Director’s Notebook #35
by Peter J. Hoffman, GPIA Director
GPIA Community,
The end of the academic year fosters reflection. Students are wrapping up their final work, and faculty are prepping for grading marathons. Amid this dizzying pace, it is easy to lose sight of the big picture. In this case, take a moment to breathe, to recognize the summit that has been scaled in 2022-2023. Just as the COVID-19 pandemic seemed to be winding down, the university experienced a strike that struck at the core of what we are about. The usual work of learning and teaching, of skill-building and analyzing, of being sensitive and articulate were once again engulfed by a distracting, debilitating crisis. It caused us to ask who we are as a university? What is the purpose of The New School. And, yet, we have not only confronted these challenges, but our community has also discovered a new strength and solidarity. However, this existential gut-check at the university should also be situated within a much larger context as the struggle for justice pervades global governance.
With the world riddled by a wide range of growing crises—from wars to natural disasters; from human rights under siege to burgeoning inequality; from nationalism to xenophobia and racism—increasingly there is seemingly resentment toward the very institutions of global governance. Indeed, the United Nations is often seen as a representative of an unjust world order that favors the powerful at the very juncture when its premise of multilateralism is needed more than ever. Demands for a rule-based order that is responsive to contemporary needs are ubiquitous, invoking values that have come to spotlight frustrations, such as equity, inclusivity, accountability, responsibility, and resilience. As political conflicts rage debates themselves have become coded battlegrounds. The term “rules-based order” is perceived by many as a subtle marker of Western domination where capital, culture, and organizations are embedded with great power domination. A skepticism, if not outright rejection, of a “liberal order” along with shifts in power suggests something else is emerging. What will this new system look like? Is it a new “illiberal multilateral world”? Is “global” dying, with regional structures becoming ascendant? Can democracy persist without the trappings of Western hegemony? There are no clear, easy, or immediate answers and would not put the onus on anyone to try to come up with them now. But what I do believe is that we as community have a responsibility to be engaged in these deliberations, and not just in the halls of The New School but in the trenches of debates around the world.
We have completed the academic year, but there is so much more to do. 2022-2023 is a testament to our principles and diligence, and we should celebrate that, but we must never forget to go global with our ambitions. There are dangers in times of comfort as well as crisis—indeed, tragically the comfort of some is usually built on the crisis of others. And, if you don’t stand for something, you’ll go for anything. May the struggles and successes of this year inspire us to do better next year. I am proud that GPIA is launching another cohort of international affairs professionals to take up the duty of realizing a more just world order. Congratulations to the GPIA class of 2023: Hayfa Achour, Haya B A M Alateeqi, Khadijah Ally, Patrick Buckley, Fatimah Cisse, Sebastian Dodd, Raiesa Frazer, Philip Garber, Manjun Hao, Autumn Herndon, Isadora Jahanfar Tholin, Mary Johnson, Jherna Kaul, Erica Levenson, Vijay Palaparty, Madeline Petersen, Tzlil Rubinshtein, Emely Salazar Perez, Katherine Shepherd, Roshni Singh, Lucas Tatarsky, Michael Vela, Ana Vepkhvadze, Standhope Williams, Jodit Woldemichael, Emily Wright, Pandora Yadgaroff, Vanessa Rayner, Rachel Seavey, Valencia Enrique.
I wish you a wonderful and relaxing summer.
PETER J. HOFFMAN
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AND DIRECTOR