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Spring 2012 Program
SPP program in Mexico.
Summer 2012 Programs
SPP program in Brussels and South Africa.
Fall 2012 Program
SPP program in Oxford.
To submit your application and hold your space for a study abroad class, you must submit your application by email to abroad@gmu.edu. By submitting your application online, you agree to all the terms and conditions stated in the application. Questions should be emailed directly to mmcelwai@gmu.edu.
Find more information on each program below.
March 10 - 17, 2012
Program Details and Forms
Program fee: $3,150
2011 Study Abroad Mexico Journal
misManaging Security, Conflict and Development: Learning from the Mexican Experience
Course Directors: Dr. Robert Rogowsky, Adjunct Professor of International Trade; Michal McElwain Malur, Director of External Programs, George Mason University
Despite receiving only intermittent attention in the United States, Mexico is perhaps our country’s most serious security issue. Having recently emerged from seventy years of one party rule, our southern neighbor is struggling to consolidate democracy while the federal government confronts ruthless drug cartels intent on subverting the nation. Twenty-four percent of Mexico’s population lives in states whose governments are dominated by one of the six drug cartels, which fund huge private armies to the tune of approximately $40 billion a year. By contrast, the Marida Plan, a new U.S. initiative to help combat the cartels, provides only one-hundredth that amount.
The police and judiciary are outgunned and corrupt. A rash of assassinations of judges, police chiefs, prosecutors, and city officials highlights the crisis. Eighteen journalists have been killed in the past five years. Not surprisingly, many newspapers refuse to report on the cartels. For its part, the Mexican army has resisted taking on the cartels, fearing the likely impact of exposing soldiers making $300 a month to cartels capable of paying them between five and ten times that much.
Mexico faces the dangerous prospect of becoming a failed state—a failed state of 100 million people, half living in poverty, stretching along a 2,000 mile border with the U.S. This makes Mexico one of the most important—and intractable—security concerns facing the new U.S. Administration.
This study abroad program presents an ideal opportunity for SPP students in all masters’ programs—as well as other interested individuals—to explore some of the most consequential policy problems facing Mexico and the U.S today. Indeed, Mexico offers perhaps the richest international experience possible to students of public policy, regardless of their specific areas of interest and expertise.
May 20 - 27, 2012
Program Details and Forms
Program fee: $3,500
"The European Union: Looking Beyond the Eurozone Crisis"
*Two Saturday classes at George Mason University pre-departure are also required
Course Director: Dr. Desmond Dinan, George Mason University; Michal McElwain Malur, Director of External Programs, George Mason University
The global financial crisis and ensuing eurozone crisis rocked the EU to its core. Why was the EU so vulnerable to the recent financial upheaval? Why did European leaders take so long to respond and how effective has their response been? How secure is the single currency and other far-reaching economic and financial EU initiatives? This course looks at the eurozone crisis and beyond, questioning the relevance and role of the EU at a time of major global change and uncertainty. Students will have an opportunity to hear leading EU experts discuss a range of EU activities and policy areas ranging from the single market, to monetary union, to asylum and immigration, to foreign policy. The program includes visits to EU instructions such as the Commission and the Parliament for meetings with officials and policymakers.
July 29 - August 10, 2012
Program Details and Forms
Program fee: $4,300
South Africa: Political, Economic, Social and Security Challenges
Course directors: Dr. Maxi Schoeman, Head, Department of Political Studies, University of Pretoria, South Africa; Thys van Schaik, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, School of Public Policy, George Mason University; Michal McElwain, Director of External Programs, School of Public Policy, George Mason University
This study-abroad course examines the political, economic, social and security challenges confronting South Africa today. These include poverty alleviation, black economic empowerment, the HIV/AIDS crisis, education, land and the environment. The course also explores South Africa in its regional setting, with specific attention to issues such as Zimbabwe, regional integration through SADC (Southern African Development Community), efforts at peacekeeping and conflict resolution (Democratic Republic of Congo), and South Africa as a continental power driving NEPA (New Partnership for Africa’s Development). An examination of trade and investment issues affecting the country’s international position brings a global perspective.
Classes take place in Pretoria (on the campus of the University of Pretoria) and Cape Town (on the campus of the Business School of the University of Cape Town), with lectures by a variety of specialists, including academics and practitioners. Formal sessions are complemented by various site visits, governmental and non-governmental, to encourage a more comprehensive understanding of the multi-faceted issues affecting the country and society. The program aims to provide context for understanding the rapid change that South Africa has experienced during the past fifteen years and the dynamic nature of the country as Africa’s emerging powerhouse.
August 14 - 25, 2012
Program Details and Forms
Program fee: $3,850
Britain and the Challenge of Global Uncertainty
Course directors: Dr. Stuart Kewley, Adjunct Professor, George Mason University and the Continuing Education Department of Oxford University; Michal McElwain Malur, Director, External Programs School of Public Policy, George Mason University
This program will explore issues in contemporary British politics and public policy with a special focus on Britain's response to the challenges of global uncertainty. The outcome of the 2010 general election changed the face of British politics. For the first time since World War II, Britain has a coalition government. How are the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats working together to tackle the myriad social and economic issues currently facing the country? How are they reconciling their radically different positions on contentious policy issues such as immigration, constitutional affairs, and relations with the European Union? What are the UK’s policy preferences within the EU? What impact has the financial crisis had on Britain’s role in Europe and the wider world? What is the state of the supposedly special Anglo-American relationship? Students in the 2012 Oxford program will have an excellent opportunity to consider these questions and study British politics and public policy during a period of unprecedented change in the United Kingdom and beyond.
Students must obtain approval from SPP prior to participating in nonSPP study abroad opportunities through the Center for Global Education.
For more information, contact Michal McElwain at mmcelwai@gmu.edu 703-993-1577
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