Archive for the ‘International Relations’ Category

Por Haizam Amirah Fernández,  Profesor Asociado de Humanidades en IE Business School.

-¿Por qué surge el Daesh?

-El autoproclamado Estado Islámico o Daesh es una amenaza real para los occidentales y, sobre todo, para los musulmanes, que son la mayoría de sus víctimas. Es, además, un síntoma de fallos estructurales en Oriente Próximo y la suma de muchas decisiones equivocadas que se han tomado a lo largo de demasiado tiempo por elites políticas locales y por potencias extranjeras que han intervenido en Iraq o Siria sin medir las consecuencias y generando una desestabilización que va más allá de las fronteras de Oriente Próximo. El Daesh es también una coartada que, dependiendo de quién y en qué momento, resulta útil su existencia.

-¿Qué peso tiene en el mundo musulmán?

-Plantean la creación de un califato para todos los musulmanes del mundo y hablamos de más de 1.600 millones de personas. Lo hacen recurriendo a la violencia e imponiendo unas interpretaciones ultra estrictas de la religión, con todo tipo de prohibiciones y castigos. Ven la vida en blanco y negro. Tienen pocos seguidores en sus territorios porque se están imponiendo por la vía del terror. Fuera de Iraq y Siria tienen seguidores reducidos con perfiles concretos que buscan un idealismo imposible, que rechazan su entorno, o que lo ven como una aventura. Tienen una presencia mínima entre el mundo musulmán y, sin embargo, han logrado en tres años estar en todos los titulares, marcar una buena parte de la agenda internacional y asociar el islam con el terrorismo.

-Si son tan pocos seguidores, ¿por qué el mundo musulmán ha sido tibio a la hora de condenar atentados?

-Más del 90% de las víctimas de atentados del Daesh y grupos afines son musulmanes. El Daesh comete crímenes contra la humanidad. Es bueno que se denuncien los atentados, pero por parte de todos. Read more…

Manuel Muñiz, a renowned expert in innovation, geopolitics and regional and global governance, has been appointed Dean of IE School of International Relations. In this new phase, Muñiz will focus on developing initiatives aimed at consolidating IE School of International Relations as a benchmark in the field of education programs for global leadership. Muñiz will also create the IE Center for Change Governance, dedicated to the study of challenges resulting from the acceleration of technological and social change in public and private sectors, and to the development of solutions and tools required to provide optimum governance.

Muñiz is currently Director of the Harvard University’s Program on Transatlantic Relations. He will take over from Arantza de Areilza, who has served as Dean of IE School of International Relations since its foundation in 2008. “Manuel Muñiz is a model academic entrepreneur with a brilliant international trajectory,” says Santiago Íñiguez de Onzoño, President of IE University. “His strategic plan will transform IE School of International Relations into a source of future architects of the global society.”

Manuel Muñiz has undertaken research on cooperation and integration in Europe and the North Atlantic aimed at gaining an understanding of how states tackle interdependence and complexity.

Muñiz is a Professor of global Transformation and Director of the Program on Global Leadership at the Rafael del Pino Foundation. He is also a local affiliate of the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies at Harvard University, and a member of the Alumni Board of Directors of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

Dr. Muniz holds a JD (Law) from the Complutense University in Madrid, an MSc in Finance from the IEB, a Master in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government, and a DPhil (PhD) in International Relations from the University of Oxford. He is also a David Rockefeller Fellow of the Trilateral Commission and a holder of the Atlantic Council’s Millennium Fellowship. In 2016 Esglobal included him among the top 25 intellectuals who are redefining Ibero-American thought.

Por Haizam Amirah Fernández,  Profesor Asociado de Humanidades en IE Business School.

El 30 de enero de 2017, la Unión Africana (UA) pasó de tener 54 estados miembros a tener 55. Ese día, cerca de 40 de sus integrantes apoyaron la solicitud de readmisión de Marruecos en la organización panafricana. Era el único estado del continente africano que permanecía al margen.

Marruecos fue miembro fundador en 1963 de la Organización para la Unidad Africana (OUA), predecesora de la UA, pero decidió abandonarla en 1984 por la admisión de la República Árabe Saharaui Democrática (RASD) en su seno. Por su parte, la RASD figura como miembro fundador de la UA en su Acta Constitutiva que entró en vigor en mayo de 2001.

Tras más de tres décadas de ausencia, Marruecos ha vuelto a la organización panafricana a pesar de que la RASD sigue siendo miembro de pleno derecho. La decisión marroquí habría parecido inimaginable hasta hace menos de un año. Sin embargo, en julio de 2016 el rey Mohamed VI reconoció que el autoexilio de su país de la UA tenía que ser corregido, en lo que suponía un reconocimiento de la inutilidad de la política de “silla vacía”.

La decisión de solicitar la readmisión en la organización continental ha sido un empeño personal del monarca alauí. Esa decisión fue precedida por una intensa campaña diplomática que incluyó numerosas visitas del rey de Marruecos a países del África subsahariana. Asimismo, Marruecos ha desarrollado un plan de expansión de sus actividades económicas y comerciales en el resto del continente, sobre todo en los países de África occidental y en los francófonos. En la actualidad es el segundo inversor africano en el continente, por detrás de Sudáfrica. La presencia de sus bancos, empresas de telecomunicaciones, aseguradoras y líneas aéreas no deja de crecer en distintos países africanos. También busca una mayor influencia religiosa mediante la formación de imames y ulemas subsaharianos en instituciones islámicas marroquíes. Read more…

On Thursday November 24th the IE Humanities Center hosted the second conference of the Cycle India: Present and Future, focusing this time on the subject of politics, under the title “Politics: the Largest Democracy”. This event was dedicated to the complex Indian political reality and the discussion panel included IE University’s IR Professor Babita Bhatt, Universidad Complutense’s Professor and expert on India Eva Borreguero and IE’s IR Academic Director Daniel Kselman, who acted as moderator.

Professor Kselman introduced the conversation speaking about the incredible diversity of India, a country with more than a billion people and 22 official languages and remembering how this “diversity in democracy” was thought impossible to survive at the time of its independence as, for example, Britain thought it was rather a civilization than a nation. However, as professor Kselman said “the diversity glues the country as they need one another” specially after configuring a multi party system, despite the different interests of state-level democracies, as well as national and regional parties, which has contributed to a progressive institutionalization of democracy.

Professor Bhatt started the discussion on the first thematic block of the event focused on domestic policies of India, centered on the two parties that have ruled India since the independence, namely, the Indian National Congress (I.N.C.) and Bharatiya Janata Party (B.J.P). After explaining the common view of each of them (I.N.C. is considered a dynastic party of the Nehru-Gandhi family and B.J.P. a pro Hinduist nationalist party), it was inevitable to talk about current Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi. Professor Bhatt gave an exhaustive description of the controversial figure, often compared to Trump or Putin and of his intention to project an image of a C.E.O rather than a politician, of an honest man who is an example of social promotion (he comes from a humble background), dedicated to his country (a single man whose only concern is the welfare of the Indians) with a successful record (as governor of Gujarat he got its economy increased by double figures during his term in office). The panel then analysed his two years in office and the recent issue of the demonetization and how could it affect the average citizen as well as politics in terms of party funding.

The second block was dedicated to India’s foreign affairs and its capacity to equate its economic position with its international influence. Professor Borreguero was quite clear India in expressing that “India has too many internal problems to become a global player and too many differences with his neighbours” referring to Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh. The moderator ask both speakers on the lasting Pakistani-Indian Conflict on Kashmir. Both experts agreed that the more likely scenario was interspersed periods of tension and calm between the two nuclear powers, since an external enemy is always useful in domestic policy, and that an open conflict or a long lasting peace was quite a remote scenario.

As a conclusion, Prof. Borreguero insisted on the “elastic” capacity of the Indian democracy to face present and future challenges and Prof. Bhatt pointed out that maybe the biggest threat was the growing Indian middle-class who does not necessarily perceive democracy as a form of government leading to economic growth.

The moderator invited the audience to give their insights in all of these issues and the discussion was enriched by the comments of IE’s students.

By Carlota Marcoartu Jauregui (BIR 2018)

Last week members of the IE Model United Nations Club, had the opportunity to participate in the Universidad Complutense Model United Nations 2016. All of our participants in this MUN did a great job, representing IE University and walking away from the conference feeling their achievements after the challenge it had posed to themselves.

Our delegates have had the opportunity to take part in this competition as representatives of states in committees such as Joint Crisis (UK representatives), European Commission, Euro Group, Security Council, Peacekeeping Operations Committee and UN Women. IE team was comprised of Renata Villafuerte Co-Chair of ONU MUJERES committee, Carlota Marcoartu Chair of Peacekeeping Operations Committee and thirteen students who participated as delegates. For the majority of IE students this MUN has been their first of many more yet to come. In spite of this, four IE students walked away on Friday 18 with more than just the participation diploma, the award to Best Delegate from the Euro Commission went to Elizabeth Prieto and three mentions were given to Elena Balrod who competed in the Euro Group, Xénia Elena Greenhalgh and Layan Al-sayeh, delegates in the European Commission. Thus all the IE students who participated must be congratulated, for their hard work and dedication.

As students, their participation in this Model United Nations allowed them to share their past MUN, debate experiences as well as acquire knowledge and skills that will help them in their future careers. This conference has enhanced their abilities while experiencing diplomacy. Furthermore it has been a chance to promote a better understanding of what the United Nations is today and a way to gain further experience in this field, to broaden horizons while enhancing a career profile. Being an opportunity to put into practice all the knowledge they have now the pleasure to know.