The principal objective of this conference was to explore fully the connection between education and diplomacy from the theories envisaged by Thomas Jefferson to the practical challenges of teaching diplomatic practice in the contemporary world. Just as education in Jeffersonian thought was universal, so is diplomacy. With the 21st Century national security challenges the U.S. is facing today, it is imperative for Americans to understand the importance of diplomacy; the reality of how it works as well as the goals of policy. Diplomatic practice differs from traditional diplomatic history and the conference explored why understanding these differences are essential to teaching realistic thinking about the potential and the limits to the pursuit of vital national interests. Conference participants also discussed how current and future U.S. diplomats are being prepared, educated and trained for their careers. What follows is merely a summary.
Ambassador Chester A. Crocker (ret.), James R. Schlesinger Professor of Strategic Studies, Georgetown University Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. Dr. Crocker’s teaching and research focus on international security, conflict management, and mediation strategy.
From 1981 to 1989, Dr. Crocker served as Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs. He developed the strategy and led the diplomacy that produced the treaties signed by Angola, Cuba, and South Africa in New York in December 1988. These agreements resulted in Namibia’s independence (March 1990) and the withdrawal of foreign forces from Namibia and Angola.
Dr. Crocker serves as Chairman of the Board of the United States Institute of Peace, an independent, nonpartisan institution created and funded by Congress to strengthen research, education and training on the peaceful resolution of international conflict. He also serves on the boards of ASA Ltd., a NYSE-listed, closed-end fund focused on gold mining; and Modern Africa Growth and Investment Company, LLC. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Ashanti Goldfields Company Ltd., the Board of Visitors of the National Defense University in Washington and of the Foundation Council of the Geneva-based Henri Dunant Center for Humanitarian Dialogue. Dr. Crocker consults as advisor on strategy and negotiation to a number of U.S. and European firms.
Dr. Crocker’s previous professional experience includes service as news editor of Africa Report magazine (1968-69) and staff officer at the National Security Council (1970-72) where he worked on Middle East, Indian Ocean, and African issues. He first joined Georgetown University as director of its Master of Science in Foreign Service program, serving concurrently as associate professor of international relations. In 1976, he became director of African studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
He has lectured and written on international politics, U.S. foreign policy, mediation and negotiation, African affairs, and post-Cold War security issues. He has appeared on numerous television shows, as a dinner or keynote speaker at conferences in the U.S., Europe and Africa, and as a witness in Congressional hearings. His book, High Noon in Southern Africa: Making Peace in a Rough Neighborhood, was published by Norton in 1993. He is the co-editor with Fen O. Hampson and Pamela Aall of Herding Cats: Multiparty Mediation in a Complex World (1999) and Managing Global Chaos: Sources of and Responses to International Conflict (1996). Born in New York City in 1941, Dr. Crocker received his B.A. degree from Ohio State University (1963), graduating Phi Beta Kappa, with distinction in history. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies.
