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SUMMARY:Thomas L. Friedman Lectures on the World is Flat 3.0
DESCRIPTION:Thomas Friedman\, Foreign Affairs columnist for The New York Times\, delivered a CIRS Distinguished Lecture on the subject of “The World is Flat 3.0.” The lecture was an extension of the themes in his 2005 book The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century. An audience of over 1\,400 people attended the event held at the Four Season hotel. \n \n \nFriedman began by clarifying what he meant by saying that “the world is flat.” He recounted that he came across this metaphor when he traveled to Bangalore and realized the extent to which “outsourcing\,” as a business strategy\, was being conducted in India. Through telecommunication technologies and the internet\, India was able to connect to and service hundreds of companies around the world. Friedman recalls that this is where he heard the phrase “the global economic playing field is being leveled\,” for the first time. This phrase\, he explained\, was the inspiration for his book. \n \n \nFriedman noted that three different types of globalizations have occurred throughout history. The first was “globalization 1.0\,” which lasted from 1492 to the 1800s. Transportation technologies\, colonial projects\, and geographic know-how “shrunk the world” in terms of geographical reach paving the way for sustained international trade. During this period\, according to Friedman\, “the main agent of globalization was the nation-state globalizing for Empire\, or for resources\, or for power.”  \n \n \nThe second phase of globalization was what he labeled “globalization 2.0\,” which began in the 1900s and ended around the turn of the twenty-first century. “That era of globalization\,” Friedman argued\, “was spearheaded by companies globalizing for markets\, for labor\, and for resources.” The activities related to this phase further broke down the barriers of international borders\, trade\, and cross-cultural connections. \n \n \nThe third and current phase of globalization began around the year 2000. Friedman noted that “what’s really new\, really exciting\, and really terrifying about this era of globalization is that it is built around individuals. What is really new about this era is that we now have individuals that can compete\, connect\, and collaborate globally as individuals.” This\, he said\, provided equal opportunity for everyone to take part. \n \n \nFriedman described several “flatteners” that made this current globalization platform possible. The first of these was the invention of the personal computer\, which “allowed individuals\, for the first time in history\, to author their own content” in digital form. The second “flattener” occurred on August 9\, 1995\, when the Netscape browser went public ushering in what has become known as the “dot com boom.” This\, Friedman said\, ignited the “dot com bubble\,” which funded the necessary infrastructure for global internet access. A further “flattener” was a revolution in connectivity. When computers became a popular technology\, they were operated by a variety of different software types that were incompatible\, which debilitated work-flow. However\, when transmission protocols became streamlined\, “that made everyone’s computer and software interoperable\,” and allowed people to collaborate globally on the same projects without hindrance.  \n \n \nWhen all of these “flatteners” are combined\, Friedman explained\, the digital revolution’s power becomes apparent: an individual can create digital content\, upload it to the internet\, and have other people from other countries collaborate on it. Production is not hierarchical; individuals now have the ability to create and collaborate in vast decentralized networks. To “horizontalize” is to move away from stocks of knowledge towards more flexible flows by tapping into more brain power and collaborative networks worldwide. What happens in a flat world is “we all have to learn how to horizontalize\, and take advantage of this platform” to become the most productive. Friedman proclaimed that this shift\, from vertical to horizontal\, “is the most fundamental transformation in human interaction since Gutenberg invented the Printing press.” \n \n \nCiting several survival skills for succeeding in a flat world\, Friedman noted that the first of these is to adhere to the motto “whatever can be done\, will be done\,” and will be done more efficiently. The second is to understand that “when the world is flat\, the most important competition\, going forward\, is between you and your own imagination.” Further\, Friedman explained\, “one of the great survival skills in the flat world\, maybe the most important for a student\, is the ability to learn how to learn” this is important\, he argued\, because “what we know now gets out of date so much faster\, so it’s actually not what you learn\, but your ability to learn how to learn.”  \n \n \nIn a digitized world\, Friedman concluded\, information about anything or anyone can be shared with everyone. He argued that “in a world where everyone is a potential paparazzi\, columnist\, reporter and filmmaker\, everyone else is a public figure\,” meaning that “how” a person acts becomes important as there will be digital records of every action.  \n \n \nDuring the “question and answer” session at the conclusion of the lecture\, an audience member asked how it was possible for everyone to take part in this flat world when only a small percentage of the world’s population is privileged enough to have access to the internet. Friedman addressed this point by saying that a flat world does not mean an equal world\, but does go some way in leveling the economic playing field for those who do take part. Earlier in the day\, Friedman was invited to visit the Georgetown University Qatar campus where he spoke informally to a group of Georgetown University students\, faculty\, and staff.  \n \n \nAs a journalist\, Friedman has won three Pulitzer Prizes. His latest book\, Hot\, Flat and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution — and How It Can Renew America (Sept. ‘08)\, is a #1 New York Times bestseller. His previous books include The World is Flat;Longitudes and Attitudes: The World in the Age of Terrorism; The Lexus and the Olive Tree; and From Beirut to Jerusalem\, which won the National Book Award. He appears in his own segment\, “Tom’s Journal\,” on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and is a frequent guest on programs such as Face the Nation and Charlie Rose. His TV documentaries includeSearching for the Roots of 9/11\, The Other Side of Outsourcing\, and Addicted to Oil. \n \n \nArticle by Suzi Mirgani. Suzi is CIRS Publications Coordinator.
URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/event/thomas-l-friedman-lectures-world-flat-30/
CATEGORIES:American Studies,Dialogue Series,Race & Society,Regional Studies
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20100208T080000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Moscow:20100208T180000
DTSTAMP:20260412T092841
CREATED:20141023T155529Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210902T103123Z
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SUMMARY:Daniel Stoll Lectures on the Jordan River and the Johnston Plan
DESCRIPTION:Daniel Stoll\, Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service in Qatar\, delivered his lecture\, “The Jordan River and the Johnston Plan: Lessons for the Obama Administration?” on February 8\, 2010\, as part of the CIRSMonthly Dialogue series. Dr. Stoll\, an expert on the United Nations and multilateral organizations as well as U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East\, formerly served as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State. \n \n \nStoll spot-lighted the issue of water scarcity in the Jordan River basin and its relation to the on-going Arab-Israeli conflict. According to Stoll\, “In the West Bank the average individual has access to only 50 liters of water a day. That’s below the World Health Organization recommended amount of 150 liters per day.” He cited strained resources as one of the most persistent problems facing the embattled region and pointed to the U.S.-led Johnston Plan of the 1950s which sought equitable allocation of water to all parties as a possible template that the Obama administration might use to manage the situation today.  \n \n \nThe president’s 2009 speech at Cairo University\, the appointment of George Mitchell as the United States Special Envoy to the Middle East\, and his address to the UN General Assembly in September 2009 are all signals\, according to Stoll\, that Obama and his administration are willing to actively engage on Middle East issues. The great strain that has been placed upon the Jordan River to sustain various populations remains contentious. Stoll pointed out that the problem is not a solely environmental one\, noting\, “I think it would be impossible to develop a water strategy without recognizing the broader political implications of the conflict\, in particular those final status issues of refugees and borders.” \n \n \nThe demands currently placed on water from the Jordan River are far outstripping its sustainable usage rate; by the time the river’s flow reaches its endpoint at the Dead Sea\, 90% of its water has been extracted. Agriculture\, though only a uniformly minor proportion of GDP in the region\, places the largest strain on river resources due to the preponderance of water-intensive crops grown in the region\, such as citrus fruits and bananas. In Jordan\, 65-70% of water allocated to the nation is used for farming\, likewise 70% of the water available to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank is used on crops\, while Israel expends 65% of their allotment similarly. A population boom in Jordan and the Palestinian Territories has not helped the already-strained water resources\, nor has the inefficient infrastructure used to distribute water in the region.  \n \n \nThe most controversial dimension of the water scarcity issue in the region centers around existing inequities in both consumption and cost of water. It is estimated that Israeli settlers use six times more water than Palestinians; the imbalance\, Stoll predicted\, will play a significant role should the two parties move towards a solution to the conflict through the creation of a Palestinian State. He pointed to the current inequity in the cost of water\, which is complicated by government subsidies\, “When people do pay for the water\, there’s a real imbalance. Palestinians generally pay more than twice what is charged to Israeli households while Jewish settlers in the occupied territories in particular receive water that is highly subsidized by the Israeli water authorities.” \n \n \nAccording to Stoll\, the Obama Administration could look to the Johnston Plan\, developed during the tenure of Dwight D. Eisenhower with the help of his Middle East envoy\, Eric Johnston. In an attempt to settle close to 100\,000 Palestinian refugees\, the U.S. worked to bring together Israel\, Jordan and Syria with the help of the United Nations to line up hydroelectric projects\, to develop Lake Tiberius into a reservoir\, to build a series of canals and irrigation schemes throughout the region and to divide the flow of the Jordan River between the three nations to allow for sustainable settlement.  \n \n \nThough the talks broke down\, partly due to suspicion of the U.N. on the part of both the Arabs and Israelis\, Stoll said he believes the plan provides a helpful framework for resolution of the water issue\, though lessons can be learned from the past. More specifically\, Stoll said that the parties should look to find water sources not just from surface resources\, but from ground water and treated waste water. They must also engage all regional entities—the Palestinians were notably left out of talks surrounding the Johnston Plan\, and they should work towards compiling more comprehensive and reliable data on water resources in the region in an effort to reduce waste and inefficiency.  \n \n \nStoll concluded his talk by voicing his hope that contemporary efforts to resolve the water scarcity issue would be more successful than the Johnston Plan with the help and resources of multilateral institutions such as the U.N.\, the World Bank\, and the E.U. and cooperative efforts such as the Israeli-Palestinian Joint Water Committee\, which Stoll hopes can become a “mechanism for conversation and dialogue.” \n \n \nDr. Stoll is Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs at Georgetown University-Qatar. Prior to joining SFS-Qatar\, he held a number of positions at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC)\, including Assistant Vice Provost for International Initiatives as well as Adjunct Professor of Political Science. From 1988 until 1998\, he was a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State\, with foreign postings in Baghdad\, Iraq and Johannesburg\, South Africa. His research interests include the role of multilateral institutions in the international system\, as well as U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. He is co-editor of and contributing author to\, The Politics of Scarcity: Water in the Middle East.  \n \n \nArticle by Clare Malone
URL:https://cirs.qatar.georgetown.edu/event/daniel-stoll-lectures-jordan-river-and-johnston-plan/
CATEGORIES:Dialogue Series,Environmental Studies,Race & Society
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