuNa94

 

 

Mitsuru Izumo <br>Founder and President, Euglena Co Ltd.<br><br>
Eiji Ohira <br>Director General of Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Technology Office, Japan New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) <br><br>
Kate Hardin <br>Executive Director, Deloitte Research Center for Energy & Industrials
Panel Discussions

Russia, Ukraine and NATO: The View from London

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 All CISAC events are scheduled using the Pacific Time Zone. 

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About the Event: The Russian military continues to mass forces near Ukraine, while the Kremlin says that the United States and NATO have addressed its secondary concerns but have ignored its key demands, such as that the Alliance foreswear further enlargement. Britain has played a critical role in NATO deliberations on how to respond to Moscow proposals and actions, and the British military is sending additional forces to bolster the Alliance's eastern flank. Sir Roderic Lyne, a former British ambassador to Russia and former foreign policy advisor to the prime minister, will describe how the crisis is viewed in London, the motivations driving Russian actions, and how the West should respond.

 

About the Speaker: Roderic Lyne served in the UK's Diplomatic Service for 34 years, including three postings to Moscow between 1972 and 2004, and was the last Head of the Soviet Department in the Foreign Office. In the mid-1990s he was the adviser to the Prime Minister on foreign affairs, security and Northern Ireland. Since retiring as Ambassador to the Russian Federation in 2004 he has visited Russia about fifty times as a business consultant and lecturer, and has written extensively on the subject. His most recent article was "Putin's Gamble: Must It End Up As Lose/Lose", published by Chatham House in late January. From 2009 to 2016 Roderic Lyne served on the UK's Inquiry into the Iraq conflict of 2003.

Virtual only.

Sir Roderic Lyne
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European Security Initiative

What Does It Mean to Be an American?: Reflections from Students (Part 7)

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The following is Part 7 of a multiple-part series. To read previous installments in this series, please visit the following articles: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6.

Since December 8, 2020, SPICE has posted six articles that highlight reflections from 49 students on the question, “What does it mean to be an American?” Part 7 features eight additional reflections.

The free educational website “What Does It Mean to Be an American?” offers six lessons on immigration, civic engagement, leadership, civil liberties & equity, justice & reconciliation, and U.S.–Japan relations. The lessons encourage critical thinking through class activities and discussions. On March 24, 2021, SPICE’s Rylan Sekiguchi was honored by the Association for Asian Studies for his authorship of the lessons that are featured on the website, which was developed by the Mineta Legacy Project in partnership with SPICE.

Since the website launched in September 2020, SPICE has invited students to review and share their reflections on the lessons. Below are the reflections of eight students. I am grateful to Dr. Ignacio Ornelas, Teacher, Willow Glen High School, San Jose, California; Mineko Todd, Teacher, Waiakea High School, Hawaii; Aya Shehata, Hilo High School, Hawaii; and Kathryn Tolbert, a former editor and reporter at The Washington Post for their support with this edition. The reflections below do not necessarily reflect those of the SPICE staff.

Kylie Copeland, California
What makes one an American is not based on their ethnicity or the color of their skin, but rather their devotion to life, liberty, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness. These unalienable rights and their importance have been repeated in many pieces of American literature. These rights have shown to not hold as much value when concerning race. As a White-Vietnamese woman, I have endured experiences where I have been treated like I don’t fit an American profile, even though my morals are those that align with the unalienable rights. It is important to understand that one who is American is one who is determined to fight for liberty, and fight for freedom, and fight for those who are affected daily by these important rights.

Janessa Dillion, California
American ideals are among of the most falsely advertised concepts I have had to face growing up. I was taught that there is pride in being an American and what the country stood for. “Liberty and justice for all” is a lie when our own justice system would condone slavery and police brutality. Our founding fathers constructed a country benefiting only the people that they thought mattered. America is not broken; it is how it was intended to be and now it’s up to the youth (the leaders of the future) that recognize this to not “fix” it but to deconstruct what we currently have in place. I am proud to be an American because I get to create a better future and that’s where my patriotism lies.

Evan Ingerick, Pennsylvania
I take being American for granted. I’m a third generation Japanese American. My great-grandmother is a war bride from Japan. I live in rural Pennsylvania. I have heard stories from my grandpa about being bullied about his skin and race. To me, times have changed where kids aren’t as prejudiced. When I think of being American, I think of all the “freedoms” we have. For me, it is freedom of speech, religion, the ability to choose courses for my choice of a career. I can play all sports. I can do anything anyone else can. If I question what being an American is, I wonder if our democracy is eroding because of all race-related riots, immigration problems, voting systems problems in the news today. These things concern me.

Justin Katayama, New York
While the Japanese tend to be bound to their idea of peace, Americans tend to believe that they are the ones who can bring about justice by raising their voice. While the Japanese believe the same thing, they don’t speak out because they prioritize harmony. Because Japan is very conservative, there is not as much conflict. While I am of Japanese ancestry, I was born and raised in America. I was raised to have the mentality that my opinion matters and that I should speak out when I believe I should. Being an American means that my voice isn’t bound by anything and that it will always be heard by someone.

Mailiokawailelenani Mckeague, Hawaii
Living around 2,000 miles away from what I think is the true America, the term “American” has never been more than the title of the country I live in. I say the Pledge of Allegiance every morning and watch the news every night, yet there is rarely any mainstream media on Hawaii, where I live. There is a big debate on whether Hawaii is a part of America since it was illegally overthrown. With my father being Japanese and Hawaiian and my mother being from Brazil, there seems to be a big gap between where I fit into this idea of being an American. Yet to me, that seems exactly what it means to be American. To be American means to live in a diverse community of people who may not feel like they fit in but they call America home nonetheless. 

Daniela Muñoz, California
Even though we live in a land of freedom, oftentimes being American means having the necessity to fight for equality and justice. People see America as such a perfect country. In reality, a lot of people have had to fight hard to have the opportunities that they have today. My parents are immigrants who came to the United States for better opportunities. They followed their American dream to accomplish things that they wouldn’t have been able to accomplish in their home country. I have Mexican roots and I sometimes think that I will never truly feel the full experience as an American, but I will contribute to traditions and help better the community. It is the significance of maintaining our traditional culture regardless that is important to me.

Nyla Gaeta Nedrow, California
Since its foundation, the United States has been recognized as a pioneer for change. As Americans, I think it’s our duty to keep pushing for progress in areas such as equity and fairness. Our country is far from perfect but when we stand united towards a common goal, anything is possible. From the American Revolution to our most recent election, the American people have proven again and again that we can be agents for change. Being an American means having a nuanced understanding of our country’s past and present. Just because we are asking for improvement does not mean we love our country any less. If anything, I think it means quite the opposite. We ask for improvement because we want the best for our country and for its people.

Hokulani Thomas, Hawaii
When I think about what it means to be an American, I think about diversity. Our country is made up of all different kinds of people from all over the world. From where I am from, which is Hawaii, being mixed race is completely the norm. You could take a walk around town and meet and see people of all different backgrounds. And while to this day there is still prejudice and hate over some cultures and races, in Hawaii we have love and aloha for one another, and we celebrate and support one another’s cultures. So when I think about what it means to be an American, I think about diversity, and how we are getting more and more accepting of different cultures every year.

 

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What Does It Mean to Be an American?: Reflections from Students (Part 6)

Reflections of eight students on the website “What Does It Mean to Be an American?”
What Does It Mean to Be an American?: Reflections from Students (Part 6)
headshots of eight high school students
Blogs

What Does It Mean to Be an American?: Reflections from Students (Part 5)

Reflections of eight students on the website "What Does It Mean to Be an American?"
What Does It Mean to Be an American?: Reflections from Students (Part 5)
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headshots of eight high school students
Clockwise from top left: Kylie Copeland, Janessa Dillon, Evan Ingerick, Justin Katayama, Mailiokawailelenani Mckeague, Daniela Muñoz, Nyla Gaeta Nedrow, Hokulani Thomas
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Reflections of eight students on the website “What Does It Mean to Be an American?”

SPICE’s Rylan Sekiguchi Selected as a Cohort Fellow for the Movers and Shakas Program

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Rylan Sekiguchi has been selected as a cohort fellow for the Movers and Shakas program (M&S)—an initiative to attract remote workers, especially returning kamaʻāina (Hawaiʻi residents), to create a more innovative, resilient, and sustainable Hawaiʻi. The rationale for the establishment of M&S is based on the following.

“Brain drain” is an enduring challenge for Hawaiʻi as we lose key talent and family members to economic opportunities on the continent. M&S focuses on “brain gain” to grow and diversify Hawaiʻi’s economy so that local folks can come home and never have to leave in the first place.

A recent article, “Hawaiʻi’s Population Drain Outpaces Most States—Again,” in Honolulu Civil Beat features comments by M&S Director Nicole Lim. In the article, she notes, “The overall goal is really brain gain. How to tie people into Hawaiʻi for the good of Hawaiʻi.”

Selected from thousands of applicants, Sekiguchi is one of 50 in the second M&S cohort contributing to the community through volunteer projects and developing personal and professional relationships with people from diverse backgrounds. Sekiguchi is working primarily with the PA‘I Foundation, which is led by Executive Director Vicky Holt Takamine, a respected kumu hula (master teacher of hula), well-known Native Hawaiian advocate, and valuable proponent of M&S in the local community.

The Movers and Shakas program is based on three key pillars.

  • Learn: Cultural education helps cohort fellows understand the historical and current context of Hawaiʻi, allowing them to build stronger personal relationships and connect more deeply with Hawaiʻi.
  • Contribute: Volunteering allows cohort fellows to contribute their unique professional skillsets and experiences to local nonprofits and startups while learning about Hawaiʻi from community leaders in a reciprocal relationship.
  • Connect: Community building centers around the two-way sharing of knowledge, ideas, and culture to foster strong bonds between individuals, within the cohort, with volunteer partner orgs, and with the general public.
     

Following a recent visit to the Bishop Museum, designated as the Hawaiʻi State Museum of Natural and Cultural History, Sekiguchi reflected on his experience. “Though I was born and raised in Hawaiʻi, it wasn’t until I moved to the continent as a student at Stanford University that I began to truly recognize my connection to this place. After being away for 19 years, M&S has been an incredibly meaningful experience for me and an extraordinary opportunity to reconnect with Hawaiʻi. It’s also been inspiring to connect with my M&S cohort mates, many of whom also have personal connections to the state. Someday, I hope to connect my SPICE work more closely with the M&S community.”

rylan sekiguchi

Rylan Sekiguchi

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Rylan Sekiguchi (front row, fourth from the right) with his cohort mates on Oahu; photo courtesy Movers and Shakas
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Movers and Shakas is an initiative to attract remote workers, especially returning kamaʻāina, to create a more innovative, resilient, and sustainable Hawaiʻi.

Black Markets and Militants: Informal Networks in the Middle East and Africa

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Black Markets and Militants: Informal Networks in the Middle East and Africa

Khalid Mustafa Medani joins ARD to discuss his recently released book, Black Markets and Militants Informal Networks in the Middle East and Africa (Cambridge University Press, 2021).

Understanding the political and socio-economic factors which give rise to youth recruitment into militant organizations is at the heart of grasping some of the most important issues that affect the contemporary Middle East and Africa. In this book, Medani explains why youth are attracted to militant organizations, examining the specific role economic globalization, in the form of outmigration and expatriate remittance inflows, plays in determining how and why militant activists emerge. The study challenges existing accounts that rely primarily on ideology to explain militant recruitment.

Based on extensive fieldwork, Medani offers an in-depth analysis of the impact of globalization, neoliberal reforms, and informal economic networks as a conduit for the rise and evolution of moderate and militant Islamist movements and as an avenue central to the often violent enterprise of state-building and state formation. In an original contribution to the study of Islamist and ethnic politics more broadly, he thereby shows the importance of understanding when and under what conditions religious rather than other forms of identity become politically salient in the context of changes in local conditions.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER 

Khalid Medani
Dr. Khalid Mustafa Medani is currently associate professor of political science and Islamic Studies at McGill University, and he has also taught at Oberlin College and Stanford University. Dr. Medani received a B.A. in Development Studies from Brown University, an M.A. in Development Studies from the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley. His research focuses on the political economy of Islamic and Ethnic Politics in Africa and the Middle East.

Dr. Medani is the author of Black Markets and Militants: Informal Networks in the Middle East and Africa (Cambridge University Press, 2021) and he is presently completing another book manuscript on the causes and consequences of Sudan’s 2018 popular uprising and the prospects and obstacles for Democracy in that country. In addition, he has published extensively on civil conflict with a special focus on the armed conflicts in Sudan and Somalia. His work has appeared in Political Science and Politics (PS), the Journal of Democracy, the Journal of North African Studies, Current History, Middle East Report, Review of African Political Economy, Arab Studies Quarterly, and the UCLA Journal of Islamic Law.

Dr. Medani is a previous recipient of a Carnegie Scholar on Islam award from the Carnegie Corporation of New York (2007-2009) and in 2020-2021 he received a fellowship from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars to conduct research on his current book manuscript on the democratic transition in Sudan.

This event is co-sponsored by the Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies and the Center for African Studies at Stanford University.

Hesham Sallam

Online via Zoom

Khalid Mustafa Medani Associate Professor of Political Science and Islamic Studies McGill University
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