Page 48 - Social Science.docx

Introductory Note on International Diplomacy and Legal Studies Essays
Manuel Santelices
At the beginning of this year Dr. Calvo asked if Principles of Social Science could feature a few essays from the Diplomacy Capstone course. It has been an exciting challenge to guide these students through independent research and observe their intellectual curiosity find direction. The course is in its first year and was designed to give seniors an opportunity to explore specific areas of interests related to international politics. These twelfth graders have participated in Model UN during their time at Gulliver and have taken the International Politics Advanced (the course that would become the foundation of our new signature program International Diplomacy & Legal Studies). The world finds itself in an interesting geopolitical situation and as my students focus on major historical events as well as ongoing events they often arrive at the realization that there is in fact a pattern to diplomatic successes and failures. They can be analyzed and their outcomes predicted.
This journal presents a unique opportunity to Gulliver students: they are able to contribute to the discipline before stepping foot in graduate school. In many ways it has allowed them the space to begin navigating their academic agency and develop questions about the state of global affairs; providing them a more defined opinion and voice before leaving high school. Joshua Messinger directed his research towards the internal political divisions that curtail Palestinian efforts to effectively engage in the peace process with Israel. He set out to explain and analyze the complex circumstances that face Palestinian government officials in the face of an increasingly powerful Hamas. Gaza is currently under the control of Hamas yielding a dangerously
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