International Programs

Belgium • France • Morocco • Tunisia  

December 29, 2021 - January 15, 2022

Diplomacy is about balancing multiple, sometimes competing priorities. How can the US promote human rights in North Africa while also fighting terrorism? How does the US elicit cooperation from NATO allies while also getting them to pay their fair share? This study tour surveys how US diplomats balance multiple goals and foreign policy challenges while working with partners from other governments, international organizations, and civil society in Europe and North Africa. The Mediterranean region is one where the most pressing foreign policy challenges of the day converge, from migration to counterterrorism and climate change to great power competition with China and Russia. This course will introduce students to the tools the US uses to address these challenges, from public diplomacy to military partnerships.
Academics

Students can choose one of the following courses:

• Human Development 355: Diplomacy & Human Rights in the Mediterranean
• Human Rights 355: Diplomacy & Human Rights in the Mediterranean
• International Relations 355: Diplomacy & Human Rights in the Mediterranean
• Political Science 355: Diplomacy & Human Rights in the Mediterranean

The 2022 syllabus will be available soon! View the 2020 syllabus here. Details are subject to change. 

Itinerary

• Belgium: Brussels
• France: Paris, Aix-en-Provence, Marseille
• Morocco: Rabat
• Tunisia: Tunis, Carthage

<sup>The 2022 itinerary will be available soon! View the details of a past itinerary here. Please note, the schedule is tentative and subject to change. 


General Travel Advisory

This trip is a serious one, both academically and culturally. Students are expected to be prepared for intellectual, linguistic, social, and travel challenges. We are traveling as a team, and each member must be prepared, punctual, cautious, and professional. Trip leaders have extensive experience in Tunisia, where the security situation has stabilized and tourism is growing. Team leaders closely monitor the security environment and sensitive areas are avoided. With those important caveats, the trip promises to be an incredible experience, including both fun and adventure.

About the Professor

Mieczyslaw (Mietek) Boduszynski teaches U.S. Foreign Policy at Pomona College, as well as courses on the Middle East, Eastern Europe and the Balkans, democracy promotion and democratization. Previously, he was a diplomat with the U.S. Department of State at postings in Albania, Kosovo, Japan, Egypt, Libya and Iraq. A member of the Pacific Council, Boduszynski is an expert on the Balkans and the modern Middle East and North Africa, especially Iraq, Libya and Egypt.
A frequent op-ed contributor to publications such as the The Hill, Foreign Affairs and The Washington Post/Monkey Cage, Boduszynski previously published a book on democratization in the Balkans, and has just published a new book titled US Democracy Promotion in the Arab World: Beyond Interests vs. Ideals. He is also the co-author of a forthcoming textbook entitled Research Methods in Politics and International Relations.
Boduszynski served as a 2016-2018 Center for Public Diplomacy Research Fellow at the University of Southern California, a 2017-2018 Resident Fellow at IAU College in Aix-en-Provence and a Visiting Professor at Sciences Po-Paris School of International Affairs (Spring 2018). Boduszynski has also been a Visiting Scholar at Osaka School of International Public Policy (Summer 2017) and the University of Gothenburg-V-Dem Institute, and has taught at the American University of Cairo, Temple University—Japan Campus, European University in Tirana (Albania), the University of San Diego and KIMEP University in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
In addition to English, Boduszynski speaks Arabic, Japanese, Serbian-Croatian-Bosnian, Albanian, French and Polish.

Program Fees and Inclusions
January 2022: $5,845

Program fee includes tuition for three credits, lodging, daily breakfast, some group lunches and/or dinners, intra-program transportation (by plane, train, or bus), entrances/fees for all scheduled cultural activities and academic visits, orientation, and health, liability, and repatriation insurance. Additional student costs include roundtrip airfare, most lunches/dinners, textbooks, and personal expenses.

Students who enroll in a January Term Seminar and the spring semester in Aix-en-Provence or Barcelona consecutively are eligible to receive a $2,000 grant credited to their spring semester invoice. In order to be eligible to receive the grant, students must participate in the Early Start Program during the week between the end of the January Term Seminar and the start of the spring semester. The Early Start Program allows students to move in with their hosts a week before the semester begins, receive French or Spanish language instruction, and participate in local cultural activities! Visit IAU's Scholarship website for additional details.</sup>