This course introduces students to the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as agents of advocacy and socio-political, economic and cultural change. The emphasis is on a) examining ways in which the NGO sector operates at the local, national and international levels, b) understanding the range of issues NGOs promote and advocate for; c) examining the tools and strategies they use in their advocacy; and, d) assessing the impact NGOs have on the policy making process as well as the targted communities.
The course is designed for students interested in questions of advocay, activism and nongovernmental interventions, all of which are central to the dynamic cultural and political landscapes where NGOs operate. Some of the NGOs we will explore focus their advocacy on promoting political rights, gender equality and minority rights, while others focus on ending poverty, violence, human trafficking, exploitative labor, health problems and environmental degradation.
About the Instructor:
Professor Kamal A. Beyoghlow (BEY-O-LOU) received his PhD degree in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley. His Master’s degree in International Relations from Tufts University, and his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from San Diego State University.
He served as a Foreign Affairs Officer in the Office of the U.S. Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the U.S. Department of State (DOS) initiating and implementing U.S. counterterrorism policy and strategy and was also the Principal Representative of DOS to President Obama’s Periodic Review Board for the Guantanamo Combat Detention facility in Cuba where he helped resettle detainees abroad. He taught national security and international relations at the Marine Corps University in Quantico where he also served as Director of the Strategic Level of War course. He started his U.S. Government career as an analyst of psychological military operations for the U.S. Army.
He also served as a political analyst at the CIA and was a tenured faculty of Grand Strategy and Chair of the Department of Culture and Regional Studies at the U.S. National War College, the highest military academy in the United States.