Regional Tracks

Africa and The Middle East

Knowledge of the Middle East is crucial to understanding geopolitics. There are many issues in the Middle East that affect us in the U.S. - specifically: refugee flows, extremism, energy security, and alliances. Studying the Middle East (and North Africa as they are commonly paired) allows for study in several fields including: peace & conflict, conflict resolution, diplomacy, history, migration, historical trade, economics, development, disaster response, and energy. Arabic as a second language is also critical to national security; if you know Arabic, the chances of you getting a job at the state department, any security agency, or for a research organization increases.

 

 

Asia

Asia by far the largest, most populous, most diverse and consequently the most vibrant part of the world.  More than half of the world's people live in Asia, and most of that population is young and demanding change.  Asia represents a fascinating region of diverse peoples, rapidly growing economies, civil wars, and rising powers.  The region hosts complex peoples in complex societies facing complex challenges.  The overwhelming majority of the world's Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists live in Asia, totaling three billion people.  Asia is home to over a thousand billionaires and some of the world's most expensive real estate, but also some of the world's largest slums and crippling income inequalities.  Asia's development policies have lifted hundreds of millions of people out of severe poverty yet it faces more complex development challenges every day. 

Europe and the former Soviet Union

The birthplace of democracy, fascism, communism and two world wars, Europe is now the petri dish for the world’s most important experiment in peace, the European Union. Can former enemies form a new country, a United State of Europe, and banish the specter of war from the continent? Since World War II, the United States has had deep economic and security relations with most of Europe, especially with regard to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance. In every international operation, the Europeans are America’s closest allies. But how safe is it? Russia regularly threatens to cut off oil and gas to Europeans, is responsible for many cyber-attacks, and even assassinates people all over the continent. Brexit weakens both the EU and NATO. Learn more about this important region!

Latin America

Studying Latin America is fascinating because of the incredible variety of social and biophysical landscapes it includes: from city to countryside, and from lowlands to highlands. The histories that come together in Latin America also come together in Anglo America, and notably in the United States. Over half of all immigrants to the US are from the Americas, and approximately 10% of Wyoming’s population identifies as “Hispanic” with Wyoming ranking 17th in the share of the Hispanic population eligible to vote nationwide. Studying Latin America is not only exciting in its own right; it also helps us better understand the politics and cultures of the United States.