DiploNews – Issue 211 – 4 September 2012
Upcoming study opportunities
2013 Master / Postgraduate Diploma in Contemporary Diplomacy
You are invited to apply for the popular Master/Postgraduate Diploma in Contemporary Diplomacy, offered through the University of Malta, starting at the end of January 2013. This blended learning programme offers a valuable opportunity for diplomats and other international relations professionals to continue studies without leaving work. The programme consists of a 10-day residential workshop in Malta followed by 16 to 20 months of online learning.
New for 2013: Applicants may select Internet Governance as an area of specialisation within the Master/Postgraduate Diploma in Contemporary Diplomacy. Candidates for this area of specialisation will attend several required courses in the area of Internet governance (Introduction to Internet Governance, eDiplomacy, Cybersecurity, and Infrastructure and Critical Internet Resources) and select their remaining courses from the wide list of diplomacy topics. Candidates will write their dissertations on Internet governance-related topics. Please check our announcement of this new specialisation option for more information.
The application deadline for the Master/Postgraduate Diploma in Contemporary Diplomacy is 30 September 2012. For more information and to apply please see the course webpage.
Deadline extended – autumn online courses
Places remain in the following interactive autumn online courses:
Courses start the week of 8 October 2012. Apply 17 September for Diplo Certificate Courses. For further information or to apply, click on the titles of the courses above, or visit our courses website. Register now to reserve your place.
Last day to apply: Migration and Development online course
The Instituto Matías Romero of the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs and DiploFoundation offer an online course on Migration and Development in English and Spanish, starting 17 September 2012. The course provides participants with a conceptual framework and analytical tools to address the many aspects of the relationship between international migration and economic and social development. See the course webpage for more information and to apply by 4 September 2012.
By bringing together scholars, advocates, and policymakers, this cutting-edge joint undertaking by DiploFoundation and Instituto Matias Romero has provided an excellent venue to share ideas and cultivate action agendas to advance the mutual well-being of migrants, home countries, and host communities.
Ryan Gener – Department of Foreign Affairs, Republic of the Philippines
What’s happening in Diplo’s Blogosphere?
It’s hard to believe that it’s September. They say that time flies when you’re having fun and Diplo’s bloggers certainly seem to be enjoying themselves. The prolific Aldo Matteucci poses a number of questions: Where did democracy emerge? Can we live by incentives? Is it ‘public diplomacy’? He also discusses Diplomacy and Web 2.0 and The emergence of the regional concept: South East Asia and wonders whether democracies are drifting toward ‘psephocracy’?
Matteucci continues his online discourse on analogies with Katharina Höne where he admits that he may be wrong … and delves into a post on de-discoursation and metaphors. Höne pens her advice aptly entitled Metaphors for Diplomats – a “user manual” and Metaphors for diplomats – the philosophy of science. If you’ve not been following this conversation, you might consider checking their older blogs as they make for interesting reading. Drazen Pehar also weighs in on the subject with his post War, diplomacy, and 'dediscoursation'.
Jovan Kurbalija has had his hands full answering questions related to the Assange asylum case. His posts International law and the Assange asylum case and It started with …. a letter attempt to understand why the UK’s handling of the Assange asylum case has provoked such a strong reaction in the global public. In Frequently asked questions about diplomatic asylum, Kurbalija discusses the differences between diplomatic, territorial and political asylums. Not one simply to discuss, he also writes about possible solutions and probable consequences of the case.
The eDiplomacy channel has focused on Twitter with a couple of posts on eDiplomacy: influence in the Twitter age and more specifically, the influence in the Arab world. Finally, Saviour Borg returns to two interesting articles by Prof. Dietrich Kappeler and Mr Aldo Matteucci on the role played by Switzerland including the pivotal role played by Ambassador Long in the successful resolution of the Algerian question 50 years ago.
One way to engage with us is to comment on any of these blog posts. Check us out at https://www.diplomacy.edu/blog
Discussing Internet governance
The growing importance of ICTs in all facets of human society cannot be over-emphasised, says IG community member Gameli Adzaho. In his blog post What steps could be taken by countries to encourage greater investment in ICTs?, he explores different approaches, including strategic marketing and the creation of innovation hubs, that can attract ICT investment. In National e-Democracy/e-Government Survey, Robert Kikonyogo invites individuals based in Africa to complete a short anonymous survey on eDemocracy and eGovernment services in Africa. The aim is to gather views on the usefulness, ease of use, risks involved, and other valuable information related to these services.
On Diplo’s blogroll, the digest of the August Internet governance webinar on ‘The potential of mobile broadband technology’ is now available, together with an audio and video recording of the webinar. The host’s presentation is also available for download.
While we wait for the next big round in the ongoing Internet governance 'battle', usually portrayed as a struggle between the ITU and ICANN, low-profile changes have been taking place at these two organisations. Dr Jovan Kurbalija explores these changes in Low-profile changes are what happen while we await the BIG change.
On a lighter note, Mary Murphy talks about the curious connection between TCP and the ‘anternet’, a species of harvester ants that 'determine how many foragers to send out of the nest in much the same way that Internet protocols discover how much bandwidth is available for the transfer of data’.
Subscribe to our IG blog, and follow blog posts and events shared by members of Diplo’s IG community.
Subscribe to Diplo's News
