Jonathan Miner, a professor of political science at North Georgia College & State University, has been named a 2009-10 Academic Fellow for the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD), a non-partisan policy institute headquartered in Washington, D.C.
The FDD Academic Fellowship Program will take place in Israel from May 30 to June 10. The program consists of an intensive series of lectures by academics, diplomats and military officials from India, Israel, Jordan, Turkey, and the United States as well as field trips to military, police and immigration facilities throughout Israel. The goal is to educate participants about terrorism and how democratic states combat the threat.
"This is a unique opportunity to see a practical and political cooperative effort to curb terrorism," Miner, a Middle East-studies professor, said. "And Israel is definitely on the frontline."
Miner's academic work has focused on assessing the efforts and ability of the United Nations Counter Terrorism Committee to spread international law, norms and cooperative behavior to domestic efforts at fighting international terrorism.
Teaching and research professionals from across the United States will take part in the 10-day program where they will get "to see counter-terror cooperation first-hand, build national and international connections, and enable a transfer of those ideas to their home institutions and regional communities," Miner said.
The fellowship program will allow Miner to enhance the Middle East concentration in the North Georgia international affairs bachelor's program and contribute to the new Master of Arts in International Affairs, an online degree starting this summer.
"I want to get an understanding of how international states cooperate, to see the meetings with different diplomats from different states, and get a better understanding of how political cooperation works," Miner said.
"Terrorism is the greatest threat today to the world's democracies, including the United States and our allies around the globe," Clifford May, president of FDD, said. "To win the war against terrorism, we must win the war of ideas by promoting democracy and defeating the totalitarian ideologies that drive and justify terrorism."