Dennis Jett
Encyclopedia
Dennis Coleman Jett is an American
diplomat
and academic
. He served as the United States ambassador to Mozambique
and Peru
under the Clinton administration and is currently a professor of international relations at the School of International Affairs at the Pennsylvania State University. From 2000 to 2008 he was the Dean of the International Center and lecturer
of political science
at the University of Florida
.
Jett is a noted expert on peacekeeping
.
. He attended the University of New Mexico
, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts
degree
(1968) and Master of Arts
(1969) in economics
. http://www.unm.edu/news/Releases/Feb28alumni.htm
Jett worked as an economist
for the New Mexico
state government before joining the United States Foreign Service
. http://www.law.ufl.edu/cgr/conference/pdf/LACONFprogram%202001.pdf
Jett was a Foreign Service Officer
from 1972 to August 2000. http://www.law.ufl.edu/cgr/conference/pdf/LACONFprogram%202001.pdf During his time in the Foreign Service he was posted in Buenos Aires
, Argentina
(political officer, 1990), Tel Aviv
, Israel
(science attaché
), Lilongwe
, Malawi
(Deputy Chief of Mission
), and Monrovia
, Liberia
(Deputy Chief of Mission
). http://www.law.ufl.edu/cgr/conference/pdf/LACONFprogram%202001.pdf
Jett has also served as Executive Assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and on the National Security Council
as special assistant to the President
and senior director for African affairs. His final assignment for the State Department
was as senior advisor on Africa
at the Carter Center
in Atlanta
working on projects in democracy
and conflict resolution
. http://www.unm.edu/news/Releases/Feb28alumni.htm http://www.law.ufl.edu/cgr/conference/pdf/LACONFprogram%202001.pdf
.
Jett made the controversial decision to forbid the embassy staff to speak with British Mozambique writer Joseph Hanlon, an advocate of debt cancellation
. http://www.open.ac.uk/personalpages/j.hanlon/ Jett wrote that "We have spent many hours in the past answering Mr. Hanlon's questions, which failed to improve the quality of his reporting. Using more time of embassy personnel to respond to more of Mr. Hanlon's questions, given his ideological orientation and lack of objectivity, would therefore be a waste of such resources." http://www.h-net.org/~africa/sources/jettltr.html
from 1996 to 1999. He attended a reception at the Japan
ese ambassadorial residence
in Lima
on December 17, 1996, but left the gathering early, narrowly escaping becoming a hostage
, when members of the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement
stormed the residence and held hundreds hostage for 126 days in the incident known as the Japanese embassy hostage crisis
.
Jett received his Ph.D.
in international relations
from the University of the Witwatersrand
in 1998. His dissertation
, "Why Peacekeeping
Fails," was published by (Palgrave Macmillan
in 2001).
Jett was noted as a critic of American citizen
Lori Berenson
, who is imprisoned in Peru for her association with MRTA members; he was unsympathetic when a human rights
delegation, including Berenson's parents, came to visit in March 1999. In February 2002 Jett wrote an op-ed
published in the Washington Post
entitled "No Tears for Terrorists," in which he likened Berenson to John Walker Lindh
and said Berenson was a terrorist
who exercised "monumentally bad judgment." http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A7976-2002Feb26 Berenson's parents said that Jett's article was "intensely poisonous" and contained "outrageously mean-spirited, blatantly-inaccurate, and erroneous statements about her to discredit support for her release from her wrongful six-year and four-month incarceration." In mid-2010 Bereson wrote to the pardon commission and to Peruvian President Alan Garcia admitting to her "criminal collaboration with a terrorist organization."http://www.peruviantimes.com/guilt-repentance-and-innocence-lori-berenson-and-her-baby-might-be-going-back-to-prison/206625
He was the moderator when U.S. Senator
John Kerry
came to the UF to speak on September 17, 2007, when the Taser incident
occurred.
In spring of 2008, he taught Making American Foreign Policy at the University of Florida.
In the summer 2008 he moved to the Pennsylvania State University to become part of the inaugural faculty of the newly created School of International Affairs.
Jett's second book, Why American Foreign Policy Fails (Palgrave Macmillan) was published in May 2008.
Jett received the James F. Zimmerman Award from the University of New Mexico Alumni Association in 2001. http://www.unm.edu/news/Releases/Feb28alumni.htm
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
diplomat
Diplomacy
Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states...
and academic
Academia
Academia is the community of students and scholars engaged in higher education and research.-Etymology:The word comes from the akademeia in ancient Greece. Outside the city walls of Athens, the gymnasium was made famous by Plato as a center of learning...
. He served as the United States ambassador to Mozambique
United States Ambassador to Mozambique
Mozambique was an overseas possession of Portugal until 1975. On June 25, 1975, Portugal granted independence to Mozambique, much later than other European nations had freed their own African possessions....
and Peru
United States Ambassador to Peru
The following is a list of United States Ambassadors, or other Chiefs of Mission, to Peru. The title given by the United States State Department to this position is currently Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary.-See also:...
under the Clinton administration and is currently a professor of international relations at the School of International Affairs at the Pennsylvania State University. From 2000 to 2008 he was the Dean of the International Center and lecturer
Lecturer
Lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a position at a university or similar institution, often held by academics in their early career stages, who lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...
of political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
at the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
.
Jett is a noted expert on peacekeeping
Peacekeeping
Peacekeeping is an activity that aims to create the conditions for lasting peace. It is distinguished from both peacebuilding and peacemaking....
.
Service as diplomat
Jett is from New MexicoNew Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. He attended the University of New Mexico
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
(1968) and Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
(1969) in economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
. http://www.unm.edu/news/Releases/Feb28alumni.htm
Jett worked as an economist
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
for the New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
state government before joining the United States Foreign Service
United States Foreign Service
The United States Foreign Service is a component of the United States federal government under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of approximately 11,500 professionals carrying out the foreign policy of the United States and aiding U.S...
. http://www.law.ufl.edu/cgr/conference/pdf/LACONFprogram%202001.pdf
Jett was a Foreign Service Officer
Foreign Service Officer
A Foreign Service Officer is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. As diplomats, Foreign Service Officers formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. FSOs spend most of their careers overseas as members of U.S. embassies, consulates, and other diplomatic...
from 1972 to August 2000. http://www.law.ufl.edu/cgr/conference/pdf/LACONFprogram%202001.pdf During his time in the Foreign Service he was posted in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
(political officer, 1990), Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
(science attaché
Science attaché
A science attaché is a member of a diplomatic mission, usually an embassy...
), Lilongwe
Lilongwe
Lilongwe, estimated population 902,388 as of 2009, is the capital and largest city of Malawi. It lies in the country's central region, on the Lilongwe River, near the border of Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia, and on the main north-south highway of Malawi, the M1.-History:The city started life as a...
, Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
(Deputy Chief of Mission
Deputy Chief of Mission
A Deputy Chief of Mission , is the number-two diplomat assigned to an embassy or other diplomatic mission. He or she is usually considered the second-in-command or top lieutenant to the Head of Mission...
), and Monrovia
Monrovia
Monrovia is the capital city of the West African nation of Liberia. Located on the Atlantic Coast at Cape Mesurado, it lies geographically within Montserrado County, but is administered separately...
, Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
(Deputy Chief of Mission
Deputy Chief of Mission
A Deputy Chief of Mission , is the number-two diplomat assigned to an embassy or other diplomatic mission. He or she is usually considered the second-in-command or top lieutenant to the Head of Mission...
). http://www.law.ufl.edu/cgr/conference/pdf/LACONFprogram%202001.pdf
Jett has also served as Executive Assistant to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and on the National Security Council
United States National Security Council
The White House National Security Council in the United States is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for considering national security and foreign policy matters with his senior national security advisors and Cabinet officials and is part of the Executive Office of the...
as special assistant to the President
Executive Office of the President of the United States
The Executive Office of the President consists of the immediate staff of the President of the United States, as well as multiple levels of support staff reporting to the President. The EOP is headed by the White House Chief of Staff, currently William M. Daley...
and senior director for African affairs. His final assignment for the State Department
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
was as senior advisor on Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
at the Carter Center
Carter Center
The Carter Center is a nongovernmental, not-for-profit organization founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter. In partnership with Emory University, The Carter Center works to advance human rights and alleviate human suffering...
in Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
working on projects in democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
and conflict resolution
Conflict resolution
Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of some social conflict. Often, committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively communicating information about their conflicting motives or ideologies to the rest...
. http://www.unm.edu/news/Releases/Feb28alumni.htm http://www.law.ufl.edu/cgr/conference/pdf/LACONFprogram%202001.pdf
Ambassador to Mozambique
Jett served as United States Ambassador to MozambiqueUnited States Ambassador to Mozambique
Mozambique was an overseas possession of Portugal until 1975. On June 25, 1975, Portugal granted independence to Mozambique, much later than other European nations had freed their own African possessions....
.
Jett made the controversial decision to forbid the embassy staff to speak with British Mozambique writer Joseph Hanlon, an advocate of debt cancellation
Developing countries' debt
The debt of developing countries is external debt incurred by governments of developing countries, generally in quantities beyond the governments' political ability to repay...
. http://www.open.ac.uk/personalpages/j.hanlon/ Jett wrote that "We have spent many hours in the past answering Mr. Hanlon's questions, which failed to improve the quality of his reporting. Using more time of embassy personnel to respond to more of Mr. Hanlon's questions, given his ideological orientation and lack of objectivity, would therefore be a waste of such resources." http://www.h-net.org/~africa/sources/jettltr.html
Ambassador to Peru
Jett was United States Ambassador to PeruUnited States Ambassador to Peru
The following is a list of United States Ambassadors, or other Chiefs of Mission, to Peru. The title given by the United States State Department to this position is currently Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary.-See also:...
from 1996 to 1999. He attended a reception at the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese ambassadorial residence
Ambassadorial residence
An ambassadorial residence is where an ambassador lives, often an official residence. In many cases it is in the same building as the chancery, which houses the embassy . Like embassies, such residences are considered inviolable and, in most cases, extraterritorial.The residences of high...
in Lima
Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
on December 17, 1996, but left the gathering early, narrowly escaping becoming a hostage
Hostage
A hostage is a person or entity which is held by a captor. The original definition meant that this was handed over by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as security for the carrying out of an agreement, or as a preventive measure against certain acts of war...
, when members of the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement
Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement
The Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement was a Marxist revolutionary group active in Peru from the early 1980s to 1997 and one of the main actors in the internal conflict in Peru...
stormed the residence and held hundreds hostage for 126 days in the incident known as the Japanese embassy hostage crisis
Japanese embassy hostage crisis
The Japanese embassy hostage crisis began on 17 December 1996 in Lima, Peru, when 14 members of the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement took hostage hundreds of high-level diplomats, government and military officials and business executives who were attending a party at the official residence of...
.
Jett received his Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in international relations
International relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
from the University of the Witwatersrand
University of the Witwatersrand
The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg is a South African university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University...
in 1998. His dissertation
Thesis
A dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings...
, "Why Peacekeeping
Peacekeeping
Peacekeeping is an activity that aims to create the conditions for lasting peace. It is distinguished from both peacebuilding and peacemaking....
Fails," was published by (Palgrave Macmillan
Macmillan Publishers
Macmillan Publishers Ltd, also known as The Macmillan Group, is a privately held international publishing company owned by Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. It has offices in 41 countries worldwide and operates in more than thirty others.-History:...
in 2001).
Jett was noted as a critic of American citizen
United States nationality law
Article I, section 8, clause 4 of the United States Constitution expressly gives the United States Congress the power to establish a uniform rule of naturalization. The Immigration and Naturalization Act sets forth the legal requirements for the acquisition of, and divestiture from, citizenship of...
Lori Berenson
Lori Berenson
Lori Helene Berenson is an American convicted in Peru of unlawful collaboration with the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement , which the Peruvian government regarded as a terrorist organization, and which had committed numerous attacks in attempting to overthrow the government...
, who is imprisoned in Peru for her association with MRTA members; he was unsympathetic when a human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
delegation, including Berenson's parents, came to visit in March 1999. In February 2002 Jett wrote an op-ed
Editorial
An opinion piece is an article, published in a newspaper or magazine, that mainly reflects the author's opinion about the subject. Opinion pieces are featured in many periodicals.-Editorials:...
published in the Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
entitled "No Tears for Terrorists," in which he likened Berenson to John Walker Lindh
John Walker Lindh
John Phillip Walker Lindh is a United States citizen who was captured as an enemy combatant during the United States' 2001 invasion of Afghanistan. He is now serving a 20-year prison sentence in connection with his participation in Afghanistan's Taliban army...
and said Berenson was a terrorist
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
who exercised "monumentally bad judgment." http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A7976-2002Feb26 Berenson's parents said that Jett's article was "intensely poisonous" and contained "outrageously mean-spirited, blatantly-inaccurate, and erroneous statements about her to discredit support for her release from her wrongful six-year and four-month incarceration." In mid-2010 Bereson wrote to the pardon commission and to Peruvian President Alan Garcia admitting to her "criminal collaboration with a terrorist organization."http://www.peruviantimes.com/guilt-repentance-and-innocence-lori-berenson-and-her-baby-might-be-going-back-to-prison/206625
University of Florida and Pennsylvania State University
From 2000 to 2008, Jett served as dean of the International Center and lecturer of political science at the University of Florida.He was the moderator when U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
came to the UF to speak on September 17, 2007, when the Taser incident
University of Florida Taser incident
On September 17, 2007, U.S. Senator John Kerry addressed a Constitution Day forum at the University of Florida in Gainesville, which was organized by the ACCENT Speakers Bureau, an agency of the university's student government...
occurred.
In spring of 2008, he taught Making American Foreign Policy at the University of Florida.
In the summer 2008 he moved to the Pennsylvania State University to become part of the inaugural faculty of the newly created School of International Affairs.
Jett's second book, Why American Foreign Policy Fails (Palgrave Macmillan) was published in May 2008.
Jett received the James F. Zimmerman Award from the University of New Mexico Alumni Association in 2001. http://www.unm.edu/news/Releases/Feb28alumni.htm
External links
- Profile from the University of Florida Department of Political Science
- Profile from The Political GraveyardThe Political GraveyardThe Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 224,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information.-History:...
- Profile from NameBaseNameBaseNameBase is a web-based cross-indexed database of names that focuses on individuals involved in the international intelligence community, U.S. foreign policy, crime, and business...
- Blog profile from Smirking Chimp
- Why Peacekeeping Fails from Google Books
- Articles by Jett
- The world's only super pouter (Christian Science MonitorThe Christian Science MonitorThe Christian Science Monitor is an international newspaper published daily online, Monday to Friday, and weekly in print. It was started in 1908 by Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist. As of 2009, the print circulation was 67,703.The CSM is a newspaper that covers...
, 14 May 2001) - No Tears for Terrorists (Washington PostThe Washington PostThe Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, February 27, 2002) - How to end the war (Miami Herald, April 2, 2007)
- Cementing Democracy: Institution-Building in Mozambique (Nation-Building in Southern Africa, Vol. 17 (4) - Fall 1995)
- The world's only super pouter (Christian Science Monitor