A Gainesville State College professor with an academic interest in terrorism hopes to learn more in a June trip to the Holy Land.
The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a nonpartisan policy institute in Washington, D.C., has announced that Kerry Stewart is an “Academic Fellow” for 2011-12.
He is scheduled to take part in a June 11-22 program at Tel Aviv University in Israel, where he’ll hear from academic, military and intelligence officials, as well as diplomats from Israel, Jordan, India and the United States.
The program also includes “hands-on” experiences through visits to police, customs and immigration facilities, military bases and border zones, where instruction on deterring and defeating terrorists will be presented.
The main thrust of the program is how democracies can defeat the worldwide terrorist threat.
“Terrorism is the greatest threat today to the world’s democracies, including the United States and our allies around the globe,” said Clifford May, foundation president.
“To win the war against terrorism, we must win the war of ideas by promoting democracy and
defeating the totalitarian ideologies that drive and justify terrorism.”
Stewart said in an interview last week that he hopes to learn what the U.S. can do to emulate those countries facing daily dangers.
“They have been fairly successful (in their tactics),” he said. “I hope to be able to bring that information back and give it to the students, but also the faculty and the general public.”
At some point, Stewart added, he hopes to hold a public symposium on the topic.
As an 11-year faculty member in the GSC School of Social Sciences, Stewart teaches courses on American government, political thought, law, public policy, public administration and various courses in philosophy and environmental studies.
His research and study areas include disabilities, just war, terrorism, environmental policy, politics, and law and environmental ethics.
Stewart has an article set for this fall’s Digest of Middle Eastern Studies, “Just War and Terrorism: A New Policy Perspective.”
He said he first learned about the fellowship in an e-mail from the foundation asking him if would be interested in applying.
He submitted an application, then was interviewed over the phone. Two weeks later, he learned he had been accepted.
Stewart, a Toronto native, has been a U.S. citizen since he was 16.
He completed his doctorate in 1999 at Georgia State University and taught one year at Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus before coming to Gainesville State.