For They Are Jolly Good Fellows

Nearly 20 professionals in international relations are invited to spend a year at the Center for International Affairs (CFIA), conducting advanced research at Harvard's expense. CFIA fellows include senior diplomats, military officers and journalists from all around the world, and have been an integral part of the center since its founding in 1958.

"The fellows can't do without the CFIA and the CFIA can't do without the fellows; there's a symbiotic relationship," says Dr. Leslie H. Brown '49, director of the fellows program.

CFIA fellows Kai Falkman and Prem Singh, featured in this week's SNAPSHOTS, are two of the four senior diplomats visiting the University this year:

Kai Falkman

If he could begin his education all over again, Kai Falkman says he would start at Harvard.

Instead, he studied at Stockholm University, but his Harvard dream has almost come true. He is spending this year in Cambridge as a CFIA fellow.

Always interested in diplomacy and travel, Falkman was Sweden's first ambassador to Angola and has served in Tokyo, Geneva, and Lisbon as well.

Because of his life-long interest in foreign service, the Harvard CFIA fellowship program had been in the back of his mind for a long time. Many of his professional acquaintances were also CFIA affiliates and encouraged him to follow their lead.

For Falkman, inquisitiveness has been the key to good diplomacy. "The ideal diplomat is the person who is curious about foreign countries and who is attentive to the world around him and at the same time represents his own country's interests."

Using the failure of diplomacy during the Vietnam War as an example, Falkman says, "The diplomat needs to look deeply into the situation--not from above, but from within."

While at Harvard, the Swedish scholar plans to collect material for his book on the relationship between the diplomat, the politician and the journalist. The triangular drama, as Falkman calls it, plays itself out in the interaction between these three professionals in their search for power and influence.

"When I started to study diplomacy," he says, "I found that in the background, the politician and the journalist are always involved in the formulation of foreign policy."

Falkman says the U.S.--especially Harvard--is an ideal place to research this relationship, particularly the part the journalist plays. "Media is important in Europe, but the role of the journalist is more prevalent in America than it is in Europe," he explains.

During the past three years, Falkman has withdrawn from active diplomatic life in order to write about his involvement in foreign service.

Falkman has written essays comparing Japanese and Western values, various philosophical books on creativity and the mind, and an in-depth study of Picasso's psychology. He has also recently finished the production of the documentary "Japan Dream, Japan Reality," which aired on Swedish television.

As a fellow, Falkman also hopes to engage in discussions with Harvard intellectuals. By meeting and talking with those who determine this country's foreign policy, Falkman wants to learn how the U.S. shapes its diplomatic relations.

Falkman sees America as playing a crucial role in maintaining international stability. "The U.S. can use its power to influence situations in the world so that peaceful resolutions can be created."

In addition to attending lectures and seminars at Harvard, Falkman has delivered speeches at the CFIA on his experience in Angola and Vietnam.

Commenting on his accomplishments, Falkman says, "I don't have any high points in my career; every day is a high point."

Prem Singh

The son of illiterate farmers, this Indian diplomat was born in a small village 25 miles north of Delhi. But Prem Singh did not stay for the harvest; he soon left the local grasslands for the international field.

During his twenty-two year career, the graduate of the University of Lucknow has served as both the Indian High Commissioner in Mauritius and the Ambassador to Bahrain.

As a diplomat, Singh says, his job is to "promote peace among nations and at the same time promote the interests of my own country."

Singh considers himself to be lucky in that it is easy for him to do both at once. "Since the Indian foreign policy is based on friendship with all the countries, there has been little conflict," says the 46-year old.

Although a diplomat must coordinate national interests with international concerns, Singh believes that life should be as spontaneous as possible. He says he did not anticipate coming to Harvard. In fact, Singh did not know what CFIA was before his government asked him if he would like to spend a year here as a fellow at the Center.

"One fine morning I was asked by my government if I would like to take this opportunity, and I gladly agreed," recalls Singh, who is sponsored both by his government and the Ford Foundation.

While at Harvard, Singh says he hopes to make maximum use of his time. Attending seminars at the Kennedy School and lectures at CFIA and the Russian Center, meeting students, and broadening his knowledge of international affairs are on his agenda. "I'm educating myself in a general way," he says.

Singh is adamant in his belief that one cannot plan anything in life. He expounds his philosophy, "If you look at the stars, you see a human being is not even a speck of dust in this universe. There are so many forces operating around and upon you."

However, he adds, "If man can learn to master his mind, anything is possible."

Singh describes his post as Indian High Commissioner in Mauritius--an island in the southwest Indian Ocean--as the height of his foreign service career.

"In a place like Mauritius where 70 percent of the population is of Indian origin, such an assignment is both a difficult and a privileged one for me," says Singh. "It's difficult, because the Indian people make more demands on me and expect more from me because I'm Indian, and let me tell you, it's quite hard to fulfill their needs," he explains.

Singh is openly proud of his heritage and his country. "I don't see any other country in the world which has made so much progress in such a short time of its history," he says. "Although India's per capita income is very low, India has taken great strides in industrialization and modernization in the last 35 years."

"We even export assistance to over 90 countries in the Third World," he says, smiling.

Singh says he is especially interested in the relationship between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, and he has a strong fear of the ongoing arms race between the two superpowers.

"I believe that man is not aware of the degree of the danger of the arms race," says Singh. "I'm sure that once the people of the world become fully conscious of the dangers and start raising their voice, the leaders will be compelled to listen to their voices."

Singh quotes an Indian yogi to explain his fear of the nuclear dilemma. "Man is both the mischief maker and the tool for the liberation of man."

Singh adds, "I am not pessimistic. I do believe that human beings have the capability to rise, but when things go wrong, man is the worst of all animals."

At the end of our interview, Singh smiles as he quotes Gandhi. "I do not hate man for his wrongdoings; I hate the wrongdoings," he says.