Sustainability and global affairs in the 21st Century: Evidence from the Schwarzman Scholars Program

• In Event: International higher education scholarships and sustainable development: exploring sustainability across theory and practice

Proposal

From Thucydides to Sun Tzu, Global Affairs have always been thought in terms of War and Peace. Relations between nations, states, cultures and peoples have rarely been conceived as naturally “good”, “cooperative” or intrinsically harmonious (Lawson, 2015). On the contrary, international sustainability and peaceful coexistence have always required continuous strategic efforts from politicians, philosophers, entrepreneurs, diplomats and educators. In this regard, the very advent of modern modalities of international education – as personified by the historical figures of Cecil Rhodes, William Fulbright and so many others – reflects humanity’s incessant attempt to promote sustainability via cross-border education (Dassin, 2018). In essence, international scholarship programs of all types and nature have always been – and continue to be – inspired by a foundational principle: that international education is a crucial vehicle for a peaceful, cooperative and sustainable international order. Whether or not this timeless promise has been fulfilled is obviously debatable (Kent, 2018).
The Schwarzman Scholars program is one of the latest – and perhaps most ambitious – examples of this historical aspiration for international sustainability via education. Launched in 2015, the program has set the bold mission to recruit and prepare a new generation of global leaders for the 21st Century. Based at Tsinghua University in Beijing, the program offers around 150 fully funded scholarships to exceptional students from all regions and academic background to study for a one-year Master’s degree program in Global Affairs. At a time when China’s astonishing rise challenges the century-old Western-centered order, Schwarzman Scholars aims at forming a network of young leaders who are not only capable of navigating effectively in a rapidly changing world, but who can also be trusted to pave the way for sustainable relations between China and other parts of the world in the decades to come.
Motivated by this timeless paradox between ‘sustainability’ and ‘Global Affairs’, and Situated at the intersection of Chinese global affairs and international sustainable relations, the paper here proposed will provide a preliminary reflection about various aspects of the Schwarzman Scholars program, from its original motivations to its current execution and implementation. Written in the form of an applied research paper, this piece will rely on empirical evidence from the practical experiences of faculty, students and senior program administrators to address a series of questions, such as: a) How is the topic of ‘Sustainability’ being thought of and incorporated into the curriculum of a one-year master’s degree program in ‘Global Affairs’? b) In light of China’s unprecedented investments in renewable technologies and the country’s renewed efforts to curb the effects of global environmental degradation, how are Schwarzman Scholars dealing with China’s leading role in environmental issues? c) Lastly but not less important: How can the impact of Schwarzman Scholars be measured in terms of its contribution to devising more sustainable international relations, in particular between a rising China and a divided West?

Author

• Frederico Menino, Schwarzman Scholars Program