Judith Dushku

Research Interests

Comparative politics, particularly in the Global South and in “Transitioning” nations, be they in Africa, Central American and the Caribbean, or in East/Central Europe or in the Central Asian and Caucasian part of the former USSR. I am also interested in the Yugoslavia break-up – its causes and consequences and the interpretations of that momentous event.

I am interested in gender. I am interested in the ways the both policy and international economic trends affect the lives and work of women and children. I am interested in women and peace-keeping and the UN, and in women and peace-building. Women and refugees is a key interest of mine, as is women and development.

I am interested in experiential learning and have long been involved in Government Department study trips. They once focused on the USSR and then the former-Soviet countries. More recently I have taken groups to Nicaragua, Cuba, Venezuela, El Salvador, and am currently planning trips to Haiti and other Caribbean nations. Possibly a trip to India and one to the nations once part of Yugoslavia are in the works.

Employment History

• Associate Professor of Government, Suffolk University (1986-2014)
• Dean and Academic Director, Suffolk University Dakar Campus (2002-2003)
• Assistant Professor, Suffolk University (1966-1986)
• International Student Advisor (part-time, 1978-1987)
• Professional Coordinator and Principle Faculty for Study Travel, Tours and Seminars:
  • Nicaragua (1985, 1988)
  • Soviet Union (1986)
  • Czechoslovakia and Hungary (1990)
  • Former Soviet Republics (1989, 1991)
  • Romania, Poland, Ukraine (Crimea), Slovak Republic, Bulgaria, Hungary (1998)
  • Cuba (2000)
  • Dakar, Senegal (2002)
  • Venezuela (2006)
  • El Salvador (2007)
• Additional Travel:
  • Mali, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, South Africa, Ethiopia and Ivory Coast (1985-2001)
  • Jamaica (1992)
  • Western Europe (1968, 1969, 1985, 1986, 1993)
  • China, especially Inner Mongolia, the central cities and Shanghai (1994, 1995)

Conferences

• Participant in United Nations Law of the Sea Conference, Geneva, Switzerland (1975)
• Participant in United Nations Conference on Women, Nairobi, Kenya (1985) and Beijing, China (1995)
• Participant in various U.S. University Conferences: Women in rural development, women and appropriate technology, third world women and health, land rights, women and politics in the western United States, Mormon women.

Presentations

• The Evolving of Kosovo towards Independence and Statehood and the Role of the US and NATO;
• Human Rights for Women in Iran with Shirin Ebadi
• Assessing Human Rights in Post-Tsunami Banda Aceh; Possibilities of democratization by international organizations
• Romanian democratization; Albanian democratization
• Politics in the DRC and the Role of the US and Uganda in that Process
• Resource Exploitation in Africa
• El Salvador since the Peace Accords

Working Papers

• Oral histories of Romanians in the post-communist transition
• Parenting in polygamous families in Senegal
• Divergent experiences of the Kosovo war and the NATO bombing campaign
• Looking back at Yugoslavia and the break-up
• Perceptions of the Balkans at the beginning of the 21st century.

Awards & Honors

• Fulbright Senior Specialist
• Suffolk University Lifetime Service Award
• Suffolk University Professor of the Year Award