Q&A
In the 25 years since it was founded, the Center has hosted nearly 400 pre- and post-doctoral fellows. Joe Nye was right on target when, as he was becoming director of the Center in 1984, he wrote:
Above all, the greatest achievement has been in training and supporting a new generation of scholars. It is quite remarkable how many of the best young people have spent their formative predoctoral and postdoctoral years at CSIA. They are a living tribute to [Founder of the Center] Paul Doty.
RenÃe de Nevers, who was a post-doctoral fellow in the International Security Program from 1995 until 1998, is now a Program Officer in the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation''s new Program on Global Security and Sustainability. She is responsible for grantmaking in the areas of arms reduction and security policy.
RenÃe received her Ph.D. from Columbia University, and was a fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London from 1993 to 1994.
Her book, The Sources of Change in Eastern Europe will be published in the BCSIA Studies in International Security book series this year.
Q What are the goals of the MacArthur Foundation''s new Program on Global Security and Sustainability?
RdN The Foundation''s Program on Global Security and Sustainability focuses on the interconnected nature of global problems and promotes more widely integrated, collaborative solutions. This approach reflects the Foundation''s commitment to fostering social invention during a time of worldwide uncertainty.
Q Did the fact that the program is new appeal to you? What kind of role are you playing in shaping what the new program looks like?
RdN The GSS Program recognizes the linkages between security questions and such issues as environmental degradation, refugee flows, and inequality. At the same time, the Foundation continues to address urgent security problems that have received less attention in the wake of the Cold War, such as arms reduction and the dangers created by weapons of mass destruction. Each of these approaches is critically important today, and they attracted me to the Foundation. I am involved in helping to refine the approach adopted by the GSS Program, but the overall reorganization was in place before I arrived.
Q What should the role of a foundation be in international security/affairs?
RdN There has been a decline in public attention in the US to issues of international security, and international affairs in general. Some foundations have also stopped focusing on security issues. This is an area that deserves continued attention, and foundations should be encouraged to continue to work in this area.
Q What was most valuable about your experience in the Fellows Program?
RdN: Interaction with the other Fellows. Particularly in the first few years that I was at BCSIA, when all the Fellows were in the same building, the level of intellectual exchange helped develop a sense of community that fostered intellectual curiosity. Steve Miller and Mike Brown also helped encourage a high level of interaction and engagement with current issues.
Q Did your time at BCSIA change your ideas about what professional options were open to/appealing to you?
RdN: I was considering a variety of professional options when I arrived at BCSIA, so this probably did not change much. But I did receive valuable advice and support from those running the Fellowship program.