October 10–11, 2018
Washington, D.C.
Info Note | Program Schedule | Syllabus
Africa Center Overview
Plenary 1 U.S. National Security Structures and the Making of Foreign Policy
Recommended Reading:
- Toni Johnson, “Congress and U.S. Foreign Policy,” Council on Foreign Relations, January 24, 2013.
- James M. Goldgeier and Elizabeth N. Saunders, “The Unconstrained Presidency: Checks and Balances Eroded Long Before Trump,” August 14, 2018.
- Mark F. Cancian, et al., “Formulating National Security Strategy: Past Experience and Future Choices,” Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), October 6, 2017.
- United States Government, The National Security Strategy of the United States of America, December 18, 2017.
- United States Government, Summary of the National Defense Strategy of the United States of America, 2018.
- Mara Karlin, “How to Read the 2018 National Defense Strategy,” Brookings Institution, January 21, 2018.
- Center for Global Development, “Foreign Assistance Agency Brief: United States Agency for International Development,” March 22, 2017.
Plenary 2 Department of State: Africa Policy
Recommended Reading:
- Congressional Research Service, “Sub-Saharan Africa: Key Issues, Challenges, and U.S. Responses,” March 2017.
- CATO Institute, CATO Handbook for Policymakers, “U.S. Policy toward Sub-Saharan Africa.”
- John Norris and Carolyn Kenney, “From Threat to Opportunity: Rethinking U.S. Relations in Africa,” June 19, 2018.
Plenary 3 Department of Defense: Africa Policy
Recommended Reading:
- Ploch, Lauren. Africa Command: U.S. Strategic Interests and the Role of the U.S. Military in Africa. Congressional Research Service (CRS). July 22, 2011.
- John Vandiver, “AFRICOM at 10: Training partners is still the focus, but the fight has grown,” Stars and Stripes, October 12, 2017.
- Alexander Laskaris and Ryan McCannell, “On Being a ‘Different’ Kind of Command – AFRICOM at 10 Years,” Podcast, September 28, 2017.
- Dr. Michelle S. Atchison, “Department of Defense (DOD) Primer for Researchers.”
- LTG (ret.) David Barno and Dr. Nora Bensahel, “The Military Is from Mars, Civilians Are from Venus: Avoiding Planetary Collisions in the Conference Room,” 22 March 2016.
Plenary 4 U.S. Security Programs and Partnerships
Recommended Reading:
- The Security Assistance Monitor.
- Tina S. Kaidanow, Acting Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, “Managing Security Assistance To Support Foreign Policy,” Senate Foreign Relations Committee, September 26, 2017.
- Assistant Secretary Puneet Talwar, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy, June 4, 2015, “Security Assistance to Africa.”
- Lauren Ploch Blanchard, Congressional Research Service, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, Hearing: U.S. Security Assistance in Africa, June 4, 2015.
Plenary 5 Perspectives on Peacekeeping
Recommended Reading:
- Paul Williams, “Peace Operations in Africa: Lessons Learned Since 2000,” Africa Center for Strategic Studies, July 2013.
- Browne, Marjorie Ann. United Nations Peacekeeping: Issues for Congress, Congressional Research Service, February 11, 2011.
Plenary 6 Role of the U.S. Congress
Recommended Reading:
- Jonathan Masters, “U.S. Foreign Policy Powers: Congress and the President,” Council on Foreign Relations, March 2, 2017.
- Christopher Deering, Congress’ Role in Foreign Policymaking, May 2009.
- Curt Tarnoff and Marian Lawson, “Foreign Aid: An Introduction to U.S. Programs and Policy,” Congressional Research Service, June 17, 2016, p. 6 https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R40213.pdf.
- Elaine Halchin and Frederick M. Kaiser, “Congressional Oversight,” Congressional Research Service, October 17, 2012.
- Hicks, Kathleen H., Lauter, Louis, and Mcelhinny, Colin. CSIS Report: Beyond the Water’s Edge: Measuring the Internationalism of Congress. Rowman & Littlefield, 2018.
Plenary 7 Democracy, Inclusion, and Security
Recommended Reading:
- U.S. Department of State, “Leahy Fact Sheet: Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.”
- U.S. Government, U.S. National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security, 2016.