7 MB - University of Toronto Magazine

“If you ask me why we have done as well as wehave over the decade, I think it’s the culturewe have created…. We have to make a place forexperimentation and innovation”but comparatively neglected in a global sense. “Through properstewardship, we can build greater security there,” he says,though problems could arise: further drilling under ice-coveredwaters, for example, could give rise to a “nightmare”scenario should a BP-style blowout ever occur. Shipping andterritorial disputes, as well as the well-being of aboriginalpeople living in the area, are also areas of concern.So far, though, the Munk School’s most prominent successon the security front has been realized by the Citizen Lab.Led by political scientist Ron Deibert, its small research teammonitors an Internet world that, as Deibert put it in a CBCreport, has been “carved up, colonized and militarized.” Thelab has developed software to circumvent Internet censorshipin countries such as Iran and China. And in the past two yearsit has cracked two large cyber-espionage rings that allegedlyoriginated in China. Both rings were hacking into computersaround the world (the second ring focused on India) in orderto steal politically explosive information. The Citizen Lab iswithout question a world leader in this area, says Stein. “We’remaking a huge investment there,” she continues, saying thatnew funding will enable it to double in size.The Citizen Lab made global headlines for two studies inquick succession, but seven years of intensive work precededthe publicity. Stein says the Munk School’s “incubator atmosphere”can be nerve-racking, since she never knowswhether a project will succeed. “Most will not, and we haveto have the expectation that they will not,” she says. A projecton global public policy “didn’t attract enough interest andexcitement.” One on public space did not survive the initialinvestment, but Stein may go back to it, incorporating thework of architects and designers as well as political scientists.But “if you ask me why we’ve done as well as we have overthe decade, I think it’s the culture we have created,” which shesays is more accepting of risk than is usual in Canada. “Wehave to make a place for experimentation and innovation −and in order to do that, it has to be okay to fail.”Canadians’ natural aversion to risk may irk Stein. Otherwise,she says, her home and native land might just be the bestpossible place for a school of global affairs. “We are a developedcountry with a rich knowledge base, with excellentuniversities that are among the best in the world. But we don’thave an imperial past. You can’t say that about the UnitedStates, Britain, France, Germany, Holland, Portugal or Spain!Our slogan is ‘Join the Global Conversation’ − not ‘Lead…’”This conversation, naturally, is largely being conductedover the Internet. But although the school has accommodateditself to a cyber-dominant world, Stein also sees its teachingand research as a bulwark against the electronic realm’s errorsand superficialities. Today’s world may be saturated in information,she says, “but how do you know how well-researchedit is, how thoughtful it is? People want places where they canget some quality assurance. And that’s in a sense what theMunk School is – it’s a node of quality assurance.”And though Stein’s departure from the Munk School directorshipcan be seen on the horizon, she says it isn’t imminent.“The university will begin this fall to look for a successor.However long that process takes, I will stay until my successortakes over.” Until that happens, she will continue presidingover an institution that is diverse in perspectives, but unifiedby strong values. Brash, yet respectful. And forward-looking,even as it is deeply grounded in history. Tolerance, peace anddiversity may be distinctly Canadian virtues, but Stein knowstheir appeal transcends all borders. “I like working here,” shesays. “You can hear it in my voice, can’t you?”Cynthia Macdonald (BA 1986 St. Michael’s) is a writer in Toronto.autumn 2010 37