Interview with Dr. Dennis Galvan (unpublished interview, March 5, 2009 at the University of Oregon) -no link available
Summary: In this interview conducted with Dr. Dennis Galvan, Associate Professor of International Studies and Political Science, and chair of the African Studies Committee at the University of Oregon; he addresses the question of whether the state department should double foreign aid to Africa, and what they should do in order to make government-to-government aid more effective in the future.
Topic: Should the state department of the Obama Administration double foreign aid to Africa?
Category: Expert Citizen
What It Is? Personal Interview (audio)
Title: Interview with Dr. Dennis Galvan
Publication Information: unpublished interview, March 5, 2009 at the University of Oregon
Author (Subject): Dr. Dennis Galvan, UO professor
Location: Personal audio recording
Accessed: March 5, 2009
Support:
• New York Times Magazine article by Dambisa Moyo
Dr. Galvan refers to an article written by Dambisa Moyo that was printed in the New York Times Magazine as an example of someone arguing for the removal of all aid, which he is against. Dr. Galvan also uses a lot of general knowledge of economics and the political situation, which he gleaned from working as the African Studies Committee Chair and having earned a PhD in Political Science. He shares his personal opinion on the matter, which from an economic growth perspective, is expert opinion.
Audience and Agenda: Dr. Galvan had very little agenda during this interview because his audience was so small. It was a personal, one-on-one interview that will not be published and the only thing published concerning it, will be this source note. He had every opportunity to be as candid as he wanted, which means he could’ve said whatever he wanted, which could have effected his answer, but most likely in a positive way, given that it was a casual setting. Not funding was involved, and like was mentioned before, he had an audience of only one.
Usefulness: This interview was very useful in that it basically backs up all the other sources I’ve discovered thus far. Dr. Galvan re-stated a lot of topics that I’ve already come across and it is good to know that a person that I can actually talk to believes the same things I’ve been reading so much about. He said that the idea of doubling foreign aid is nice as a symbolic gesture, but the real problems in Africa won’t be solved any time soon, probably not even in my generation. He said that Americans need to adjust their timeline of how their tax dollars are being spent on foreign aid and they can’t expect instant results, it’s going to take a very long time to see any kind of results. He also said that we should do more investing in trust funds and less direct lending.
Works Cited:
Dennis Galvan UO homepage
