International Affairs
International Affairs Project
Strengthen Democracy and Governance
To strengthen democracy and governance and enhance economic productivity abroad, the Joint Center built in-country capacity, conducted research, designed and implemented training programmes.
The Joint Center began its work in sub-Saharan Africa in 1987 and its international program partners have included African governments, civil society organizations, institutions of higher learning (universities and technikons), research institutes, community organizations, women, youth, multilateral and bilateral foreign assistance agencies. The Joint Center has worked collaboratively with local and international partners in approximately 14 Anglophone and Francophone countries in Africa.
These include:
· Benin
· Botswana
· Cote d’Ivoire
· Ghana
· Kenya
· Lesotho
· Namibia
· Senegal
· Sierra Leone
· South Africa
· Sudan
· Swaziland
· Uganda
· Zambia
In addition, the Center has held formal briefings with democratic activists and scholars from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Gabon, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, and Togo.
Economic Productivity and Prosperity
The Joint Center's South Africa office has coordinated research funded by USAID under the Strengthening Economic Growth Analyses initiative. Research in the economic sphere, focused on the economic impacts of HIV/AIDS, macro-economic policy, and Global Climate Change amelioration.
The Joint Center's office in South Africa contracted with local research organizations to complete work on various economic and social policy aspects of the disease's impact on the rural and urban population. Specific topics include determining how the disease affects the economic decisions and positions of individuals and households over time, and how to determine how HIV/AIDS may constrain the development of high-growth SMEs, the human resources picture, and what the impact of HIV/AIDS is on their markets and profitability.
The economic analyses concentrate on labor policy, agricultural policy, social security reform, sectoral modeling, strategies for disabled individuals, and new uses for tribal land.
Ameliorating Global Climate Change will require innovative thinking. The Joint Center with contracted several organizations to conduct research projects from 4 to 12 months in length addressing aspects of global climate change. Research topics included The Clean Development Mechanism and Environmental Assessments, Economic Impact of Global Climate Change on South Africa, and The Economics of Climate Change Project Implementation: Capacity-Building for South African Govt. authorities, among others.
Consonant with the Joint Center's principles, this research provides critical knowledge to direct future research and policy efforts to successfully address the development challenges that South Africa faces in a focused manner.
Voices and Concerns of African Americans and Others in Formation of Foreign Policy
In 1980, the Joint Center initiated activities to promote the engagement of African Americans in international and national security affairs and to raise the visibility of Africa and policies affecting that continent and the African diaspora in international affairs discussions. The Joint Center hosted forums and roundtable discussions throughout the 1980s. In the early 1990s, the Joint Center initiated a series of forums entitled "Dialogues in Democracy", which examined African political reform movements and major governance developments in South Africa, Nigeria, Liberia, and Zambia.
The Joint Center has also conducted surveys of black leadership groups and the general public on their knowledge of international affairs issues and their attitudes toward U.S. foreign policy initiatives. Topics have included policies toward Africa, NAFTA and other international trade issues, foreign aid, and U.S. interventions abroad.
Publications:
Africa in the Minds and Deeds of African American Leaders by Edwin Dorn and Walter C. Carrington (1991)
Black Americans and the Shaping of U.S. Foreign Policy by (1981)
After the Zero Option: How that Reagan and Gorbachev Have Agreed, What Happens Next (1988)
U.S. Japan Project
In 1990, the Joint Center initiated the U.S. Japan Project, a multifaceted program to build a communications bridge between black American and Japanese leaders. Through its five interactive components—research, forums and briefings, fellowships, information exchange and people-to-people exchange—the project provided opportunities for both sides to improve communications, pursue mutual interests, learn more about each other, and manage their differences. Over a five year period, a number of papers and publications were completed.
Publications:
American and Japanese Communications Styles: Can We Talk (1992)
Considering Japan: How Black Americans View the Japanese by Paige L. Cottingham and Milton Morris(1994)
New Directions: Reshaping African American/Japanese Relations, published jointly with the Japan Society (1993)
Perceptions vs. Reality: A Discussion of Japanese-Black American Relations (1991)
African Americans and Japanese Firms in Georgia. Hisako Yanaka. (2001)