NEW YORK, December 5, 2012 -- The Center for Global Affairs (CGA) of the New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies (NYU-SCPS) has been awarded a $50,000 grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York to develop alternate futures for Syria, and for U.S. interests in this escalating regional conflict. The grant follows a $250,000 award from the Corporation in 2009 to construct alternate futures for China, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine, as well as a $50,000 grant in 2011 to study the future of Pakistan. The work will consist of research conducted by CGA faculty members and students, and a workshop that will engage top Middle East experts and U.S. policymakers in shaping alternate futures for Syria and in discussing consequences for U.S. interests.
“This particular initiative will focus on imagining alternative, plausible outcomes of the Syrian civil war, from restored internal stability to regional, or even global, conflict,” said the project’s director, Michael Oppenheimer, clinical professor, NYU-SCPS Center for Global Affairs. “Once those outcomes are constructed, the participants will then suggest how U.S. policy might encourage the more positive ones and prevent or mitigate the more negative ones.”
“The relationship with Carnegie Corporation has produced previous successful workshops on other states. In light of recent critical and volatile developments in the Middle East, we are looking to the Center’s thoughtful and original analyses through a scenario-building workshop on Syria,” said Patricia Moore Nicholas, project manager, International Peace and Security at Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Founded in 2007, the CGA Scenarios Initiative aims to improve the quality of U.S. policymaking by gathering experts from diverse skill sets and nationalities to participate in interactive scenario-building workshops. The most recent study, “Pakistan 2020,” was published in December 2011.
All previously published scenarios, and a detailed description of the Initiative’s process, are available at www.cgascenarios.wordpress.com.
About the NYU-SCPS Center for Global Affairs
The Center for Global Affairs (CGA), one of several comprehensive academic divisions within the New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies (NYU-SCPS), offers the M.S. in Global Affairs and a plethora of noncredit courses and certificates, in addition to hosting a series of public events on a diverse array of topics. Visit http://www.scps.nyu.edu/cga for more information.
The Center for Global Affairs of the NYU School of Continuing and Professional Studies to Continue Scenarios Initiative Through a Grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York
New Project to Focus on Alternate Futures for Syria
About the NYU School of Continuing and Professional Studies
Established in 1934, NYU-SCPS (scps.nyu.edu) is one of NYU’s several degree-granting schools and colleges, each with a unique academic profile. The reputation of NYU-SCPS arises from its place as the NYU home for study and applied research related to key knowledge-based industries where the New York region leads globally. This is manifest in the School’s diverse graduate, undergraduate, and continuing education programs in fields such as Real Estate and Construction Management; Hospitality, Tourism, and Sports Management; Global Affairs; Philanthropy and Fundraising; Graphic Communications Media, Publishing, and Digital Arts; Human Capital Management, Marketing, and Public Relations; with complementary strengths in the Liberal and Allied Arts; Translation and Interpreting; Management and Information Technology; and Finance and Taxation. More than 100 distinguished full-time faculty members collaborate with an exceptional cadre of practitioner/adjunct faculty and lecturers to create vibrant professional and academic networks that attract nearly 5,000 degree-seeking students from around the globe. In addition, the School fulfills the recurrent continuing higher education needs of local and professional communities, as evidenced by 55,000 annual enrollments in individual courses, specialized certificate programs, conferences, workshops, seminars, and public events. The School’s community is enriched by more than 25,000 degree-holding alumni worldwide, many of whom serve as mentors, guest speakers, and advisory board members.