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Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine (Academic), April 13th

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CSEEES put on an event titled “The Russian Invasion of Ukraine”. The conversation definitely leaned more on the side of how Ukraine was doing at the time. This included Volodymyr Zelenskyy and how his approval ratings skyrocketed during the crisis. It was mentioned that many Ukrainians and even Russians who are not in favor of Putin and his decisions have started to use less Russian and incorporate more Ukrainian language into their vocabulary.
This event relates to IA because major conflicts such as this have consequences all over the world (ie foreign policy, economy). It is important to be up to date with these conflicts so that we can see what it means for the state of the world.
I think that this event was helpful in my understanding of the Russia-Ukraine conflict because it synthesized some of the key aspects. I am interested in that particular region of the world so this event was relevant to my personal interests.
This event relates to my major in security and intelligence and my minors in Russian and psychology. Aside from the obvious connections to my major and Russian, a lot of things that were mentioned in the discussion could be explained by what I learned in my Psychology of Personal Security class. We learned that during times of conflict, people become a lot more patriotic and approval ratings shoot up which explains the Ukrainian reactions to what Zelenskyy is doing or saying. Since people feel insecure when their country is under attack, they bolster their attachments by promoting their worldview defense. In Ukraine, (hopefully) Ukrainians are attached to their country because they think that their image will be carried on by their country when they pass away. Because their attachment is threatened, they will be patriotic as a worldview defense mechanism. I think that this discussion definitely helped me to pull my psychology knowledge out of the classroom.

Liberal Values, Institutions, and Security in Europe (Academic), April 8th

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*I know that I attended all in-person community meetings, but cannot remember if I went to all online meetings so I am covering my bases*

I went to the lecture on Liberal Values, Institutions, and Security in Europe which was a part of the Mershon Center workshop titled “U.S. and NATO Relations with Russia and Security in Europe”. Richard Herrmann stated that it is of utmost importance for all of the generations who are able to to keep working towards global democracy and fighting against the leaders who are non-democratic. He argues that there are few events that have pulled together NATO as much as the Russia-Ukraine conflict has. That being said, we tend to underestimate the lengths empirical powers will go to and that has negative consequences.

This relates to IA because part of globalization is cooperation and we have been able to see quite a bit of that as the conflict has unfolded.

I am interested in how institutions can help band together nations in times of conflict and this event highlighted the powers that unity has. Individually, states tend to act in a self-serving manner, and can promote violence but, as soon as we learn to coexist globally, I believe we will finally be able to make big strides towards being a functional democratic society.

This event has ties to both my major in Security and Intelligence and my minors in Russian and Psychology. We discussed the Russia-Ukraine conflict A LOT in all of my security-focused classes but primarily focused on the security aspects so I think it was interesting to look at the situation from the perspective of international cooperation. Moreover in psychology, we learned about security trade offs which is something that I think plays a big role in this particular instance. And obviously Russia and Russian are related.

Career Paths with CIA (Professional Development), March 22nd

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A representative from the CIA came to talk to interested students about potential career paths. Later in the day, she spoke to the Security and Intelligence Club so I got to hear her twice. In the first discussion, she outlined what it looks like to apply for the CIA and things that the CIA looks for. According to her, it is important to have an interest in foreign affairs/current events, relevant life/work experience, familiarity with foreign languages/cultures, communication skills, and at least a four year degree. During the club meeting, she talked more about herself and her experience as a black woman in the field of intelligence. This was a fascinating perspective because you are more likely to see white men in intelligence who most likely have a very different viewpoint of the field. She also talked about the LGBTQ experience in within the CIA which is a tidbit of information that I was personally very interested in.
I valued that she mentioned that one of the most recent recruits was a theater major because it made the CIA seem a bit less intimidating. Most people say that you have to major in computer science or have extensive military training so it is important to know that that is not the case.
The CIA discussion relates to IA because CIA is an organization that focuses on international issues.
The discussion itself wasn’t all that different from what I have learned from my ex-CIA professor but I think the reiterations that were made emphasized what is actually important.
The CIA has always been one of the organizations that I wanted to apply to so this event was helpful in solidifying my interest and providing insight into what a career might look like.
This event has a very clear connection to my Security and Intelligence major.

State Department with Jeffrey Giauque (Academic/Professional Development), February 25th

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*I know that I attended all in-person community meetings, but cannot remember if I went to all online meetings so I am covering my bases*

I attended the CSEEES lecture with Jeffrey Giauque which gave a glance into what it looks like to have a career in foreign service and, more specifically, the State Department. He talked about his background in slavic studies and Russian and how that translated into his work experience in Belarus during their election cycle. He talked about the corruption that he witnessed (ie seeing ballot counters deliberately count votes for Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya as votes for Alexander Lukashenko) and what it means to work for the State Department.

Giauque’s discussion points can relate to IA because the corruption that he witnessed had the potential to have pretty bad global ramifications and it is important for people who work with foreign policy/diplomacy to try to address issues like that.
I enjoyed this discussion a lot because Giauque did not just read through what to expect from the State Department and instead explained his experiences within the organization and how he used his education as an advantage in his career.
This event corresponds with my major in Security and Intelligence because the State Department career path is a popular choice for those interested in intelligence. The specific work that Giauque does also relates to my studies of Russian because Giauque used his knowledge of Russian as a tool to help with his work. I want to work for an organization similar to the state department and hope to be able to use my Russian beyond university. Seeing the relevance of the language post-Soviet Union is valuable to me because it makes me believe that I did not make a mistake about my language path (of course now with the invasion of Ukraine this knowledge is even more relevant).

IA Movie Night: Flee (Social/Academic), February 20th

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I went to one of the IA movie nights hosted by the wonderful Madison Meixner. We watched the animated documentary “Flee”. The story is presented in an interview-style manner, switching back and forth between present day Amin, the focus of the documentary, and past Amin. As the film progresses, viewers can understand how difficult it is to escape violent leaders and how easy it is for a family to be split apart. Near the end of the movie, we see Amin as an adult  who is getting ready to marry his boyfriend. It is uncommon to see refugee stories have a happy ending like this but it is important not to forget how hard Amin had to work to get to where he is today.
This film reminded me a lot of the memoir/graphic novel Persepolis, a book that I read in World History in 9th grade. While the settings and timelines are unique, both the novel and film follow the story of a young person faced with the difficulty of having to leave home as a refugee and detail the struggles that they encountered as they attempted to make it to Europe.
This film relates to IA because situations like Amin’s are important to be aware of. Many people seek refuge from the countries that oppress them and as a global citizen, we should know this and try to help by providing aid, establishing policies, etc.
I love documentaries but find it very difficult to watch anything that is animated. This film, however, was so thoughtfully made that it engaged me the whole time. Amin’s story was so beautifully depicted even though it is incredibly heartbreaking.
This event did not intersect with my studies this far into my academic career but I think it will be relevant as I continue my education in international affairs.

Pyongyang Modern: Architecture and Urbanism in Postwar North Korea (Academic), February 15th

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*I know that I attended all in-person community meetings, but cannot remember if I went to all online meetings so I am covering my bases*

I attended “Pyongyang Modern: Architecture and Urbanism in Postwar North Korea”, an event presented by Cheehyung Harrison Kim. He taught about the impact that Stalin and the USSR had on the architecture in North Korea and how Stalin even influenced the names of some streets. I don’t know how it was particularly related to the study of architecture, but he mentioned the North Korean film industry and how Woo In-Hee was the first actress to feature in a sound film from the country.

This relates to IA because knowing arts and architecture of other countries can help to understand more about that country and its culture.

I think that this event was very interesting mostly because I knew so little about North Korea. The country is very closed off so it is hard to get a good picture of what goes on inside. I, for example, had no idea that Stalins sphere of influence spread into North Korea and find it interesting that his impacts last to this day. I was surprised to see that the buildings in North Korea were not all brutalist, which is something that I expected going into the lecture.

I do not think that this event had a tie with my major or minor but North Korea is a topic that comes up a lot in my classes concerning international security. I do not think that knowing the architecture style of many of the important North Korean buildings will be super helpful in my understanding of the country, but that does not mean that I value the information any less. I love learning about architecture so I’m glad that I was able to attend this discussion.

Hafle (Social), November 8th

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The Organization of Arab Students hosted an event called Hafle which was essentially an Arabic party with food, music, and dancing. It was held in the hall above Curl Market and there were quite a few people there. As someone who is neither Arabic nor in the Arabic program, my connection to the event was the people who I went with who were learning Arabic (ie Rosa).

As a vegetarian, I was only able to eat the rice and salad (both were very delicious), but the rest of the food looked absolutely amazing. The music was very familiar to me because traditional music in Spain incorporates a lot of elements of traditional Arabic music. The dancing was cool to watch because everyone was able to jump right into the action. There was also a student who was doing henna so almost everybody left with henna all over their hands and arms.

This relates to International Affairs because it was an event that encouraged cultural immersion, a concept that is a part of broadening one’s global horizons. Learning about other cultures, especially traditions, cuisine, and the arts is helpful in understanding who those people are.

I think the event was well put together, but I do wish that it was advertised more because I think more people would have loved to go and have the experience.
This event did not really intersect with my studies but it definitely tied in with life. My family is Andalusian, a subculture of Spain with ties to Arabic culture. Arabic influences can be seen not only physically within the architecture of the region but also in the cuisine, music, art, and almost every aspect of Andalusian life. I did not expect the music to sound so similar to what I am used to, and that was a neat surprise.

Climate Change and U.S. Foreign Policy (Academic), October 21st

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I attended Alex Thompson’s discussion on climate change and foreign policy. Thompson started by describing the new IPCC report which essentially makes it clear that humans have impacted earth’s climate which has led to major changes. As these changes occur, we can expect more extreme weather events which will continue and get worse unless we can stop earth from warming more than 2º. In the 26th COP, the parameters of the Paris accords and other pledges are supposed to be established. In terms of foreign policy, Thompson stated that someone must take control of the issue and the major emitters should be included in talks. The Paris accords should be maintained and the United States should carry out the plans that they promised (50% reduction by 2030, net zero by 2050). Aid should be increased and remain flexible while also keeping the fact that climate change must be combatted in mind.

This event relates to IA because one part of being a global citizen is being aware of the issues that we face as a global society in hopes that we can work together to solve it. Climate change is a global issue and we must unite as one to prevent the most amount of damage. A way to help the situation is to utilize diplomatic powers to create effective plans.
I really enjoyed this event because I am passionate about environmental science and I think it is interesting to see how my interests of science and foreign policy can work together to fight climate change.
The event did not really tie into my academic pursuits as a security and intelligence major but I still find myself studying domestic and foreign policy occasionally. As Thompson stated, domestic policy and foreign policy are one and the same when addressing greenhouse gases so this event addressed that aspect of my studies.

Is The Two-State Solution Dead? (Academic), September 23rd

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On Thursday, September 23rd, I attended Peter Hahn’s presentation on the Two-State Solution with the Mershon Center. In the first part of the event, Hahn read his writing on the conflict between Israel and Palestine and his thoughts on whether or not a two-state solution is still possible. He argues that the two-state solution is the only way for the countries to coexist while also maintaining Judaism in Israel and Islam in Palestine. This method of resolution is more realistic than a single-state solution because of (1) the dominating religions in the states as well as (2) Israel’s perception that Palestine is not ready for democracy. The two-state solution lets Israel be democratic while Palestine can gain self determination. The alternatives, he argues, would defeat the original purpose of the conflict and be detrimental to the government and/or culture of both states.

I think that the information presented in this event is helpful in the understanding of the conflict between Israel and Palestine and I preferred the Q&A section to the actual presentation. When answering questions Hahn seemed much more animated and happy to discuss his work further. 

This event is connected to IA because it involves a multinational conflict that concerns a clash of culture/religion, for lack of better words. This conflict appears in global headlines on a semi-regular basis which highlights its importance to the global community. Also, this event is relevant to my studies as a Security and Intelligence major, especially my political science course about International Security and the Causes in War. In that class, I recently wrote an analysis on Israel and Palestine relations in which I discussed the resolution of the conflict and how international organizations cannot do anything to fix the problem in the deadlock unless Israel and Palestine start to have effective communication that gears them towards a path of cooperation. This argument, as well as the material that I have been learning in that class help me to understand or at least theorize how this two-state solution would be achieved.

Community Meeting ft. Kevin Kelly, Dayton International Peace Museum (_), April 14th

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On April 14th I attended the community meeting about the Dayton International Peace Museum. Kevin Kelly talked about the museum as well as what it does for the community. The museum is a non-profit, primarily volunteer-ran organization that focuses on peace, making people aware of peaceful actions and ways that peace is being achieved now and how it can be achieved in the future. As an organization, it strives to make the local community, as well as the national and international communities, peaceful.

This event had clear ties to IA considering that the main focus was international peace, something that is vital to the status of international relations.

I found this event interesting because I didn’t expect an International Peace Museum to be located in Ohio. Coming from out of state, I had no idea of this museum’s existence so it definitely gave me an idea of a place to visit at some point. I think that having a museum dedicated to something that is integral to the maintenance and preservation of global well-being is important because it gives people hope for the future. While it may seem insignificant, I think that by giving people a chance to learn about peace, especially international peace, we can better learn about how peace can be maintained so that we are more aware of what curet global actions mean in terms of peace.