The Institute of Current World Affairs is a 501(c)(3) exempt operating foundation, supported by contributions from like-minded individuals and foundations. Since its founding in 1925, the Institute has provided more than 150 young men and women with long-term fellowships in countries throughout the world. For information on our program and on how to apply see: Fellowships.

Reports

 From Current Fellows 
(March 2008)

FRANCE

Immigration is Always Political

By  Kay Dilday

PARIS–France’s national museum and immigration research center, Cite national de l’histoire d’immigration opened in early October to governmental silence and amidst anger and controversy over new policies toward immigrants. In a showy gesture, some weeks earlier, eight prominent academic immigration experts wrote a public letter… FULL STORY

GUATEMALA

From Bulls-eye to Backdrop: Santiago Atitlán Eleven Years After Guatemala’s Civil War

By  Ezra Fieser

Even before he glanced at me with his pensive eyes, I knew what was coming. I’d spent the better part of two days walking through the hills that cup this lakeside Mayan pueblo with Domingo Damian, a former guerrilla … FULL STORY

PAKISTAN

The Middleman: Maulana Fazlur Rahman is considered the godfather of Mullah Omar’s Taliban. So why is the new generation of Taliban in Pakistan trying to kill him?

By  Nicholas Schmidle

Maulana Fazlur Rahman gripped a sword with two hands, and raised it over his head before 25,000 fervent Islamist supporters on a steamy summer night last year in Lahore. The crowd chanted “Islamic Revolution!” Rahman — just over 5-feet tall, with a thick, tin-colored beard, and his signature orange turban — finally put down the sword… FULL STORY

BRAZIL

Playing to the Streets in the “City of Walls:” Intersections of Art, Resistance and Urban Change - Part Two

By  Raphael Soifer

In my last newsletter (RS-3), I gave an introduction to some of the forces at work in São Paulo’s ever-accelerating gentrification, and highlighted how street performances are portraying and … FULL STORY

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