Josh Keating
- Thibeaux Hirsh
- Dec 11, 2020
- 2 min read
This past Tuesday, the 2021 Global Scholars cohort had the opportunity to have a conversation with with staff writer and editor at Slate, Josh Keating. We had the chance to explore topics such as the increasingly ambiguous lines between states or how the latter could impact the COVID 19 response.
Keating has been interested in international politics since college. Additionally, his interest with global affairs combined with his knack for journalism lead him to a more blog style of reporting. Before going to Slate, Mr. Keating worked as an editor for six years at Foreign Policy. His work took him to Iraq, Somalia, Russia, China, and Haiti. During his time abroad, he had the opportunity to travel to many unrecognized regions giving him a chance to study what the defining characteristics of a country are.
Bringing his appreciation for the world's grayer areas, Keating highlighted several main points to our group. Keating emphasized how the world has shifted towards undefined territories more so than clear cut lines in very recent history and during the pandemic. Specific examples in some of his articles reference cartels such as MS-13 setting curfews and "distributing economic aid packages" in Mexico or Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham previously known as al-Quaida taking initiative on public health education within their territory,. With respect to COVID, Keating also pointed out how governments around the world have had a lack luster response further facilitating a heightened level of regional independence. Alternatively, he emphasized how there has been an increasingly tense nationalist discourse in a variety of countries in response to so much gray area. Keating talked about how the Trump administration as well as many other international powers have pushed for clear cut lines for who and who does not qualify as citizen in recent years.
Overall, it was a pleasure to discuss all said topics with such a knowledgeable and passionate person. I feel like my peers and I got a much better understanding of how our world's nations are evolving. Many Thanks Mr. Keating!!
Articles:
Thibeaux, nice work. Glad you enjoyed hearing from Josh. You provide a glimpse into his many roles (including his travels/work in Iraq, Somalia, Russia, China, and Haiti). Your middle paragraph highlights the many topics Josh addressed and the relevance of his topics in such a COVID changing world. Glad you enjoyed it.