Enlightenment: New Public Excellence from Tired Work Cultures!

by David L. Phillips

The Statue of Liberty likeness illustrated on the cover of Enlightenment is a very symbolic image not only for Americans but for many other people of the world who harbor dreams for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. However, there are many individual and collective responsibilities that come with any such vision.




Most Americans know orderly governmental systems are required to maintain a civilized culture, but in many societies one often wonders what type is most appropriate. While the western democracy structure has had significant success to date, it is far from perfect even within the United States.



The author has spent the past forty years working within national and international governmental systems from the grass roots local level to regional, state, and federal jurisdictions. In this book, he notes the timeless lessons learned from experience and history as well as new and innovative ways to utilize the modern age of information technology. The net result is an effort to create new public excellence from tired work cultures.



In the future, it is clear that economic globalization with its associated social and cultural impacts will bring about a new competition between many societies and their related governmental structures. This simple reality means that less efficient future governments will jeopardize the very viability of their own cultures.



Therefore, if Americans wish to effectively compete on the coming international level of tomorrow, they must get their collective governmental house in order today. Enlightenment illustrates how a healthy competitive environment can be developed and sustained without jeopardizing any of the freedoms and opportunities we have come to expect.

340 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 30, 2007

About the author

David Phillips has 25 years of experience working on peace-building for the U.S. Department of State, the United Nations, academia, think-tanks, and as a foundation executive.

Phillips is currently Director of the Program on Peace-Building and Rights at Columbia University's Institute for the Study of Human Rights.

Phillips has served as Foreign Affairs Expert and as Senior Adviser to the Bureau of South and Central Asian (2011-2013), Bureau for Near Eastern Affairs (2002-2003), and the Bureau for European and Canadian Affairs (1999-2002) at the U.S. Department of State. He was also Senior Adviser to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Phillips has worked at academic institutions as Executive Director of Columbia University's International Conflict Resolution Program, Director of American University's Program on Conflict Prevention and Peace-building, Senior Fellow at Harvard University's Future of Diplomacy and Visiting Scholar at Harvard's Center for Middle East Studies, Phillips has also been a foundation executive, serving as President of the Congressional Human Rights Foundation, Executive Director of the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity, and as Director of the European Centre for Common Ground. Phillips held positions at the Council on Foreign Relations, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Atlantic Council, and the International Peace Research Institute of Oslo.

He has authored dozens of policy reports, and hundreds of articles in leading publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, International Herald Tribune, and Foreign Affairs.