Newswise — With the fifth anniversary of Sept. 11 approaching, you may want to consider some of the following Johns Hopkins researchers, professors and social scientists as potential sources for stories about how the world has changed in its aftermath.
THE GOOD OLD DAYS OF THE COLD WAR: THE IMPACT OF SEPT. 11 ON YOUNG ADULTSSteven David, professor of political scienceDavid has spent his career studying issues of international security, weapons of mass destruction and terrorism. He's also been working with undergraduates since the late 1970s, teaching courses dealing with terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. David can discuss the changing student reactions he's witnessed in his courses and how the world view of today's college students compares to that of their parents. The comparison with Cold War students' views is especially striking, he says.
"Having witnessed the terror attacks of 9/11 (either live or on TV), today's students are much more affected by threats to the United States from terrorists than my generation ever was by the much more remote and abstract threat posed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War," David says. "They recognize that America is dealing with an adversary that is largely undeterrable and, if it ever gets control over weapons of mass destruction, the result is likely to be catastrophic for the United States. It's hard to believe, but given what is happening today, many of us miss the simplicity and yes, the security, of the Cold War."
Waleed Hazbun, assistant professor of political science, is available to discuss the following topics. He'll be a visiting assistant professor in the department of political studies and public administration at American University of Beirut in Lebanon in the spring and fall of 2007.
U.S. TRAVEL DOWN, MIDDLE EAST TOURISM UP SINCE 9/11; "On the first anniversary of Sept. 11, I was concerned about impact of both threats to airspace security as well as U.S. border and visa policies on international travel and tourism," Hazbun says. "As expected, travel to the U.S. as well as U.S. airlines have suffered since 2001. To many, however, an unexpected result has been that the Middle East, led by Dubai, has become one of the fastest growing international tourist destinations. This regional growth has been driven by an emphasis on regional Arab tourism as well as the windfall of petrodollars that have been regionally invested in expanding the tourism sector across the Arab world."
THE FAILURE OF AMERICAN "PUBLIC DIPLOMACY;" "I am interested in the failure of American public diplomacy efforts," Hazbun says. "The 9/11 Commission report called for an engagement in 'the struggle of ideas.' It also noted a 2003 study that reported that 'the bottom has fallen out of support for America in most of the Muslim world.' U.S. policy since 9/11, including the invasion of Iraq and support for the Israeli siege and bombing of Lebanon, have only further alienated Arab publics and potential allies. The more the Bush Administration seeks to define its global strategy in terms of the global war on terrorism or a fight against 'islamo-fascism,' rather than engaging with the understandings and interests of the peoples of the Middle East, the less likely to the U.S. will be able to succeed in 'the struggle of ideas.'"
GROWING INTEREST IN THE POLITICS, CULTURE, AND LANGUAGES OF THE MIDDLE EAST; "One positive trend since 9/11 has not been government-sponsored but sustained by the interest, commitments, and values of young people such as students at Hopkins and other colleges," Hazbun says. "We have seen an expansion of interest in the politics, culture, and languages of the Middle East. If the war of ideas is not going to be successfully engaged through official means, we should all seek to support the efforts of students, educators, and non-governmental organizations seeking to expanded international communications, educational exchanges, and travel."
THE IMPACT OF SEPT. 11 ON PRESIDENTIAL POWERJoseph Cooper, professor of political scienceCooper has written extensively on executive-legislative relations for several decades. He says that Sept. 11 had a significant impact on presidential power, particularly as it relates to matters like the unitary executive, signing statements, and other claims based on inherent executive power, but that such expansions of power are not a new political phenomenon.
"I am critical of the expansion of executive power," Cooper says, "but I am not a Bush basher and find the same tendencies in prior presidents."
The majority of Cooper's books and articles focus on the history, procedures, politics, and power of Congress. His most recent work deals with changes in congressional-presidential relations during the 20th century, problems of public trust, the evolution of procedures in the 19th Century Senate, and patterns of party voting in the House and Senate since 1869. He is a member of the U.S. Advisory Commission on the Records of Congress, and a member of the Advisory Panel of the forthcoming International Encyclopedia of Political Science.
LEADERS FOR EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND DISASTER RESPONSEMarguerite Littleton-Kearney, associate professor, Johns Hopkins University School of NursingIn the event of mass casualty incidents, bioterrorism and natural disasters, "nurses are uniquely positioned to assume leadership roles in the education of first responders," says Marguerite Littleton-Kearney, a captain in the Navy Nurse Corps (Reserve Component). Shortly after the 9/11 disasters, she used her military experiences to design a School of Nursing program that prepares nurses for those pivotal leadership roles during disasters and mass casualty incidents.
That program, now offered as Health Systems Management: Emergency Preparedness/Disaster Response, is a graduate option specifically designed for nurses seeking strategic skills in planning, managing and responding to large-scale disasters. The curriculum provides graduates with the tools to embark on a career path to assume leadership roles for emergency preparedness in hospitals, nursing homes, ambulatory centers, military, government agencies, and other settings throughout the health care system.
Littleton-Kearney continues to enhance the program and other continuing education courses she leads through her recent hands-on experiences with Hurricane Katrina. She adds, "After 9/11 and then again following Katrina, all of us in the nursing profession saw that we have a pivotal role in these situations and must be more prepared to lead and deliver a comprehensive, interdisciplinary response."
WORLD TRADE CENTER CLEAN-UP WORKERSSince the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center, researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have studied the exposure and health of truck drivers, equipment operators and laborers who cleared debris from "Ground Zero." One study examined the potential lingering effects present in over 1,100 workers who were exposed to Ground Zero debris during the clean up effort. The Johns Hopkins researchers learned that, approximately 20 months after stopping work, these workers experienced higher than expected rates of post-traumatic stress disorder and were at a higher risk for respiratory problems.
"WAR ON TERROR," NATIONAL SECURITY, HOMELAND SECURITY, TERRORISM, ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM, JIHADISM, AL QAEDA, MIDDLE EAST, IRAQ, IRAN, LEBANON, SOUTH ASIA, PAKISTAN, BUSH ADMINISTRATION FOREIGN POLICY TEAM, AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY, INTERNATIONAL ENERGY SECURITY, INTERNATIONAL LAW, UNITED NATIONS, WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTIONFor leading experts in the above fields and many others, consider the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, D.C. The faculty includes:
Walter Andersen, associate director of South Asia studiesCharles Doran, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of International RelationsMary Habeck, associate professor of strategic studiesDaniel Hamilton, director of the SAIS Center for Transatlantic RelationsMichael Mandelbaum, director of the American Foreign Policy ProgramJames Mann, author-in-residence and author of Rise of the Vulcans: The History of Bush's War CabinetSanam Vakil, assistant professor of Middle East studiesRuth Wedgwood, director of the International Law and Organization Program
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