Author Archive for Matt Clemons – Page 27

Morningside Post – MIA in the Army

The following article comes to us courtesy of the SIPA student blog, The Morningside Post.  It was written by Posted by Michelle Chahine on November 22nd, 2010.
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Jordan Becker’s time in the MIA program is funded by the U.S. Army – that is, his Masters in International Affairs. He has served in the Army for nine and a half years and could easily do another nine, or many times that.

Becker is a second-year student at SIPA. He spent his first year at Sciences Po in Paris (as part of a dual degree program with Columbia). Throughout his interview, he kept the conversation general, insisting that was for his own personal privacy, not because anything he did was a secret. His missions and jobs are generally public information. Talk to him in person, he’ll tell you almost anything you want to know – just don’t bring your pen along.

Becker weighed each word carefully. He spoke in bullet points. Everything he said was rehearsed in his head. Whatever he said that wasn’t rehearsed was off the record, and tended to be the most fascinating details. And, as he spoke, he had a careful eye on the pen and notepad in front of him.

“I want to be very careful of what image I represent of my profession because I have a lot of respect for the other people here at SIPA and elsewhere who do what I do, and also for my profession’s role in society,” said Becker. “Also because people don’t really have much exposure to people in my profession, so I don’t want to be perceived as representing the whole organization.  I’m only speaking for myself as an individual.” Later in the interview he added, “I think sometimes our activities are inaccurately caricatured.”

Becker is from California. He planned to go to the University of California for free, but he really wanted to go to Georgetown.  “I needed funding, which ROTC provided,” he said. That’s when he signed up for the U.S. Army.

He studied International Relations and was an intercollegiate athlete in his first year at Georgetown. “My life as a student wasn’t affected too much. It was basically like having an extra class or two a week. And I had to cut my hair and shave my beard,” he added.

After graduating from college and doing the Army’s standard initial training, he moved to Italy. He was a platoon leader there until the onset of the Iraq War in 2003, doing combat training. “It was an airborne unit and we mostly trained for airfield seizures and non-combatant evacuation operations.” Usually the scenarios had to do with civil instability.

“Airfield seizure was the first thing we did in Iraq. The first week went pretty much like training – we seized an airfield. Once there was no more traditional war to fight, that’s when it got complicated, and that’s when it got interesting to me. I got to apply what I learned in college and learn a little bit about what it really meant in practice. My academic background helped me to do my job, and it helped me explain our mission to my soldiers.”

Becker went to Iraq without much hesitation. “Privately I questioned it. But my obligation to perform my responsibilities was much more important… my job was to execute foreign policy, not to make it,” he said. “I signed up for the army knowing it was a tool of foreign policy, and that foreign policy is never perfect. I knew I would go forth on decisions made by those higher up.”

Becker left Iraq in February 2004. He then went through a long process of training to transition to another role in the army. He returned to Iraq for eight months in 2007 during the Surge and served as an advisor to an Iraqi organization. After that, he spent the next year doing more training.

In the summer of 2008, Becker went to Mali, as part of small-scale U.S. operations in the Pan-Sahel region. The army helped the Malian government control lawless areas of their country to prevent extremists from using them as a training base. Becker was basically like a consultant during that time. “It is one of the most fun things I have done in the army,” he said. “I was advising people who were a bit senior to me in rank, and they were very talented and dedicated professionals.”

When Becker returned to the U.S. at the end of the summer in 2008, he began to apply for graduate schools. He described his decision to return to school as a simple professional calculation. To him, it was the equivalent of someone in investment management getting an MBA.

But Becker is not your typical second-year SIPA student. While most of the class of 2011 is now worried about finding a job for May, Becker has jobs lined up for the next few years. His next step is a rotating faculty position at West Point. He expects to stay there for two or three years. He will then move on to work as a ‘foreign area officer’ focusing on Europe and transatlantic relations.

To prepare for his new roles, Becker is in the International Security Policy concentration at SIPA and the Europe regional specialization. How does being on the ground relate to the academic theory? “The biggest lesson I have learned as a practitioner has been about the practical limitations of the use of force… You hear about the ‘fog of war,’ or ‘friction.’  You really see the fog of war. I learnt what that looks like and feels like. It’s really there.”

A Day in the Shoes of a SIPA Student

What is a “typical” day like for a SIPA student?  Carrie Dorn offers her perspective . . .

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When I first informed my friends about my acceptance to SIPA, they gave me a lot of unsolicited advice and some of it turned out to be very useful.  I was advised to pack in all of the rest and relaxation that I could get before the school year started by catching up with acquaintances and family members, organizing my house, reading some non-fiction, seeing the newest movies, and taking a vacation. Being the type of person who has always had a busy schedule, I didn’t imagine that the life of a student would be much different from my work life.

But, now that I am at SIPA, I pass this wisdom on to you.  Life at SIPA is busier and more exhilarating than you can anticipate.  Between classes there are lectures attend, cover letters to write, and networking to be done.  At night there are socials to go to, documentaries to watch, research to gather, and group presentations to practice.  The days of a student are long, the homework never-ending, and always learning opportunities not to be missed.

Here is a snapshot of what my day looked like on a fairly typical Tuesday in mid-November . . .

Wake up at 6 am and brew some coffee.  Feeling awake!

Read and respond to emails and proofread a paper proposal to be handed in tomorrow.  Running late!

Power walk to my 9 am class, Advanced Generalist Practice and Programming at the School of Social Work.  Today’s topic is integrating qualitative and quantitative data for comprehensive asset-needs assessments.  Meet with my group after class to discuss interviews and edits for our project, determining the strengths and needs of individuals reentering the East Harlem community after incarceration.  So much to be done!

Report to SIPA’s Office of Admissions and Financial Aid for work at 11:15 am.  Talk to prospective students on the phone and in person about the impressive work that they’re doing and their future career goals.  Extraordinary applicants!

At 2 pm, meet with a fellow student and plan for our upcoming conversations with administrators about the inter-school coordination of dual degree programs.  Advocating for improved processes!

Stop by the Office of Career Services to schedule an appointment to review my resume with a counselor.  Find out the dates and times of upcoming New York City Career Panel sessions.  Filling up my planner!

Report back to the Office of Admissions for the afternoon hours to assist in filing and answering questions about the admissions process by email.

Go to the 6th floor computer lab to print out materials for tomorrow’s classes and chat with friends.

At 8pm go to the Brazil Trip information session to find out about SIPA’s Spring Break Trip to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.  Pizza dinner provided!

Get home around 9:30 pm, finish up homework and plan for tomorrow.  Jump into my comfy bed at midnight and fall asleep.  Dream until the alarm goes off tomorrow morning!

Not Your “Average” Profile: Things to Consider as a Young Applicant to SIPA

The following post was submitted by Brittney Bailey.  Brittney is working in our office this year and she, along with several other students, are contributing posts throughout the year.  Another helpful entry on this topic written from an administrator standpoint can be found here.

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One of the most common questions we at admissions are asked is:

“What are my chances of getting into SIPA if I am a younger applicant?  Do I even stand a chance?”

Usually these questions come from prospective students who have been out of school for 1 or 2 years or those who are in their final year of their undergraduate program and want to transition straight into graduate school.  And many times, these specific questions are deferred to me.

I entered SIPA one year after graduating from undergrad and was commonly marked as the “baby” of every group assignment or SIPA bonding-experience.  The reality is that SIPA does lend itself to students who exude a certain clarity and confidence in what they want to do and know how their degree program will specifically fit into their career goals. Of course, this isn’t always the case, but older students with more professional experience generally fall into this category.

So, from one “young” student to another, I wanted to list a few key tips to keep in mind when approaching the admissions process to professional schools like SIPA.

Be aware of the statistics

  • About 5%-10% of accepted students come directly from undergrad each year. These students tend to have extraordinary academic records, significant internship and/or study abroad experience and a fairly clear idea of what career path they want to head on.   Note, the more substantive the internship experience, the better. Yes, having lots of internships at big name organizations can look good on your resume.  But keep in mind that the Admissions Committee does more than glance at this section.  They expect to see a CV longer than one-page (see resume entry here), unlike a typical job resume, and are really looking at content.  So, making sure that even a few internships, fellowships or part-time jobs can better demonstrate your ability to handle relevant and substantive work is vital.
  • In many cases though, students with very strong academic backgrounds are not offered admission but are in fact, encouraged to reapply after gaining a year or two of relevant work experience.  Applying for competitive or prestigious short-stint programs like Teach for America, the Peace Corps or Fulbright and Luce Scholarships are a good stepping stone into graduate programs that can further give you the hard skills, connections and credentials you need to advance in an international affairs career.

Think Quant!

  • I could not stress enough the need to familiarize yourself with quantitative analysis before applying to SIPA.  Honestly, I avoided quant classes like the plague during my undergraduate career, even though basic economics courses were required as part of my international relations degree.  This was definitely to my detriment! Although I ended up loving my economics courses at SIPA, especially those that applied to development, I have always felt as if I were playing “catch up”.  Having a few courses in Micro and Macroeconomics, statistics, and mathematics under your belt are incredibly important tools for the SIPA experience and any international affairs or policy career.  Not only do they make your transition into graduate school much easier, but they serve as a form of “leverage” in the application process when being benchmarked against many students who have years of applied, practical knowledge.

Be clear about career objectives

  • As a young student, you inevitably have less “tools” to work with.  Your CV will most likely have less pages than an average SIPA student who was the Director of an NGO on the Thai/Burma border working with refugees for five years or who moved up the ranks as a Senior Analyst at Citibank in New York, Hong Kong and New Delhi offices.  Not to worry! Even if your goal is to essentially become one of your peers, a SIPA degree can very well enhance these career paths. Being as clear as possible in your personal statement about how to achieve this path is imperative.  Ask yourself regularly: What do I think I want to do? Have I already taken all of the basic steps to get there?  And how will this degree at SIPA and many of its components – from the concentration, specialization, professors, locale to the potential student body – help me to get to this goal?It’s not a simple question to answer at whatever age.  But, it’s an imperative one to address and drive home in your personal statement, particularly as a student with limited professional experience.

Don’t be afraid to “stay out of the game” (for a bit)

  • I know that this is usually not the answer people want to hear.  But speaking from personal experience, had I gone through the admissions process all over again I would have spent another year or two working in international development.  In fact, after my first year at SIPA, I took off some time, in part, to do just that. Gaining the additional professional experience helped me to really refine my objectives at SIPA.  I am much more confident in what I have to offer to a future employer and what I need to take from the program here.  Staying out of the SIPA game for just a few years can really enhance how well you play once you’re in it.

Having said all this, it is possible to be a young student at SIPA and make the most of your experience.  I hope these tips, at the very least, help out some of you who have asked this common question.

Top 10 Things That only Happen at SIPA

The following post was contributed by second year SIPA student Richard Parker.  Richard is working in our office this year and he, along with several other students, will be contributing posts throughout the year.

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I decided to take a break from paper writing and finals studying to update the blog. This month has been long and crazy! On the 12th the SIPA Pan African Network (SPAN) hosted their annual African Diplomatic Forum. The theme was: Climate Change as the new Security Threat- Implications for Africa. Our keynote speaker was Congressman Donald Payne and we had two panels with many notable and distinguished panelists. I served as the host for the event and also the coordinator for the Human Security panel. Needless to say I was beat after it was all said and done.

The next week I had a group presentation for my Peacekeeping in Africa class which drained the rest of the energy from my body. We presented on Liberia and to our surprise one of my professors colleagues who works for the UN (at the Liberia desk of course lol) was in the audience observing the presentation.

But after that was Thanksgiving!!!! I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving. Me and my mom did the normal turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce etc…which is always a treat…but the rest of the holiday well let’s just say it wasn’t a holiday. On Black Friday, while most people spend hours waiting on line to get in to department stores, I spent hours online in the library writing the first of 4 (four, cuarto, quarte, quattro) 20 (twenty, vingt, venti, veinte) page papers. Only this type of thing happens at SIPA. So in true David Letterman style I present the top 10 things that only happen at SIPA (in no particular order)

10: You meet someone from a country that you can barely find on a map

9: You hear languages that Rosetta Stone doesn’t have a disk for being spoken on the 6th floor café

8: You have professors who are real life rockstars at the United Nations

7: You complain about Lehman library but never manage to study elsewhere and get mad when undergrads take all the tables in group study

6: During finals time when studying with friends, someone says they’re about to make a food run and you know that means either Hamilton’s, Sub Conscious or Appletree

5: You have a 2 minute pitch

4: You cringe at the thought of producer theory

3: Riding in the elevator with Mayor Dinkins or a visiting ambassador or head of state seems normal

2: You know the best time to go to the café in order to avoid the line

1: You study with and learn from the worlds best and brightest

So maybe not as funny if you don’t go to SIPA but it was worth a try anyway. Back to paper writing…see those of you starting in the spring in a month!

Hosting the ADF conference

Events Galore

Below is some evidence of the choices that SIPA students must sometimes make when it comes to how to spend their time.  There always seems to be something going on at SIPA or on our campus that would be interesting to attend.

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Monday, November 29, 2010

Gender-Based Violence in the Congo
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 1501
Gender Policy
Panel Discussion with Dr. Les Roberts, Professor of Epidemiology at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health; Paula Donovan, Co-Founder of AIDS-Free World; Dr. Susan Bartels, Co-Head of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative; and Lisa Jackson, Writer and Director of the film “The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo.”

Debate: Nuclear Energy and Climate Change
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Columbia Law School, Jerome Greene Hall, Room 106
Earth Institute
Debate with Robert Alvarez, Senior Scholar, Institute for Policy Studies, former Senior Policy Advisor to the Secretary of Energy; Peter Bradford, Adjunct Professor, Vermont Law School, former Commissioner, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, former Chair, New York and Maine utility regulatory commissions; Barton Cowan, Visiting Professor, West Virginia University College of Law, of counsel, Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC; Susan Eisenhower, Member, Blue Ribbon Commission for America’s Nuclear Future, Chair Emeritus, Eisenhower Institute; Michael Gerrard, Andrew Sabin Professor of Professional Practice, Director, Columbia Center for Climate Change Law

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Kazakhstan’s Refugee Crisis: Violence, Hunger and the Transformation of Broader Central Asia, 1930-1933
12:00 am – 1:30 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 1219
Harriman Institute
Lecture with Sarah Cameron , Post-Doctoral Fellow, Yale University

Japan Circa 1959 – The High-Growth Economy and the Social Effects of Television
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 918
Weatherhead East Asian Institute
Brown Bag Lecture with Yoshikuni Igarashi, Associate Professor of History, Vanderbilt University

Kazakhstan’s Refugee Crisis: Violence, Hunger and the Transformation of Broader Central Asia, 1930-1933
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
International Affairs Building
Harriman Institute
Lecture with Sarah Cameron, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Yale

DevInfo Training
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 407
New Media Task Force
Workshop with Christina J. Irene, a representative from the joint UNICEF/DevInfo programme, along with the Fall 2010 DevInfo Interns, will present an introduction to the DevInfo data management system.

Brown Bag with Amb. Paul R. Seger, Permanent Repepresentative of Switzerland to the UN
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 802
International Organization Specialization
Brown Bag Lecture with Ambassador Paul R. Seger, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the United Nations

How Not to Help
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 707
Institute for the Study of Human Rights
Discussion with Kate Cronin-Furman and Amanda Taub from “Wronging Rights”.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Lake Baikal, Siberia: Will Industrial Development Destroy the World’s Largest, Cleanest Lake?
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 1219
Harriman Institute
Lecture

Czech Foreign Policy After the Fall of Communism
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 1512
Harriman Institute
Lecture with Jiri Paroubek

Perspectives on Political and Economic Dynamism in Northeast Asia- Challenges of China and North Korea
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
Columbia Univerity Morningside Campus International Affairs Building, Room 918
Center for Korean Research
Lecture with Ambassador Young-Mok Kim,Consul General of Republic of Korea to New York. No registration is required.

Leaders in Global Energy: Dr. Fatih Birol: Critical Factors Shaping the Future Global Energy Landscape
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 1501
School of International and Public Affairs and Center for Energy, Marine Transportation and Public Policy
Lecture with Dr. Fatih Birol, Chief Economist, International Energy Agency
Register

Tolerance Without Liberalism: Conflict and Coexistence in Twentieth-Century Indonesia
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 801
Center for the Study of Democracy, Toleration and Religion
Lecture with CDTR Visiting Fellow, Jeremy Menchik

My Perestroika
8:00 pm – 10:30 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 417
Harriman Institute
Film Screening and Discussion with Robin Hessman. To reserve tickets in advance please follow the link: www.ovationtix.com/trs/pe/8563295. Tickets will also be available at the box office in the Lerner Hall Lobby the day of the show.

Concert Series: Italian Harpsichord Music with Andrew Appel
8:00 pm – 9:30 pm
The Italian Academy at Columbia, 1161 Amsterdam Avenue
The Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America at Columbia University
Concert Series with harpsichordist Andrew Appel, violinist Krista Bennion Feeney, and cellist Loretta O’Sullivan, performing the music of Boccherini, Cimarosa, and Clementi

Thursday, December 2, 2010

A Conversation with Adolfo Carrion, Regional Director of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
12:00 pm- 1:30 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 1501
Urban and Social Policy Concentration
Conversation with Adolfo Carrion, Regional Director of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Register

Migrations of Jewish-Hungarian Professionals through Germany to the United States, 1919-1945
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 1219
East Central European Center
Discussion with Professor Tibor Frank, Eötvös Loránd University, Columbia University, regarding the impulses influencing a uniquely gifted generation of mostly Jewish Hungarian emigrants.

Biological Measures of the Standard of Living North and South of the Border –
4:15 pm – 6:00 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 802
Institute of Latin American Studies
Lecture: with Prof. Richard Steckel, Distinguished University Professor of Economics, Anthropology and History at Ohio State University.

When China Met Africa and The Colony
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Studio X 180 Varick Street New York, NY 10014
Committee on Global Thought
Film screening / Discussion including two films that examine Chinese investment in Africa
Register

Stories of Stigma, Stories of Strength: Ethnographic Oral History with Sanitation Workers in New York City
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Schermerhorn, Room 754
Oral History Master of Arts Program
Lecture with Robin Nagle. She will present her ethnographic work for her forthcoming book Picking Up.

QMSS Seminar: Sexual Networks and HIV Transmission in a High-Prevalence Setting: Evidence from a Sociocentric Study
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Hamilton Hall, Room 503
Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy
Seminar with Stephane Helleringer, Mailman School of Public Health

Friday, December 3, 2010

Afghanistan: Prospects for Peace
9:00 am – 5:30 pm
Kellogg Center, International Affairs Building, Room 1501
Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies
Sixth Annual Arnold A. Saltzman Forum
Register

From a Raindrop to a Stream Pebble to a Delta: Recent Research on Predictive Modeling
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Seeley W. Mudd Building, Room 833
Earth Institute
Lecture with Efi Foufoula-Georgiou, Distinguished McKnight University Professor, Director of the National Center for Earth-surface Dynamics, University of Minnesota
Register

Asia in Africa: New Connections in Historical Perspective
3:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Davis Auditorium, Schapiro Center
Committee on Global Thought
Discussion Panel with Howard French, Deborah Brautigam, Abdoulie Janneh, and Wang Hongyi
Register

Saturday, December 4, 2010

The International Criminal Court in Motion – An Analysis of its Seven Years of Activities and Perspectives with Dr. Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Prosecutor, International Criminal Court
4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
International Affairs Building Room 1501
Center for International Conflict Resolution
Lecture with Dr. Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The talk will be followed by a discussion moderated by Mr. Jean-Marie Guéhenno, Director of the Center for International Conflict Resolution.
Register

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Toxica Simulation
9:30 am – 6:00 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 1501
CRWG and LASA
Simulation allowing participants to engage in a negotiation, observed by negotiation practitioners. Space is limited, RSVP required. Please email [email protected].

UPCOMING EVENTS

Monday, December 6, 2010

From Three-Legged to Two-Legged Races – The Emergence of Women’s Competitive Sports in Japan (1910s-20s)
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 918
Weatherhead East Asian Institute
Brown Bag Lecture with Robin Kietlinski, Adjunct Assistant Professor of History, Baruch College; Visiting Researcher, Weatherhead East Asian Institute.

Monday, December 6 – Distinguished Lecturer Series “Southern Buddhism: Tracing Later Buddhist Art in South India”
4:00 pm – 5:30 pm
Knox Hall, Room 208
Southern Asian Institute
Distinguished Lecturer Series with John Guy, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Innovating for Development: A Thought Leadership Forum from the Journal of International Affairs
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 1501
School of International and Public Affairs
Forum moderated by Steven Cohen, Executive Director, Earth Institute, about how innovation is driving the agenda for sustainable development, climate change, natural resource use and energy policy.
Register

Thursday, December 9, 2010

U.S. Rapprochement with Indonesia – From Problem State to Partner
12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 918
Weatherhead East Asian Institute
Brown Bag Lecture with Ann Marie Murphy, Associate Professor, School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University; Adjunct Research Scholar, Weatherhead East Asian Institute.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Transforming Humiliation and Violent Conflict Workshop
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Columbia University, Teachers College Campus, 525 West 120th Street, Grace Dodge Hall, Room 179
Earth Institute
Lecture

Thursday, December 9, 2010

QMSS Seminar: Political Conditions for Diffusion? Anti-Corporate Movements and the Spread of Cooperatives in America Capitalism
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Hamilton Hall, Room 503
Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy
Lecture with Marc Schneiberg, Queens College Department of Sociology

Monday, December 13, 2010

Post-Cancun Debriefing
12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 1512
The Columbia-Paris Alliance Program and the Sustainable Development Doctoral Society
Seminar on the climate change negotiations in Cancun, with Scott Barett, Lenfest-Earth Institute Professor of Natural Resource Economics and Laurence Tubiana, Alliance Visiting Professor at Columbia

From Wednesday, January 12, 2011 through Friday, January 14, 2011

SIPA Students Only: 35th Annual Washington, DC Career Conference
All Day Event
Washington, DC
Office of Career Services, School of International and Public Affairs
35th Annual Washington, DC Career Conference, a three-day event consisting of 20 panels, employer site visits, networking reception and a day of informational interviews. For further information regarding this event, please contact Joe Musso at [email protected].
Register

"The most global public policy school, where an international community of students and faculty address world challenges."

—Merit E. Janow, Dean, SIPA, Professor of Practice, International and Economic Law and International Affairs

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