Disconnected networks: notes toward a different approach to filling the South Asia expert gap
Titel:
Disconnected networks: notes toward a different approach to filling the South Asia expert gap
Auteur:
Ayres, Alyssa
Verschenen in:
India review
Paginering:
Jaargang 2 (2003) nr. 2 pagina's 69-96
Jaar:
2003-04
Inhoud:
In the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, public debate flourished in the United States regarding the dearth of experts with foreign language skills in “critical areas” working in fields such as diplomacy, national security, and law enforcement. One result of this debate was a major increase in federal funding for language and area studies programs, specifically those focused on South and Central Asia, the Middle East, and Russia/the former Soviet Union. Yet increasing funding in this way assumes that the expertise problem is one of quantity. With respect to the South Asian region, the author suggests that unless concerted attention is focused on the reasons these programs are not producing experts engaged with the policy world in the first place, increasing funding will not increase expertise in Washington. This essay argues that the problem is not one of quantity, but rather one of quality - specifically, the lack of existing networks to utilize South Asia experts - and offers some solutions to bridge the gap.
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