Bertelsen Working Paper
The Dubai Initiative Working Paper American- and French-Affiliated Universities in the Middle East as ‘Information and Resource Bridges’ to the West Executive Summary Rasmus Gjedssø Bertelsen, PhD American- and French-Affiliated Universities in the Middle East as ‘Information and Resource Bridges’ to the West Executive Summary Dubai Initiative – Working Paper Rasmus Gjedssø Bertelsen, PhD The Dubai Initiative Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs John F. Kennedy School of Government Harvard University 2009 American- AnD French-AffiliateD UnIversitieS In the Middle East as ‘InFormation AnD reSoUrCe BridgeS’ To the West | 1 American- AnD French-AffiliateD UnIversitieS In the Middle East as ‘InFormation AnD reSoUrCe BridgeS’ To the West | 1 The history of American- and French-origin universities in the Middle East is prominent and revealing. During the past 15 or so years, mainly Ameri- can-affiliated universities have appeared in large numbers in the Gulf states and elsewhere in the Middle East. Research into both types of universities shows that these educational institutions play an important role as ‘information and resource bridges’ between the Middle East and the West. These universities raise awareness and function as repositories for considerable amounts of knowledge, elite-level human resources, as well as financial resources. Important developments have oc- curred between the time the older universities were established and the newer ones, such as decolonization and empowerment of the host societies in the Middle East, which have placed the control and initiative largely in local hands. Universities are, therefore, very efficient instruments for countries to build strong ties to outside societies, share information, raise mutual awareness, exchange elite-level human resources and—perhaps to a lesser extent today—raise financial resources for edu- cation, research and health care.
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