Speaking in Maine returned to Camden, for an address by Ambassador Goodwin Cooke who served as US Ambassador to the Central African Republic, before the Midcoast forum on foreign relations. Cooke's talk focuses on the reasons and causes for conflict in Africa and other regions.
Ambassador Goodwin Cooke earned his Bachelor’s degree in 1953 from Harvard College and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the US Marine Corps that same year. He served as an engineering officer and battalion adjutant from 1953-1955, with an overseas posting to Okinawa, Japan. He began his career with the US State Department in 1956, serving as a foreign service officer until 1981, with postings to Pakistan, Yugoslavia, Italy, Belgium, Canada, and the Ivory Coast/Cote d’ Ivoire. In his final posting, he served as US Ambassador to the Central African Empire/Republic.
Since leaving the foreign service, Ambassador Cooke has been a professor at The Maxwell School of Syracuse University. He is now Professor of Practice Emeritus, International Relations. In this capacity, he has developed a course on Nations and Nationalism which addresses some of the issues and dilemmas which lie behind the world’s bloodiest conflicts.
This talk was recorded on August 9, 2010 in Camden by the Mid-Coast Forum on Foreign Relations.