Abstract
This seminar examines the increasing influence of national security and politics on U.S. development and relief programs. While not a new phenomenon, the post-9/11 world has brought development deeper into the orbit of national security concerns. How development programs are selected, funded and run, in key countries, has more to do with concerns that are oftentimes distant from the best technical and managerial guidance, frequently undermining possible success of the programs. The seminar examines Pakistan as the case in point. Professor Gottlieb served as USAID Mission Director from 2013 –2015 at the financial height of United States development assistance to that country. The seminar will review the ups and downs of relations with Pakistan, the circumstances that caused Congress to authorize a ten-fold rise in annual development funding, and the political and national security wrestling matches that ensued over the suite of development programs to undertake and their subsequent operation. The seminar also will examine how certain political and military events undermined intended programming, while also examining what success was possible even under such conditions. The seminar will draw lessons-learned for future participants in both the development and national security spheres as to how to navigate the oftentimes inherent tensions between achieving national security and political objectives, while at the same time achieving intended development goals.
Bio
Gregory Gottlieb is responsible for the overall direction of the center. Throughout his career, he has worked to improve food security, humanitarian, and transition programs and he brings this focus, dedication, and determination to Tufts. Most recently, Greg served as the Acting Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID/DCHA). Prior to that, he served as the Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator for DCHA. Since he began with USAID in 1988, he has held a variety of other positions, including Mission Director in Pakistan and Namibia, Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Bureau of Food Security (helping to plan and implement the Obama Administration’s Feed the Future Program), as well as posts in Malawi, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya. Additionally, Greg taught at the National War College, was a legal protection officer for UNHCR, and was Chief of Party for the Famine Early Warning Systems Network. Greg earned a bachelor’s degree from Humboldt State University, a juris doctor from Loyola Law School, and a master’s in public policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. In 2017, Greg received USAID’s highest award, the Administrator’s Distinguished Career Service Award, to recognize his long and distinguished service.