The European Union, built to represent the pinnacle of progress, openness, and pluralism, has recently found itself in the midst of several existential crises. As the continent scrambles to determine its post-Brexit reality, it is also forced to reckon with the consequences of the inconsistent and uncoordinated foreign policy positions amongst its remaining member states. 

Fiker Institute’s Europe Program seeks to explore the question of national sovereignty versus multilateral cooperation in Europe and to study in more detail the underlying reasons behind the rise of populism, decline in gender equality, and re-emergence of religious extremism across the continent.

EUROPE

North and South America is a vast and complex region composed of a multitude of states that coexist along different ethnic, racial, and linguistic lines. More than ever, democratic institutions are being weighed down by racial inequity, polarized political parties, gun violence, and claims of electoral fraud.

Fiker Institute’s North and South America Program aims to better understand the current challenges facing this dynamic region, including, but not limited to, the increase of police brutality, rise in domestic human rights violations, surge of detained children at the borders, and the decline in the rights of women and other minority groups.

NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA

West Asia and North Africa, a geographic region more commonly referred to as the ‘Middle East’, a British colonial term, is witnessing unprecedented waves of change and transformation. International scholarship surrounding West Asia and North Africa has predominantly been shaped by Orientalist frameworks and has overlooked the region’s diverse social, political, economic, religious, and cultural fabric.

Fiker Institute’s West Asia and North Africa Program aims to decolonize narratives surrounding this region, and to advance scholarship that highlights the nuances of its local contexts.

WEST ASIA AND NORTH AFRICA

Fiker Institute's Regional Programs examine policy questions and address debates that are specific to a country or a region. We develop our analyses through thoughtful consideration of unique political, economic, and social contexts.

REGIONAL PROGRAMS

Climate change is among the most complex and pressing challenges facing the international community today, and yet the responses and impacts vary largely from one context to another. What technologies exist, or might be developed, to efficiently curb carbon emissions, and what international policy solutions might be necessary or preferred? 

Fiker Institute’s Climate Change Program aims to study in more depth sustainable adaptation and resilience models drawn from different regions, while focusing on better understanding the multi-sectoral impact of climate change.

CLIMATE CHANGE

Once a traditional instrument of statecraft and bilateral cooperation, diplomacy has expanded to include non-state actors like think tanks, NGOs, and even Silicon Valley. What is the future of diplomacy, and is the post-war international order still fit for purpose?

Will multilateral institutions rise up to the challenges of the digital century, or will they plunge further into a sea of idealistic constructs? Fiker Institute’s Diplomacy and Global Governance Program aims to study the disruption of diplomacy in light of the changing nature of global affairs, as the international community finds itself connected more intimately, yet more remotely, than ever before.

DIPLOMACY AND GLOBAL GOVERNANCE

What are the key patterns of gender equality across countries and groups today, and how can we better understand women’s labor force participation, inclusion, and empowerment in both regional and global settings?

Fiker Institute’s Gender Equality Program seeks to explore the nuances behind the challenges that women still face around the world today, and to contextualize their political, economic, and social participation, in addition to decolonizing narratives surrounding women in non-Western contexts.

GENDER EQUALITY

Fiker Institute’s Thematic Programs explore borderless issues of concern to the international community. We analyze both the transnational and the domestic dynamics that influence policymaking, fronts and propose a way forward for more effective and productive multilateral frameworks and engagements. 

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