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Division of University Relations and Development
News Release
| SDSU
Professor Headed to Spain for International Terrorism and Security Summit CONTACT: Jason Foster SAN DIEGO, Thursday, March 3, 2005 – Dipak Gupta, chair of the International Security and Conflict Resolution program at San Diego State University and an authority on terrorism-related issues and political violence, will participate in an international summit on democracy, terrorism and security in Madrid next week. The summit will convene just days before the first anniversary of the terrorist train bombings in Madrid, which killed more than 190 people and injured nearly 2,000 more. It is sponsored by the Club of Madrid, an independent organization of former heads of state and government dedicated to strengthening democracy in the world. More than 200 experts on terrorism from around the world are expected to participate in the summit. Participants hope to build a common agenda for democratic nations to confront terrorism. His Royal Highness the Prince of Asturias (heir to the throne of Spain) will open the three-day summit on March 8, and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero will attend one of the workshops. The summit will conclude with a keynote address by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and remarks by Juan Carlos I, King of Spain. Gupta, who also is a political science professor at SDSU, has also been invited to the Atocha Workshop in Madrid on March 11. Named for the train station in which the first of four bombs exploded, the Atocha workshop will include many participants from the Club of Madrid summit. It is a forum to promote creative thinking in the fight against terrorism, and may result in the creation of an interactive website for dialogue on the effects of global terrorism. Gupta has long researched and taught about political violence and its root causes. He also serves as co-director for SDSU’s Institute for International Security and Conflict Resolution and from 1998 to 2001 was the first Fred J. Hansen Chair of Peace Studies at SDSU. He is currently compiling his eighth book, “Terrorism: A Winnable War?”, for which he received a $45,000 grant from the U.S. Institute of Peace, an organization created by the U.S. Congress in 1984 to promote prevention and peaceful resolution of international conflicts. To research the book, Gupta has traveled to Northern Ireland and India and later this year will visit Israel and Egypt. He also has visited Harvard to interview experts on al-Qaeda, Hamas and Palestine Islamic Jihad. His book is scheduled for release in 2006. For more information on the Madrid summit, see
www.safe-democracy.org. San Diego State University is the oldest and largest higher education institution in the San Diego region. Since it was founded in 1897, the university has grown to offer bachelor’s degrees in 81 areas, master’s degrees in 72 areas and doctorates in 16 areas. SDSU’s nearly 33,000 students participate in an academic curriculum distinguished by direct contact with faculty and an increasing international emphasis that prepares them for a global future. For more information, visit www.sdsu.edu. # # # |
