For this issue’s Expert Insights, the Jackson School Journal had the pleasure to interview two outstanding individuals in international communications and journalism. The Journal sat down with former UN spokesperson and current Director of News and Media for the UN’s Department of Public Information Stéphane Dujarric and New York- based independent foreign affairs correspondent, Joe Lauria. Mr. Lauria’s articles have appeared in the Boston Globe, Bloomberg News, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Daily Telegraph and other publications.
In the following interviews, Mr. Dujarric candidly speaks about his personal experience working at the UN and offers his thoughts on working at the UN, consuming media wisely and the critical issue of digital human rights in the age of social media. His interview concludes with perspectives on the future of the UN and specific advice for Jackson School students. Mr. Lauria analyses the current situation in Syria and draws attention to the Cold War thinking that he argues is entrenched in American
foreign policy in the Middle East today––a mindset that was born in the era of Henry M. Jackson himself.

“As hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis inundated the cities of Lahore and Karachi to hear the rising cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan speak, commentators and politicians alike were baffled: how did the peripheral figure and his respective party become a formidable voice in Pakistan’s politics within a few months? This paper will argue that the ascension of Imran Khan’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf, can be attributed to its adoption of a post-Islamist rhetoric of religiosity and rights, which became publicly appealing following the formation and failure of the Islamist conglomerate, the Muttahida Majles-e-Amal. As post-colonial Pakistan’s institutional divide between the political elites of the state and the cultural religious groups of the public sphere has remain fixed throughout Islamism’s political tenures, Pakistan is experiencing a post-Islamist turn, where a novel relationship between political institutions and the public sphere is being negotiated. In conclusion, this paper will analyze Imran Khan’s political speeches in Lahore and Karachi and convey how his rhetoric is attractive, unique, and post-Islamist.

The infamous dictator Augusto Pinochet came to power through a bloody coup on September 11, 1973, and drastically changed the face of the Chilean government. His regime instituted strict policies of neoliberalism that led to the privatization of the university system. Forty years after the coup, many of these policies remain in place, untouched and accepted as the reasons behind Chile’s ‘economic miracle’ of South America. However, tensions resulting from these neoliberal policies, specifically in the University system, fomented a recent eruption of political activism in May of 2011. Why is it that Chile, one of the most economically ‘successful’ countries in South America and the ‘pride’ of the IMF and World Bank models, is seeing the rise of a powerful student movement against neoliberal legacies? My research juxtaposes the master narrative of Chile as a ‘model country’, in terms of hegemonic modernity, against the experiences of the Chilean university students who have fought to challenge it. I argue that the catalyst behind the student movement can be in part explained by the legacies of Pinochet’s repression and the political struggles of past generations. This contradictory temporal space forms a ‘generational borderland’. These generational ruptures, combined with the legacies of repression, have led to the emergence of new forms of innovative and marketable protest, cultivated longevity for the movement through the mistrust of politicians, and inspired a reinvigoration of the Communist Party of Chile.

Voluntourism is an increasingly prevalent approach to international travel that combines typical tourist activities with some type of service project in a developing country. Voluntourism opportunities in the medical field have especially grown in popularity among high school and university students. Academic literature suggests that medical volunteer trips have brought about a host of issues in developing countries such as unethical medical practices, creating dependencies on foreign assistance, altering healthcare seeking behaviors, and impeding the development of the domestic health care system. My own exposure to Nepal through fifteen weeks studying abroad and interviews I conducted with I/NGO staff in the Nepalese health sector validated these findings. With all of the resources that have been channeled into medical voluntourism programs designed to alleviate health issues, why do these programs often serve to worsen the health situation in developing countries? Using Nepal as a case study, I examine this issue and argue that due to the economic incentives underlying the programs, the lack of follow-up care, and the focus on provision of relief services, medical voluntourism is detrimental to the development of a functioning health care system in developing countries. Regardless of whether it is founded on good intentions, medical voluntourism too often results in inappropriate responses that are not in line with the actual needs of the locals. Potential voluntourists would do well to question the efficacy and legitimacy of these programs.

The Expert Insights section proves time and again to be a highlight of our publication, and this issue is no exception. We had the pleasure of listening to the fresh perspectives of Jackson School Professor Cabeiri Robinson who has appointments in International Studies, South Asian Studies and Anthropology. Robinson shares her unconventional arrival as a South Asianist and of her research as a women working in conflict zones. The interview concludes with Robinson’s thoughts on the future of the Jackson School and advice for its students.

“Turning A Blind Eye” was written for an essay assignment in Professor Cabeiri Robinson’s JSIS 202 course. This essay was nominated to be considered for publication as an example of outstanding coursework.

“A Suicide for Justice” was written for an essay assignment in Professor Cabeiri Robinson’s JSIS 202 course. This essay was nominated to be considered for publication as an example of outstanding coursework.

“Progress and Power” was written for an essay assignment in Professor Cabeiri Robinson’s JSIS 202 course. This essay was nominated to be considered for publication as an example of outstanding coursework.

China’s rapid economic growth has generated much discussion about its high savings and low consumption rate. However, examining the market segmentation of various industries reveals a youth generation much more willing to consume. By drawing from sociological theories of consumption, this paper argues that Chinese youth are adapting their consumption habits to reflect new values of individuality and innovation and in turn generating a new Chinese culture of consumption. In order to understand the roots of this emerging consumer culture, it is necessary to understand the perceptions of Chinese youth of their own lifestyles. This paper discusses the changes in lifestyle that create new identities among Chinese consumers, the role of retailers in connecting consumer and supplier markets, and the effects of China’s incorporation into the global capitalist economy on consumption habits of Chinese youth, which in turn affects both China and the global market.