Time Schedule:
Cabeiri Debergh Robinson
SIS 495
Seattle Campus
Small-group seminars address current problems in international affairs, each focusing on one specific policy question and producing a joint task force report. Restricted to senior majors in International Studies. Prerequisite: SIS 200; SIS 201; SIS 202; SIS 401.
Class description
Relief to Reconstruction: International Policy after Kashmir quake
This Task Force is charged to review the current state of knowledge, debate, and policy-making on humanitarian relief provision in complex emergencies. Its report should provide a broad overview of contemporary responses to complex emergencies and conduct a specific analysis of the emergent trends in South Asia (Pakistan and Kashmir) after the 2005 earthquake. Specifically, the report should provide recommendations on questions about international humanitarian aid implementation such as: Should humanitarian agencies ever work with or through national militaries? What are the best material forms of relief and rehabilitation aid in complex humanitarian emergencies? Should aid agencies work primarily through governmental institutions or civil society organizations? How should aid agencies select local partners for service delivery? Should international aid organizations undertake to direct or coordinate civil society philanthropic activity? Should aid interventions seek to implement development goals or policies? By examining such questions, Task Force members will develop recommendations regarding ways national governments and international agencies can best work together to provide relief during complex emergencies. The TF will present its report to an international humanitarian aid agency.
Student learning goals
General method of instruction
Recommended preparation
Class assignments and grading
