February 4th, 2016: The History and Politics of the Syrian Conflict

 

"As we struggle to deal with the complexities of the current situation in Syria and the broader Middle East and North Africa, we are reminded that these devastating events have not occurred in a vacuum. From a colonial past to the more recent Arab Spring and struggles among regional actors, geopolitical shifts have exacerbated an already difficult scenario."

 

Wesley Milner is currently the Executive Director of International Programs here at the University of Evansville. He is responsible for facilitating collaboration across academic and non-academic offices to advance international engagement of students, faculty and staff on the Evansville campus and at international sites. Previously, he served as Director of the International Studies Program and Chair of the Department of Law, Politics and Society. 

Professor Milner’s international experience includes serving as a visiting professor several times at both Harlaxton College and Tokoha University in Shizuoka, Japan as well as research travel in Europe, Asia, Latin America and Eastern/Southern Africa. He was also a visiting professor with the University of Virginia’s Semester at Sea, circumnavigating the globe in just over 100 days. Milner’s career began in Washington, D.C. where he spent several years as a researcher for a government contractor, working closely with a number of security and intelligence agencies. 

As a professor, his primary teaching role has focused on international relations courses such as International Law and Organization, U.S. Foreign Policy, Human Rights, and Politics of the Global Economy. His research, which integrates globalization and broadly defined aspects of human rights, has appeared in Human Rights Quarterly, the Journal of Private Enterprise, Sociological Quarterly, International Studies and a number of edited volumes.