Institution building really captures my imagination as to how to best counter radicalism. And for that matter, all sorts of things, like corruption, crime, sinking standards of living. Where does one learn how to build institutions? I ask as someone who is personally interested in expanding national service opportunities, so as to knit and cross-socially engage a generation of young Americans.
bootz and anyone else who's interested in CVE, Peter Neumann, who teaches at Georgetown and runs the Center for the Study of Radicalization is testifying in Congress tomorrow on CVE online
Will the testimony be televised? That's what CSPAN is for, right? Will you be in attendance?
It should be on CSPAN and probably online. i will not be unfortunately but I will try and watch. no idea whether i can stream while at work.
Yeah it's definitely a super squishy abstract concept. I think a lot of the problem comes from the fact that in order for institutions to work, you have to let them do their thing which can take a long time. Personally, I think one of the biggest issues with democracy building is that we don't let time pass and for institutions to take on a character of their own. I think the US model worked for the US because the world basically left us the fuck alone for a century or two and we figured out how to make democratic institutions work for us. But in somewhere like post-Arab Spring Egypt, people want things to happen immediately and it just doesn't work that way. In high school, I was on a mock congressional hearings team (lmfao i know) which helped give a really in depth look into how you research and prep for a hearing and involved a lot of constitutional study so we weren't just talking out our asses about what the govt can do. This obviously isn't the best form of civic engagement for everyone, but I think national service opportunities is an awesome way of making civic action widely accessible.
I'm reading an introductory book on economics, and I'm on the part about "institutions." Squishy concept indeed. His stab at defining is "the arrangements between people and organizations." Meh. I didn't think about it until you pointed it out, but that is hilarious. "Most likely to be president."In high school, I was on a mock congressional hearings team (lmfao i know)
that's...kind of it. it's more of a feedback loop than that. actions shape institutions which shape actions etc The mock congressional hearings program (called We The People naturally) is divided into 6 units each with a different focus (philosophical/historical foundations of the US, the founders' process/intent, post-civil war adaptations to the constitution, how the constitution shaped american institutions, the role of the bill of rights, and 21st century issues). I was in the last group which is affectionately dubbed the lovey dovey touchy feely group. And here I am lmao
That sounds rad actually. We The People. I wish I had something like that in middle school. I just read a really interesting book by a legal author Akhil Reed Amar that touched on the Reconstruction Congress and it's "intents" with the 13th and 14th amendments. It inspired me to pick up his America's Constitution: A Biography (though it might be some time before I get to it. I'm currently on hour 3 of 67 of The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York). But speaking of building institutions, trying to normalize the South after the Civil War... sheesh. Not jealous of that job.post-civil war adaptations to the constitution
Akhil Reed Amar was the patron saint of unit 3. I haven't heard that name in forever haha. Yeah and it's definitely really easy to look at Reconstruction and where we are today and draw the conclusion that institution building is hard.