NSA Faculty Celebrate Scholarly Milestone With 100th Book
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NSA Faculty Celebrate Scholarly Milestone With 100th Book
By MC2 Michael Ehrlich
Faculty in NPS’ Department of National Security Affairs (NSA) celebrated a significant milestone in scholarly achievements this month with the publishing of their 100th book.
Dr. Robert E. Looney, NSA Distinguished Professor, has the honor of authoring the team’s century mark title with his “Handbook of International Trade Agreements: Country, Regional and Global Approaches.”
NSA department chair Dr. Mohammed Hafez says he is quite proud of the department’s efforts to maintaining the highest standards of academic scholarship.
“Our department is an interdisciplinary department that deals with politics, economics and history,” said Hafez. “And part of what political scientists, historians and economists do is they publish. They have to publish for their own professional advancement, to establish their name in the field, and to inform students in the classroom with cutting-edge research.
“Publishing is very important on multiple levels, not the least of which is to inform the broader public, policy makers, and our officers about the issues that affect our national security,” he continued. “Issues like terrorism, refugees, economic crises, the rising Russian threat, or the struggle over the South China Sea ... There are lots of topics that the public and our sponsors care about.”
Dr. Scott Jasper, a lecturer in the department, says publishing is the natural extension of a faculty member’s research which, ultimately, is utilized in the classroom.
“My next book is on Russian cyber operations, and we have extensive discussions on the topic in my two courses this quarter,” said Jasper. “Publications begin with the research the faculty does, which directly enhances the student learning experience.”
Dr. Afshon Ostovar has authored several papers over the past few years, in addition to his book, “Vanguard of the Imam: Religion, Politics, and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.”
“In order to teach our students well we need to be informed as much as possible on the topics we specialize in,” said Ostovar. “The most effective way to do that is to remain engaged in our topics and publish, both of which help to further hone our expertise.”
“This is our form of continuing education and development,” added Hafez. “We get a degree a few years, or decades, back, but what keeps us current is our ability to conduct deep and meaningful research projects with critical thinking skills and field work within the regions we have been studying.”
A complete list of the current NSA faculty’s collective of 100 titles can be found on the NPS Department of National Security Affairs website.