April 2009

Mahmood Mamdani published Saviors and Survivors: Darfur, Politics, and the War on Terror. Professor Mamdani looks at the crisis in Darfur within the context of the history of Sudan and examines the world’s response to the crisis. More

Read a review from the New York Times.

Hishaam Aidi published Redeploying The State: Corporatism, Neoliberalism and Coalition Politics, offering a comprehensive comparative analysis of Latin American and Middle Eastern corporatism. It focuses on Mexico and Egypt, which share important political features, to critique privatization theory. More

Robert Lieberman authored a chapter in The City in American Political Development, entitled “The City and Exceptionalism in American Political Development.” Professor Lieberman writes “During a few periods in American political history – in particular the late nineteenth century and the New Deal era – cities, and their residents and political elites, were especially powerful presences in American politics. At these moments, cities seem to have been central to the national political regime in ways that defied the general anti-urban bias that affects American politics both culturally and institutionally.” More

Susana Fried co-authored an article for the journal Health and Human Rights, “Sex and the Global Fund: How sex workers, lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender people, and men who have sex with men are benefiting from the Global Fund, or not.” Fried and co-author Shannon Kowalski-Morton examine the Global Fund and its relationships with these groups and the organizations that support them. More

Merit Janow hosted a panel discussion, "The Financial Crisis: The Government's Response and Next Steps." Senior leaders from the public and private sectors offered their views on the crisis, the government’s response and potential next steps. Panelists included Henry Kaufman, Peter R. Fisher, Harvey J. Goldschmid and Charles Calomiris. (Flash Player)

José Antonio Ocampo co-edited Uneven Economic Development. Leading economists and development experts examine the causes and implications of international economic divergences. Uneven Economic Development reviews economic growth and structural change patterns since the 1960s and reviews the respective role and impact of trade liberalization, macroeconomic policies, governance and institutions on national economic performance, particularly in developing countries. More

Christophe Jaffrelot, director of CERI at SIPA's partner SciencesPo in Paris, France's foremost center for research on the international political system, will join SIPA in the fall of 2009 as a visiting professor. Professor Jaffrelot holds degrees from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris, the University of Paris I-Sorbonne and the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales. He comes to SIPA via the Alliance program, which connects Columbia University with several universities in Paris. More

John Micgiel took part in the Warsaw Transatlantic Forum 2009, commemorating 60 years of NATO and ten years of Polish NATO membership. Professor Micgiel participated in a panel discussion entitled “Transatlantic Relations and the Role of the U.S. in Evolving Global Challenges.” Attendees at the Forum included Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, NATO Secretary General, Donald Tusk, Polish Prime Minister, and Daniel Fried (MIA '77), Assistant U.S. Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs. More

Sharyn O’Halloran played "straight man" to roving reporter/comedian John Oliver on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Professor O’Halloran provided expert analysis of the financial crisis and AIG bonuses, as Mr. Oliver covered a St. Patrick’s Day “populist uprising” along New York’s Fifth Avenue. Watch Professor O’Halloran’s appearance in the second segment of The Daily Show.

Nandan Nilekani on "Imagining India:" Nandan M. Nilekani, Co-Chairman of Infosys Technologies and author of Imagining India: The Idea of a Renewed Nation, delivered the annual Investcorp Lecture in International Affairs, co-sponsored by SIPA and the South Asian Journalists Association. Nilekani was listed as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2006 and was named Forbes Businessman of the Year in 2007. His book discusses the future of India and its role as a global citizen and emerging economic giant. (Flash Player)

Lehman Library Turns the Page: Three years ago, Lehman Library was described by one writer in the Communiqué student newspaper as “frozen in its early ‘70s glory” without “enough open space to study or chat.” Those students might be surprised to visit Lehman Social Sciences Library today. Since 2007, the library has undertaken a dramatic renovation, replacing 20th-century practices with 21st-century technology, spaces and learning tools. Foremost among the changes is the new Digital Social Sciences Center. More

Jack Brewer (EMPA ’10) and the Jack Brewer Foundation were honored by U.S. Congressman Charles B. Rangel with a Congressional Certificate in appreciation for the foundation’s work with families in Malawi, Africa. Brewer is a former NFL player currently seeking his Executive MPA at SIPA. He founded the Jack Brewer Foundation to offer educational opportunities and economic development in partnership with underprivileged people around the world. More

SIPA Autonomy: Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs will become an autonomous professional school on July 1, 2009. SIPA will now set its own priorities in recruiting faculty, setting enrollment targets, and developing new programs. “SIPA will maintain close ties to the Arts and Sciences, but will have the financial and academic independence to develop in new and exciting ways,” said SIPA Dean John Coatsworth. More

Pushing the Bounds of Mobile Technology: Several SIPA students recently attended the “MobileTech4SocialChange” conference in New York. The forum featured some of the most active minds in mobile technology and highlighted the ways cell phones can be used for social impact. For three student perspectives on the Mobile Active conference – the technology of change, nonprofit fundraising and telemedicine – visit The Morningside Post.

Capstone Workshop on Building Bamboo Bicycles: Capstone workshops serve as the culminating educational experience for students, allowing them to apply the practical skills and analytical knowledge learned at SIPA to a real-world issue. One of this year’s workshop teams is developing a business plan for building, marketing and selling bamboo bikes in Kisumu, Kenya. The production of bicycles from a local material – bamboo – is expected to create new employment opportunities in Kenya. More

John Solecki (MIA ’87) was released on Saturday, April 4, after being held captive near the Pakistan/Afghanistan border for more than two months. Solecki is head of the United Nations' High Commission for Refugees in Pakistan's Balochistan province. More

Jessica Montell (MIA ’95) accepted the Geuzen Medal 2009 on behalf of B’Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, where she is the director. Also awarded the Geuzen Medal was Al-Haq, the Palestinian Human Rights Organization, where Shawa Jabarin is the director. Jabarin participated in Columbia University’s Human Rights Advocates Program (HRAP) in 2001. More

Stephen Clapp (International Fellows Program ’66) published Africa Remembered, an illustrated memoir of his Peace Corps tour in Nigeria and travels home through Central and East Africa, based on letters and color slides preserved over four decades. In the introduction to Africa Remembered, Clapp writes “I was privileged to witness this time of transition between colonial empires and fledgling nation-states.” More

Admitted Student Open House: SIPA’s annual daylong reception for newly admitted students will take place Tuesday, April 14. This is an opportunity for admitted applicants to evaluate SIPA, Columbia University and New York before making a final decision on which program to enter. Admitted applicants can interact with alumni, current students, faculty and administration on such issues as concentration choices, financial aid, housing, course offerings, career services and student life. More

Brent Scowcroft to Deliver Graduation Address: Former National Security Advisor and SIPA Advisory Board member General Brent Scowcroft will deliver SIPA’s 2009 graduation address. SIPA graduation will be held Monday, May 18 at 2 p.m. at Riverside Church, 490 Riverside Drive. More information about graduation is available here.

Learn more about General Brent Scowcroft here.

Stephen Sestanovich writes “Ask Not What Europe Can Do for You,” Foreign Policy

Arvind Panagariya on "High Growth, Low Votes" in India, BBC News

Jagdish Bhagwati on the European economy and the financial crisis, Bloomberg

Sharyn O’Halloran on the financial crisis, WCBS-TV

Robbie Barnett on the 50th Anniversary of the Tibet Uprising, The Economist Bloomberg News, Christian Science Monitor, WCBS-TV, NBC Nightly News

Arvind Panagariya on credit, protectionism and the G-20, Forbes

Mahmood Mamdani on Sudan’s President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir, National Public Radio

Rashid Khalidi on Sowing Crisis in the Middle East, New York Times

Joseph Stiglitz on China and the economic crisis, NBC Nightly News

Richard Clarida writes “Obstacles to Treatment” for the financial crisis, Business Spectator

Robert Jervis on North Korea's rocket launch, NY Daily News

Jeffrey Sachs writes "The Gasp is Worse Than You Think," Financial Times

Sharyn O'Halloran on the New York job market, NY1

To contribute news and information for Inside SIPA, contact Alex Burnett, Communications Officer, at 212-851-1818 or ab3178@columbia.edu.