Suchergebnisse

Relationships between U.S. government officials and academic specialists working on national security and foreign policy issues with respect to Africa are many and complex. They can be as informal as a phone call or passing conversation or as formalized as a consulting arrangement or research contract. Many contacts exist and there is no doubt that many in both government and the academy value these ties. There have been, however, ongoing controversies about what settings and what topics are appropriate to the government/academic interchange. National security and foreign policy-making in the U.S. is an extremely diffuse process.

This up-to-date analysis of the major political issues associated with the Indian Ocean region examines recent developments in South Asia, the Gulf, and Africa and their effect on Indian Ocean security matters and politics. Regional perspectives on the problems of the area are assessed, as are the roles played by the major external powers with regional interests-the United States, the Soviet Union, and France-and such international organizations as the United Nations. Nine of the chapters grew out of the International Conference on Indian Ocean Studies held in Perth, Australia, in August 1979. Three additional chapters were commissioned to ensure a comprehensive view of the issues discussed. This collaboration by recognized authorities is sure to become a standard reference in the field.

The national survey of African studies faculty conducted in the fall of 2002 has produced a wide range of findings about how faculty view African studies. We asked faculty members for their views on area studies and African studies at their own institutions, their recruitment and training in African studies, their teaching of African studies and study of African languages, study-abroad programs and training for the next generation of African studies scholars, their own careers, interactions with the U.S. government, and much more. Because we took great care to construct a sample frame that broadly replicates African studies programs in the United States, we feel confident that our findings mirror attitudes held by the entire African studies population. Because our survey was large enough, we are able to tease out different attitudes and orientations toward African studies from many different populations: by type of program, size of program, scholarly discipline, faculty rank, race/ethnicity, gender, and numerous other characteristics.