Thomas O. Melia
Encyclopedia
Thomas O. Melia is Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
, at the United States Department of State
. Melia's portfolio includes Europe, South and Central Asia, and international labor rights.
Previously, Melia was Deputy Executive Director of Freedom House, the centrist bipartisan human rights organization launched in 1941 by Eleanor Roosevelt
and others.
He has held senior positions at Freedom House, the National Democratic Institute
, and the Free Trade Union Institute of the AFL-CIO (now the Solidarity Center) and is currently an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University
and Johns Hopkins University
’s School of Advanced International Studies.
His most recent publications in 2010 include a chapter entitled Supporting Democracy Abroad: Transatlantic Cooperation at the Crossroads appearing in the book Shoulder to Shoulder: Forging a Strategic US EU Partnership, and a review of the Handbook of National Legislatures: A Global Survey, by M. Steven Fish and Matthew Kroenig entitled What Makes Legislatures Strong appearing in the Journal of Democracy in April.
, advised the Swedish government, and testified before two committees in the National Assembly of Hungary
(2008).
He has spoken at major conferences in Europe, Africa, and the US, published several articles, co-edited a major report on rights and freedoms in the U.S. entitled Today’s American: How Free and managed a variety of assistance programs in partnership with reform advocates in twenty-five countries. He was also principal author of the Freedom House guide to assisting human rights defenders. He has traveled extensively to countries throughout Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
Prior to joining Freedom House, Melia worked in the field of academic and professional research for five years, as a Senior Associate at Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, Inc. from 2001–2002, Research Associate and Director of Research from 2002–2005 at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University
, and Adjunct Professor in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service
, where he continues to teach graduate courses about democracy promotion.
He supervised research projects conducted by diplomats and military officers from the US and abroad. At Georgetown, he was the principal investigator for reports on Congressional attitudes toward the State Department and terrorism’s impact on diplomacy; he directed the first public opinion research conducted in post-Taliban Afghanistan (2002) and in post-Sudan Iraq (2003).
He has taught multiple graduate-level courses in Georgetown’s Department of Democracy and Governance Studies and the School of Foreign Service
beginning in 2009 and has also taught in the International Development program at Johns Hopkins University’s School for Advanced International Studies
.
Earlier, Melia served as NDI’s Vice President for Programs from 1998 to 2001, designing and overseeing programs in over forty countries in Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, the Near East, and South Asia. During his twelve-year tenure at NDI he traveled extensively, building partnerships with democratic activists and guiding multinational training and election monitoring teams. From 1988–2001, he directed the Central and Eastern Europe Programs, bringing the Institute to the region before the fall of the Berlin Wall
and through a period of significant democratic transition. From 1993–1996, he directed NDI’s Middle East Programs as well as the Institute’s Democratic Governance program.
Melia began his career as a research assistant in the office of U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan
(D-New York) in 1980 then Legislative Assistant and Senior Legislative Assistant for foreign and defense policy. He focused on Northern Ireland, Israel, South Africa, arms control, foreign aid, UN issues, and the creation of the National Endowment for Democracy
. He left in 1986 to become Associate Director of the Free Trade Union Institute of the AFL-CIO (now the Solidarity Center). As Associate Director, he represented the AFL-CIO regional institutes with the private and public sector and helped increase congressional support for the Institute’s advocacy of workers’ rights.
In July, 2009, following the arrest of then-genocide suspect Radovan Karadžić
, Melia praised the institutions and individuals responsible for a democratic transition in Serbia; stating, "The arrest of Karadzic shows that elections do matter. It’s no coincidence." News outlets such as The New York Times
and The Washington Post
also turn to Melia to address issues including President Barack Obama’s policy toward Russia and the global downturn in political freedom.
in International Relations and an M.A. with a concentrations in Africa Studies from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies
in 1979. While in graduate school, Melia worked as an intern at the National Security Council
at The White House, on Africa issues, and during the summer of 1978 at the U.S. embassy in Nouakchott, Mauritania.
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Affairs at the United States Department of State is one of three bureaus and two offices that constitute the Office of the Under Secretary for Global Affairs...
, at the United States Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
. Melia's portfolio includes Europe, South and Central Asia, and international labor rights.
Previously, Melia was Deputy Executive Director of Freedom House, the centrist bipartisan human rights organization launched in 1941 by Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
and others.
Background
Over a twenty-five year career, Thomas O. Melia has been a key actor in the development of policies to strengthen democratic governance around the world as an NGO leader, writer, university professor, and activist. He is recognized by the mainstream media as an expert in foreign policy matters and is credited with coining several resonant phrases to describe the state of democracy and democracy promotion. The Washington Post recently published an interview with Melia noting that he "promotes democracy in the most unlikely places."He has held senior positions at Freedom House, the National Democratic Institute
National Democratic Institute for International Affairs
The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs is an organization created by the United States government by way of the National Endowment for Democracy to channel grants for furthering democracy in developing nations. It was founded in 1983, shortly after the U.S. Congress created...
, and the Free Trade Union Institute of the AFL-CIO (now the Solidarity Center) and is currently an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
and Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
’s School of Advanced International Studies.
His most recent publications in 2010 include a chapter entitled Supporting Democracy Abroad: Transatlantic Cooperation at the Crossroads appearing in the book Shoulder to Shoulder: Forging a Strategic US EU Partnership, and a review of the Handbook of National Legislatures: A Global Survey, by M. Steven Fish and Matthew Kroenig entitled What Makes Legislatures Strong appearing in the Journal of Democracy in April.
Professional career
As Deputy Executive Director of Freedom House, Thomas O. Melia oversaw a wide range of advocacy efforts, analysis, and programs to assist human rights defenders, and civic activists in non-democratic countries. During his tenure at Freedom House, from 2005 - 2010, he testified before the United States CongressUnited States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, advised the Swedish government, and testified before two committees in the National Assembly of Hungary
National Assembly of Hungary
The National Assembly or Diet is the parliament of Hungary. The unicameral body consists of 386 members elected to 4-year terms. Election of members is based on a complex system involving both area and list election; parties must win at least 5% of the popular vote in order to enter list members...
(2008).
He has spoken at major conferences in Europe, Africa, and the US, published several articles, co-edited a major report on rights and freedoms in the U.S. entitled Today’s American: How Free and managed a variety of assistance programs in partnership with reform advocates in twenty-five countries. He was also principal author of the Freedom House guide to assisting human rights defenders. He has traveled extensively to countries throughout Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
Prior to joining Freedom House, Melia worked in the field of academic and professional research for five years, as a Senior Associate at Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, Inc. from 2001–2002, Research Associate and Director of Research from 2002–2005 at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
, and Adjunct Professor in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service
Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service
The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service is a school within Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., United States. Jesuit priest Edmund A...
, where he continues to teach graduate courses about democracy promotion.
He supervised research projects conducted by diplomats and military officers from the US and abroad. At Georgetown, he was the principal investigator for reports on Congressional attitudes toward the State Department and terrorism’s impact on diplomacy; he directed the first public opinion research conducted in post-Taliban Afghanistan (2002) and in post-Sudan Iraq (2003).
He has taught multiple graduate-level courses in Georgetown’s Department of Democracy and Governance Studies and the School of Foreign Service
Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service
The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service is a school within Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., United States. Jesuit priest Edmund A...
beginning in 2009 and has also taught in the International Development program at Johns Hopkins University’s School for Advanced International Studies
Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies
The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies , a division of Johns Hopkins University based in Washington, D.C., is one of the world's leading and most prestigious graduate schools devoted to the study of international affairs, economics, diplomacy, and policy research and...
.
Earlier, Melia served as NDI’s Vice President for Programs from 1998 to 2001, designing and overseeing programs in over forty countries in Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, the Near East, and South Asia. During his twelve-year tenure at NDI he traveled extensively, building partnerships with democratic activists and guiding multinational training and election monitoring teams. From 1988–2001, he directed the Central and Eastern Europe Programs, bringing the Institute to the region before the fall of the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
and through a period of significant democratic transition. From 1993–1996, he directed NDI’s Middle East Programs as well as the Institute’s Democratic Governance program.
Melia began his career as a research assistant in the office of U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Daniel Patrick Moynihan
Daniel Patrick "Pat" Moynihan was an American politician and sociologist. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected to the United States Senate for New York in 1976, and was re-elected three times . He declined to run for re-election in 2000...
(D-New York) in 1980 then Legislative Assistant and Senior Legislative Assistant for foreign and defense policy. He focused on Northern Ireland, Israel, South Africa, arms control, foreign aid, UN issues, and the creation of the National Endowment for Democracy
National Endowment for Democracy
The National Endowment for Democracy, or NED, is a U.S. non-profit organization that was founded in 1983 to promote US-friendly democracy by providing cash grants funded primarily through an annual allocation from the U.S. Congress...
. He left in 1986 to become Associate Director of the Free Trade Union Institute of the AFL-CIO (now the Solidarity Center). As Associate Director, he represented the AFL-CIO regional institutes with the private and public sector and helped increase congressional support for the Institute’s advocacy of workers’ rights.
Foreign Policy Expertise
Melia has coined several resonant phrases about democracy support efforts and the parlous state of human rights in the world. In an article published on Monday, July 5, 2010, Washington Post Editorial Page Editor Fred Hyatt quoted Melia as characterizing the diminishing freedom in many countries worldwide as a “global political recession.” According to author Eric Bjornlund in his 2004 book about election monitoring, Melia coined the phrase “democracy bureaucracy” in the mid-1990s to describe the proliferating community of agencies and NGOs inside and outside government involved in democracy promotion efforts. Melia has subsequently published “The Democracy Bureaucracy” in The American Interest in 2006.In July, 2009, following the arrest of then-genocide suspect Radovan Karadžić
Radovan Karadžic
Radovan Karadžić is a former Bosnian Serb politician. He is detained in the United Nations Detention Unit of Scheveningen, accused of war crimes committed against Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats during the Siege of Sarajevo, as well as ordering the Srebrenica massacre.Educated as a...
, Melia praised the institutions and individuals responsible for a democratic transition in Serbia; stating, "The arrest of Karadzic shows that elections do matter. It’s no coincidence." News outlets such as The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
and The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
also turn to Melia to address issues including President Barack Obama’s policy toward Russia and the global downturn in political freedom.
Academic career
Melia earned a BA from Johns Hopkins UniversityJohns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
in International Relations and an M.A. with a concentrations in Africa Studies from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies
Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies
The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies , a division of Johns Hopkins University based in Washington, D.C., is one of the world's leading and most prestigious graduate schools devoted to the study of international affairs, economics, diplomacy, and policy research and...
in 1979. While in graduate school, Melia worked as an intern at the National Security Council
United States National Security Council
The White House National Security Council in the United States is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for considering national security and foreign policy matters with his senior national security advisors and Cabinet officials and is part of the Executive Office of the...
at The White House, on Africa issues, and during the summer of 1978 at the U.S. embassy in Nouakchott, Mauritania.
Select Recent Publications, Remarks, and Research
- Deputy Assistant Secretary Remarks in Minsk, Belarus, on January 24, 2011 as covered by the Telegraf.
- Deputy Assistant Secretary Remarks at the OSCE Session on Fundamental Freedoms, Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State, available here.
- Melia, Thomas O. “Supporting Democracy Abroad: Transatlantic Cooperation at the Crossroads,” in Shoulder to Shoulder: Forging a Strategic US EU Partnership, Edited by Hamilton, Daniel S. (The Paul H. Nitze School for Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins Center for Transatlantic Relations, 2010) 293 – 303.
- Melia, Thomas O. “Back to the Future of Human Rights: Mobilize the democratic faction” Remarks Prepared for Delivery at a Symposium organized by the Democracy and Governance Program, Georgetown University. “Globalizing Autocracy, US Foreign Policy and Democracy Assistance,” National Press Club, Washington, D.C., December 10, 2008.
- Melia, Thomas O. “The Democracy Bureaucracy: The Infrastructure of the American Democracy Promotion” A discussion paper prepared for the Princeton Project on National Security Working Group on Global Institutions and Foreign Policy Infrastructure, 2006.
- Melia, Thomas O. (Winter/Spring 2003) “What Muslims Want: In Afghanistan, and Elsewhere—Democracy,” Georgetown Journal of International Affairs IV (1): 155-162.
- Melia, Thomas O. Congressional Staff Attitudes Toward the Department of State and Foreign Service Officers. A report based on 25 One-on-One Interviews With Key Congressional Staff. Prepared for the Una Chapman Cox Foundation, Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, Georgetown University, October 2002.
Book reviews
- Melia, Thomas O. “What Makes Legislatures Strong?” Review of The Handbook of National Legislatures: A Global Survey by M. Steven Fish and Matthew Kroenig, and Legislative Power in Emerging African Democracies edited by Joel D. Barkan. Journal of Democracy, April 2010, Volume 21, Number 2.
- Melia, Thomas O. "Ousting the "Final 45" Review of Breaking the Real Axis of Evil: How to Oust the World's Dictators by 2025 By Mark Palmer (Rowman & Littlefield 2003) Journal of Democracy, 15.2 (2004): 170-173.
- Melia, Thomas O. "Serious Thinking About Democratization." A Review of Serious Thinking About Democratization Edward R. McMahon and Thomas A.P. Sinclair, editors, Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, 5.1 (2004): 131-137.
- Melia, Thomas O. "Measuring Democratic Commitment." A Review of Defending Democracy: A Global Survey of Foreign Policy Trends 1992-2002. By Robert G. Herman and Theodore J. Piccone, eds. Democracy Coalition Project, 2002. Journal of Democracy 14.3 (2003): 171-174.
Opinions
- “Middle Eastern Freedom Lags as Washington Turns Away” Daily Star (Beirut), February 8, 2007
- (Co-Authored with Jennifer Windsor) ""U.S. Must Continue to do the right thing"." Daily Star (Beirut), July 9, 2004
- (Co-Authored with Jennifer Windsor) “A Democrat Against Democracy?” Daily Mail 10 June 2004.
- (Co-Authored with Brian Katulis) "To Win Over Iraqis." Washington Post 10 August 2003
Awards and Board Affiliations
- Eagle Scout, Vigil Honor (Order of the Arrow)Honors and awards of the Order of the ArrowIt is important to distinguish between awards, honors, and membership levels in the Order of the Arrow – the honor camping society of the Boy Scouts of America. The Founder's Award, the Red Arrow Award, and the Distinguished Service Award are all awards...
- Top 100 Irish-Americans (Irish American MagazineIrish America magazineIrish America magazine is a bi-monthly periodical that aims to cover topics relevant to the Irish in North America including a range of political, economic, social, and cultural themes. The magazine’s inaugural issue was published in October 1985...
, April/May 2007) - Board of Directors, Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED)