Blogs

How Millennials Can Create Global Systemic Change

By Hila Mehr on March 12, 2012 - 8:23pm

Our world doesn’t need people to hand out fish. It doesn’t need people to teach others how to fish. It needs people to change the fishing industry entirely. That was the resounding message at the 2012 Harvard Social Enterprise Conference. The Harvard conference focused on social enterprise, but the underlying emphasis was on how the next generation of leaders can create innovative change, together, to tackle critical global challenges.

Policy Implications of a Nuclear Iran for the United States

By Amanda Marie Riggs on March 4, 2012 - 3:10pm

Young Professionals in Foreign Policy’s Middle East Discussion Group (MEDG) held its monthly discussion in February on what a nuclear-armed Iran would mean for the United States. MEDG is comprised of academics, government officials, think tank policy writers, and private sector representatives with a combined specialty in Egypt, Israel, Iran, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria. The MEDG members are young professionals working in the Washington, D.C. area, of ages 22-35 on average. The views expressed here are a composite summary of the monthly discussion series.

From Harvard to Revolution - Facebook's Role in the Arab Spring

By Adam Scheuer on February 25, 2012 - 1:13pm

It is a cold and bleak winter’s evening in February 2004 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A flurry of excitement sweeps through libraries and dorms on the Harvard College campus. Students in my sophomore class peer at each other’s laptops as they peruse a new website. Launched by our classmate the day before, Facebook has rapidly gained several hundred members.

Syria is not Libya

By Haley Cook on February 14, 2012 - 7:45pm

For the foreseeable future, there will be no international military intervention in Syria. Nor will there be UN sanctions, unlike the international response for Libya last year. The United Nations Security Council cannot even agree that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad should step down to make way for a national unity government.

Speaking With Authority

By swschneid on February 8, 2012 - 7:24am

By Sam Schneidman and David Callis

The Social Media Effect On The Arab Spring

By Karli Johnston on January 25, 2012 - 9:46pm

The recent Egyptian elections marked the first milestone of the post Mubarak era for the nation. Having jumped, or stumbled, over this primary hurdle, it is now time to reflect a bit.

Millenials – The Sleeping Giant is Waking Up

By rannebergerme on January 18, 2012 - 11:22pm

According to the United Nations Populations Fund, 43% of the global population is comprised of young people ages 10 – 24; 60% live in developing countries. Yet, it seems as if those numbers matter little. Governments in the Arab world – largely dominated by aging political elites - have shown they are all too willing to ignore, intimidate, or suppress the power of the growing youth population.

The Middle East’s Revolutionary Youth

By Jill Elizabeth Zabel on January 14, 2012 - 3:35pm

For decades, the Arab world’s consistently abysmal marks on indicators of freedom and openness led many to wonder if Arabs and Muslims could “do” democracy. The Middle East was the playground of crusty despots who spent years in power enriching themselves at the expense of their people, while insisting that their autocratic leadership was all that stood between stability and jihadists running amok. But from Tunis to Cairo to Damascus, a cohort of youth came of age and challenged this assertion.

The Arab Spring - One Year Later

By Tripp Copeland on January 12, 2012 - 12:11am

In December of 2010, a young Tunisian set himself on fire to protest political and economic corruption in his home country.

Generational Views on Foreign Policy

By Daniel Perez on December 21, 2011 - 7:42pm

The Pew Research Center recently published an interesting report examining generational differences on key questions regarding foreign policy and national security. By asking respondents to agree or disagree with a series of divergent questions such as “relying too much on military force creates hatred that leads to more terrorism” vs. “using overwhelming force is the best way to defeat terrorism,” the poll reveals some unique trends among the generations.