Download - Institute for Global Leadership

EPIIC
The topic for EPIIC’s 22 nd year was “Global Crises: Governance and Intervention.”
The yearlong course looked at how such extraordinary global, transnational and cross-border issues – nuclear proliferation,
failed states, pandemics, illicit trades, environmental challenges, human rights, terrorism, poverty – are stressing and
challenging traditional sovereignty. It also explored what progress is feasible in the search for international mechanisms to
contend with them and what role institutions of global governance, such as the United Nations, the International Financial
Institutions, and the International Criminal Court might play.
EPIIC examined the severe deterioration
in numerous conflict situations, from the
confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah
in Lebanon to the failing truce in Darfur; from
the resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan to
North Korea’s missile firings; from the Mumbai
bombings to sectarian violence in Iraq; from the
impending violence in Somalia to the failure of
the ceasefire in Sri Lanka.
Included among the broad range of issues were
the successes and failures of the United Nations
Security Council; the challenges to the European
Union and other global regional governance
concepts; the privatization of war and the
militarization of humanitarian space; the global
threat of avian flu and other pandemics; the enigma of third state actors; the accountability of multinational corporations;
the meaning of “global commons”; transnational justice; poverty reduction and debt relief; the challenges of nuclear
proliferation and the future of the NPT; and the successes and failures of international aid.
This year, EPIIC enrolled 43 students in the colloquium; the students were from Argentina, Australia, Colombia, Ecuador,
Ethiopia, Guam, Iran, Nepal, Singapore, and the US. There were 23 seniors, two juniors, 12 sophomores, and six freshmen.
While many students were majoring in International Relations, other majors and second majors included Anthropology,
Chinese, Community Health, Economics, English, French, History, Middle East Studies, Peace and Justice Studies, Philosophy,
Psychology, Spanish, and Studio Art. Collectively, they also spoke, 13 languages: Nepali, Hindi, Mandarin, French, German,
Italian, Spanish, Swahili, Portuguese, Arabic, Hebrew, Farsi, and Japanese.
No different than other EPIIC classes, this year’s students were also very active in other projects and organizations, both on
and off of campus: Campus Kitchen Project, Ballroom Dancing, Black Women’s Collective, Association of Latin American
Students, BUILD Nicaragua, Track Team, Jumpstart, Tufts Dance Collective, Pangea, Tufts Literacy Corps, Tufts Mountain
Club, Tufts Daily, Writing Fellows, Tufts Wilderness, Ears for Peers, Air Force ROTC, Anthropology Collective, Tufts Community
Union Senate, Klezmer Ensemble, Marathon Challenge, NIMEP, Tae Kwon Do, Russian Circle, Primary Source, Tufts Chamber
Singers, ALLIES, Big Brother, and Physicians for Human Rights.
In late September, the class went away for its weekend immersion to Hurricane Island Outward Bound’s Mountain Center
in Newry, Maine. The theme of the weekend was “The United Nations: Conflict Prevention and Humanitarian Relief,” and
the guest speaker for the weekend was EPIIC alumnus Maura Lynch. Maura is currently the interagency liaison with the
Bureau for Conflict Prevention and Recovery (BCPR) at UNDP headquarters in New York. Prior to that, she was the primary
Institute for Global Leadership, Tufts University 11