2006 The Politics of Fear

The 2005-06 EPIIC Colloquium was comprised of 42 students from diverse majors and backgrounds. The weekly classes covered a wide range of topics grounded in specific case studies, such as Chile and South Africa. Professor Andrew Bacevich, author of The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War, was the resource scholar during the Outward Bound immersion weekend and EPIIC classes featured experts from a wide knowledge base including constitutional theorists, former foreign correspondents, neuroscientists, and a former prime minister.

Over 350 high school students from twenty schools participated in the Inquiry simulation. Mentored by the EPIIC students and Inquiry teaching group, the high school students discussed a wide range of issues, including issues of security, terrorism, human trafficking and natural disaster response, in the context of The Politics of Fear in Asia.

The Norris and Margery Bendetson EPIIC International Symposium was especially powerful this year. The symposium gathered 59 practitioners, policymakers, scholars, journalists, artists, and musicians together to explore, discuss and debate the politics of fear. The topics ranged from identity and nationalism in Europe, especially in the wake of the Danish cartoon controversy, to the necessity of torture; from the causes and consequences of rising anti-American sentiment around the globe to the changing nature of terrorists and states; from the role of the media in propagating fear to extremism and ideology in South Asia; from the tension between national security and civil liberties to the challenges of reconciliation and renewal in post-conflict societies.

In addition, there was extensive public programming throughout the year including a weeklong residency by this year's INSPIRE practitioner's Mort Rosenblum and Jack Blum. The 2003 Nobel Peace Laureate, Shirin Ebadi, highlighted a deserving group of Dr. Jean Mayer Global Citizenship award recipients.

The Politics of Fear shadow image is courtesy of Gary Knight and the VII Photo Agency.