Sunday, April 27, 2014

American covert operations can bring peace to your country

"In Kenya, the Yes Youth Can service started shortly after the disputed 2007 presidential election, which left more than 1,500 people dead after gangs of unemployed youth linked to losing parties attacked voters.

The service allowed young people to send messages and use other tools to organize into youth associations that helped them register to vote and encouraged them to participate in the political process. American officials credit the project with helping to pave the way for Kenya’s more peaceful 2013 presidential election."  And of course a Harvard professor agrees: "Archon Fung, a professor at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, who has researched the role of social media in public participation, said tools like the ones used in Pakistan and Kenya could be valuable to American diplomacy — up to a point."