Live from New York, it's US-Russia relations

Yelena Biberman-Ocakli's "Politics of Modern Warfare" course examines the security dimensions of the US-Russia relationship, currently in serious crisis over issues such as cybersecurity, the Syrian civil war, intervention in Ukraine, and the expansion of NATO.

Last week, two dozen students in the class participated in a live video webinarwith students in Moscow's Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  

The Russian students, led by Vice-Rector Oleg Ivanov, are primarily master's-degree candidates studying international relations. Like many students around the world, they are coming to terms with the changing dynamics of American and Russian foreign policies and global security, and they were very interested in exchanging ideas about key issues.

The Russians and Americans engaged in an insightful conversation that covered a remarkable range of hot-button topics including climate change, Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian refugee crisis, strategic interests in the Arctic, and America's recent presidential election.

Biberman-Ocakli reports, "We were surprised by how hopeful the Russian students were that the Trump administration could renew Russia-US relations." She says the two student groups "did not agree on everything but came to understand the sources of disagreement more clearly. The problems may be difficult to resolve, but we cannot make progress unless each side acknowledges the concerns and opinions of the other side."

What did she hope the Russian students would gain from this exercise? "I wanted them to see that our students are not animated by one-sided and biased thinking. I wanted them to understand that they have peers in our college who are thoughtful and analytical in matters of foreign policy and international relations," she says.

Biberman-Ocakli explains that this kind of experiential coursework, a signature element in her teaching, is designed to emphasize the importance of intercultural dialogue and to expand student opportunities for productive engagement with people and ideas across the globe.

The Diplomatic Academy has invited Skidmore students to visit, and Biberman-Ocakli hopes to continue building a relationship between the institutions. Given the success of this most recent endeavor, students can at least expect to participate in other person-to-person insight-building experiences in the future.