header

CICR News

CICR May 2013 Newsletter

Center for International Conflict Resolution (CICR) at
The Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War & Peace Studies (SIWPS)

May 2013 Newsletter

Event recaps:

  • “Mali: Perspectives on the Current Crisis and the Future”
  • “Building Peace in Côte d’Ivoire: Challenges and Opportunities”
  • “Turkey: An Evolving Role in Syria, Europe and the Middle East”

CICR NEWSLETTER, SUMMER 2013

“Mali: Perspectives on the Current Crisis and the Future”

MaliWhile Mali was hailed by many as a model of African democracy, recent     political events have revealed the fragility of the state. Facing a variety of challenges including unequal development, the drug trade, international extremist networks, secessionist movements, and corruption, Mali presents vital questions of relevance to the entire region and beyond. Fabienne Hara (International Crisis Group) and Gregory Mann (Department of History, Columbia University) discussed these issues in a panel discussion moderated by Youssef Mahmoud (International Peace Institute) on March 12th, 2013.

The panel examined many aspects of the war in Mali, revealing the complexity of a conflict involving many actors and many divergent interests, including those of the Malian government, the Tuaregs, Islamists, the French and other Western powers. Panelists also discussed the impact of U.S. counter-terrorism policy and the “war on terror,” as well the role of the United Nations and other international actors. The panel concluded with a reflection on the need for continued conflict assessment, including an analysis of the necessary conditions for peace, the relationship of citizens to the state, and attention to governance issues and instability that may persist after elections are held.

 

“Building Peace in Côte d’Ivoire: Challenges and Opportunities”

koenders_picOn April 4th United Nations Special Representative to the Secretary General (SRSG) for Côte d’Ivoire, Albert Gerard Koenders, was joined by CICR Director Jean-Marie Guéhenno to present a lecture entitled “Building Peace in Côte d’Ivoire: Challenges and Opportunities.” A Dutch diplomat with more than 25 years of experience in international affairs, development, and international policymaking, Koenders was appointed to the role of SRSG in August 2011. Joining in a volatile period, Koenders accepted the posting as head of the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI) in the wake of the 2010-2011 crisis during which incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo’s refused to concede defeat in the second round of elections to his opponent, Alassane Ouattara.

Koenders outlined the priorities of the UNOCI peacekeeping operation which he defined as fostering a constructive political dialogue; undertaking a demobilization, disarmament, and integration campaign; carrying out security sector reform; and laying the foundations for a strong economic recovery. His address also touched on a number of contemporary issues facing the present situation in Côte d’Ivoire. Koenders commented on the role of youth movements and the media in the highly politicized country, the impact of the International Criminal Court on reconciliation efforts, and the death of 7 UNOCI peacekeepers in 2012.

“Turkey: An Evolving Role in Syria, Europe and the Middle East”

Sabine-FreizerSabine Freizer, Istanbul-based director of the International Crisis Group’s Europe Program, discussed the evolution of Turkey’s international role, with introductory remarks by CICR Director Jean-Marie Guéhenno. Freizer discussed Turkey’s “Zero Problems” foreign policy and various challenges that have arisen in the region in recent years. In particular, she addressed Turkey’s position on the Syrian conflict, the influx of approximately 300,000 Syrian refugees into Turkey, and the need for international cooperation on the issue as the number of refugees escalates. Other topics included Turkey’s efforts to build its capacity as an international mediator, the potential for the development of an economic zone in the region, Turkey’s increasingly porous borders with Syria and northern Iraq, and its relationship to sectarian divisions in the region.

Congratulations to the Class of 2013!

The Center for International Conflict Resolution would like to express a heartfelt congratulations to  International Conflict Resolution students in the SIPA Class of 2013! Thank you for your contributions to CICR, to SIPA, and all the best to you in your future endeavors!

 
Wednesday, May 15th, 2013 CICR News No Comments

Click here to read the CICR spring newsletter

Center for International Conflict Resolution (CICR) at
The Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War & Peace Studies (SIWPS)

Newsletter Spring 2013

At a glance:

  • “Mali, Syria, and the future of French defense” – An Interview with CICR Director Jean-Marie Guéhenno
  • History and Peacebuilding in Lebanon: A look at ICR Applied Peacebuilding Research
  • Event recap: “Building Peace in Colombia”
  • Upcoming CICR events

CICR NEWSLETTER, SPRING 2013

“Mali, Syria, and the future of French defense” -An Interview with CICR Director

Jean-Marie Guéhenno

Recent global events have raised questions about how the international community will respond to current crises around the world. We sat down with CICR Director Jean-Marie Guéhenno to discuss Mali, the Sahel, Syria, the future of French defense and more.

What is your assessment of the recent French intervention in Mali been? Has it been a success? And how has the Hollande government explained the intervention?

Well, when the French President decided to intervene, there was a direct threat on the capital of Mali, Bamako, and a fear that the whole country might become a haven for some terrorist groups. And so there was not much time to dither so to speak. The French policy had been to avoid a direct engagement of French forces, but I think they were confronted with an emergency which left no choice. Now it’s much too early to tell how successful the operation will be. It has been successful in stopping the advance of those groups that wanted to take control of the whole country and it has created major disruptions in their operations. Now, like all engagements in fragile or failed states, success means consolidation of a country and of its institutions: that is a much more ambitious goal than just stopping forces from moving into the capital. And that stabilization is not going to be achieved through military force, it’s a political process. Mali is a fractured country, fractured not only between north and south, but also within the north where you have the Tuareg, but also Arabs, Songhai, Fulanis; it is the divisions of Mali, divisions between north and south, and division within the north that opened the way to the exploitation of those local conflicts by groups that have a more global agenda, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). Long term stabilization will require reconciliation between all those groups, whose fractiousness provided an opportunity to AQIM, and the problems are not just in the north: in the south there was a military coup, and a major effort is also needed in the south to bring the situation back to normal. The French and the US are keen to bring the UN in, because for such a process of state building and reconciliation to take hold you really need an impartial broker, and it certainly cannot be the former colonial power. So I think we are entering a phase where the priority is going to be politics, which doesn’t mean that there is no more need for some security presence. I think the French have drawn some lessons from what you have seen in other international engagements: if you have a heavy footprint of foreign western troops, eventually it backfires, which is why France is eager to diminish its footprint and have African troops take a greater role.

What might an endgame in Mali look like? Do you feel confident that a peace keeping mission will be authorized? How is the African Union being considered? Would a hybrid UN-AU mission be authorized? What role should France play? Should they be heavily involved, should they leave a number of troops on the ground?

The discussions are ongoing: what exactly will be the structure of the mission is not yet known. My sense is that in the end there will be a UN mission with a strong African component. What exactly will be the institutional arrangements? I think it’s too early to tell. Will the French keep some presence in Mali? Possibly. I could see how some kind of “quick reaction force” would be helpful to a UN mission. The French government will have to balance the need not to have a heavy footprint with the need to keep enough of a credible, strong international military presence to deter actions by the insurgents groups.

In your work with the French President on French defense, have you taken into account this type of military involvement? Do you foresee similar Mali or Cote D’Ivoire type interventions in the future? How does that come into the long term planning process?

When you’re trying to think through what defense should look like, you have to have a long-term horizon, because the defense cycle, procurement, weapons systems, require a long time to be developed. The difficulty today is that the world is much more fluid, much more prone to sudden changes– “black swans” as the phrase goes — than it was during the Cold War, when there was one well-identified and massive threat, but a fairly predictable one. So in some ways the planning was easier. Today, the good news is that there is no threat comparable to the threat that existed during the Cold War, but there’s a much broader range of smaller threats and as you get into the planning process of French national security you really need to try to think through what could be the most plausible conflicts France will be involved in. One should not go too far and say that Mali is the way of the future, but it is certainly the type of conflict that a country like France might be confronted with. I think that in the present strategic situation what is interesting and challenging is that we used to only think of the threats of force, but now we also have to confront the threats of weakness, of fragile states, and when they are next to Europe it is a threat not only for France but for all Europeans. And so an important dimension for any sort of forward looking planning is to see how one can integrate the European and NATO dimension in the planning. I think the Mali conflict has a lot of the characteristics of future conflict, an adversary that is elusive, a state that is fragile. But there are also scenarios that include inter-state conflict involving countries with strong forces. However, future inter-state conflicts will be different from the past, because of changes in technology and politics.

It sounds as if you have seriously engaged external governments and regional bodies on your French defense Commission.

Yes, in fact our Commission included two non-French citizens for the first time ever. We had German and British members on the Commission. We held a number of hearings with a range of countries, including the US, members of the EU and some key emerging powers. There is a need for a deeper dialog with our European partners: we must ensure that we have a shared understanding of situations if we are to develop a joint response. We also must consider what issues the EU is more likely to lead on, what issues the US is more likely to lead on. The situation in Libya, with the US taking a strategy of “leading from behind,” demonstrated the US was willing to interact in this type of way. We must consider what kind of implications this has for the future of our national defense as well as EU defense. A strong EU depends on the strength and dynamism of its members.

Finally, a question on Syria: you have a significant history on this file and attended the Munich Security Conference where many major actors of the Syrian crisis were present including the UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, US Vice President Joe Biden, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and President of the National Coalition for the Opposition Forces, Moaz Al-Khatib. What is your take on the Syrian situation as of today; is there more or less hope for international intervention than six months back?

It was positive that Al-Khatib and Lavrov met in Munich. However, there will not be progress in Syria until there is a serious conversation between the opposition and the government. Mr. Brahimi is trying to anchor negotiations in the Geneva declaration of 30 June 2012. However, the warring parties still have starting points that are incompatible with one another. To me preconditions are not helping the current situation and should not be included in the current negotiations. In time the parties will have to acknowledge a cessation of violence. What is needed in this situation is strong engagement from a third party. A third party mediator is particularly important when there is a major imbalance in power (like the situation in Israel and the Palestinian Territories), where the international community has been very inconsistent.

However, I will not discount the fact that there could be some surprise; there are little signals that could lead to engagement. But the longer the conflict continues, the more radicalized it becomes. There has been a slight evolution in the politics of the situation, but it has been too slow. Unfortunately my initial impression that this will be a long, protracted conflict seems to have been proven right. There needs to be an understanding that there must be negotiations without pre-conditions.

Pushkar Sharma is a second-year Master of Public Administration student at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University and a Departmental Research Fellow at the Center for International Conflict Resolution.

History and Peacebuilding in Lebanon: A look at the ICR Applied Peacebuilding Course

The Applied Peacebuilding Practicum is an innovative International Conflict Resolution course focused on teaching students the skills for conceptualizing, designing and implementing international conflict resolution and peacebuilding projects. The class introduces fifteen first-year students to the practical skills of peacebuilding design and fieldwork. Students design projects in collaboration with a project supervisor in a field-based partner institution (INGOs, UN agencies, etc). Students then implement projects during the summer in the field, and return to SIPA to report on their experiences in the fall. Cathlin Goulding writes about her 2012 Applied Peacebuilding Research Project below.

As a doctoral student at Teachers College, Columbia University, I study curriculum and educative spaces that are developed and evolve out of periods of violence. The Applied Peacebuilding course at SIPA seemed like a rare opportunity to garner a rich theoretical understanding of peacebuilding, engage with students outside of my discipline, and apply my learning directly in the field.

For my fieldwork, I was lucky to be placed as a research assistant to Dr. Bassel Akar, a professor at Notre Dame University in Lebanon. One of Dr. Akar’s research projects is the study of history education in Lebanon and developing new frameworks for the teaching of Lebanon’s Civil War (1979-1989) in schools. Development of a “unified” textbook about this Civil War period was, in fact, a mandate of the Ta’if Accord, the peace treaty formulated in Ta’if, Saudi Arabia in 1989.

Some twenty years later, there is still gridlock within Lebanese governance to develop and approve a history education curriculum on the Civil War. Conversations about this history curriculum tend(ed) to circle around the consensus of historical events (e.g., “facts” and events that should be included and excluded), which, as might be expected, differed along sectarian lines. Recent efforts to release outlines of the curriculum were met vehemently by student-led protests, demonstrating the need for an examination of the teaching of history in Lebanon and, more broadly, the role of education in ameliorating violent tensions.

This summer, Dr. Akar and I began to map present and past history education efforts in Lebanon and other conflict-afflicted regions and, ultimately, were trying to make a convincing case for re-conceiving history education from a consensus and dissemination of an “official” history (e.g., a textbook) of the Lebanese Civil War to a new vision of history education that centers on “historical thinking.” By historical thinking, we mean using an “inquiry” approach to the teaching and learning of history, such as a critical examination of different perspectives, understanding causation, student-centered dialogue, and other pedagogical strategies.

So, over the course of three months in Lebanon, I conducted research, writing, and fieldwork on history pedagogies in (post)-conflict settings. I also took field notes at various meetings and conferences pertaining to history education in Lebanon, including a one-day workshop at the UNESCO Palace with Lebanese teachers, scholars, and members of civil society.

One of my biggest takeaways from my work this summer was the very urgency and necessity for the scholarly mapping of previous efforts to teach history in the aftermath of violence. Without this kind of research—one that makes visible what work has been already done and its utility and effect—it seems likely that the conversations, practices, and policies around history education in places like Lebanon will remain stagnant. Ideally, we hope the research will contribute to the loosening the current gridlock around history education, boost scholarly inquiry, and provide new pedagogical trajectories for practitioners.

And, of course, the “learning” of the summer has not been merely within the scope of research. There has been learning and thinking in my conversations with new friends, in observing and sitting on buses to and from Jbeil and Sour, or simply walking around in the Beirut neighborhood in which I lived. These encounters of difference—cultural, linguistic, gender, geographic, and psychic—were also critical moments of learning.

I am thankful to Dr. Akar and my professor, Zachary Metz, for providing with this opportunity.

Cathlin Goulding

Building Peace in Colombia: The Government’s Efforts in the Demobilization and Reintegration of Illegal Armed Groups

On Monday January 28, 2013, over forty members of the Columbia community came together to listen to a presentation by the Director of the Colombian Agency for Reintegration, Alejandro Eder (SIPA, 2006). Mr. Eder’s presentation was preceded with remarks by Professor Jose Antonio Ocampo, Professor of Professional Practice and Director of the Economic and Political Development Concentration at SIPA. The Center for International Conflict Resolution and the Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies sponsored the event which was organized by Columbia University’s Association of Colombian Students.

The talk, titled “Building Peace in Colombia: The Government’s Efforts in the Demobilization and Reintegration of Illegal Armed Groups,” focused on the comprehensive demobilization, disarmament, and reintegration program being undertaken by the Colombian government in order to transition combatants from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and National Liberation Army (ELN) into productive members of society. Mr. Eder outlined the major components of the program, which include: psycho-social training, education, vocational training, and community service projects. He further discussed the challenges the government’s efforts face, which include ongoing violence and drug trade and the stigma faced by demobilized combatants.

UPCOMING CICR EVENTS:

Mali: Academic and Practitioner Perspectives on the Current Crisis and the Future

6:00-8:00pm, March 12, 2013

Room 1510, International Affairs Building, Columbia University

While Mali was hailed by many as a model of African democracy, recent political events have revealed the fragility of the state. Facing a variety of challenges including unequal development, the drug trade, international extremist networks, secessionist movements, and corruption, Mali presents vital questions that must be addressed for the benefit of the entire region and the world. A discussion featuring a panel of experts including Fabienne Hara (International Crisis Group), Youssef Mahmoud (IPI), Gregory Mann (History, Columbia University), and moderated by Elisabeth Lindenmayer (United Nations Studies Program, SIPA) will discuss Mali’s contemporary and future challenges and the international implications of these challenges.

Co-Sponsored by the United Nations Studies Program at SIPA

Due to limited seating, registration for this event on sundial is required.

For further information regarding this event, please contact Jessica Baen at jrb2178@columbia.edu.

More upcoming events:

-CICR Faculty Panel, date and time TBA

-CICR End of Year Happy Hour, date and time TBA

 

 
Tuesday, March 12th, 2013 CICR News No Comments

CICR Director shares thoughts on “war on terror” with Al-Jazeera news program

CICR Director Jean-Marie Guéhenno shares his views on the “war on terror,” Afghanistan, Iraq and Mali on Al Jazeera’s news program Empire.

Click here to watch.

Tuesday, February 26th, 2013 CICR News No Comments

Simone Sala presents at ACCORD Climate Change and Conflict Seminar

Simone Sala, CICR Associate Research Scholar, presented at ACCORD Climate Change and Conflict Seminar regarding conflict prevention and management tools, with a focus on climate patterns in the Sahel. Click here to view video.

Friday, February 22nd, 2013 CICR News No Comments

Click here to read the CICR fall newsletter

Center for International Conflict Resolution (CICR) at
The Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War & Peace Studies (SIWPS)

Newsletter Fall 2012

At a glance:

  • Introduction 
  • CICR Director Jean-Marie Guéhenno Returns from Syria 
  • Summer Researchers Present Research Findings on November 12 
  • CICR Welcomes the SIPA Class of 2014! 
  • Recent Events 
  • Upcoming events

 

CICR NEWSLETTER FALL 2012

Introduction

We’ve had an excellent fall semester! The CICR is delighted to welcome back its Director, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, after his leave of absence during his appointment as Deputy Joint Special Envoy of the United Nations and the Arab League on Syria. Highlights from an interview with Professor Guéhenno on Syria can be found in this issue, and a video of his presentation on November 13th will be available soon.

The CICR is also happy to welcome 60 new MIA/MPA students who have enrolled in the International Conflict Resolution (ICR) Specialization – a significant increase in enrollment from last year. Many of these students joined us in the Catskills Mountains recently for the ICR Specialization retreat. The retreat provided opportunities for both serious conversation with conflict resolution practitioners, as well as some time to socialize and explore the beautiful grounds of the Greenkill Retreat Center.

Returning ICR students had many fascinating experiences in the field over the summer. ICR Practicum students conducted in-depth research on the interplay of natural resources, FDI, peacebuilding and state legitimacy in Liberia, Zambia, Haiti and Colombia. Students from the Applied Peacebuilding course did internship work in Burundi, Colombia, Cyprus, East Timor, Lebanon, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and the US. Several ICR students participated in a trip to North Korea with Professor Elisabeth Lindenmayer (Director, United Nations Studies Program) and presented to a packed hall on the evening of October 2nd.

CICR’s events calendar has been quite active so far with a variety of presentations and brownbag discussions on topics ranging from the environment and conflict resolution, civil society in Afghanistan, to transitional justice in Libya.

We look forward to seeing many of you at future events and thank you for helping to make the semester a great success!

Jessica Baen

ICR Specialization and International Security Policy (ISP) Concentration Coordinator

FACULTY AND STAFF NEWS

“From SIPA to Syria and Back”

By Max Marder

SIPA prides itself on training the next generation of leaders and change makers. The school brings together a diverse set of students and faculty from around the world to find innovative solutions to some of the most intractable problems facing the world today.

Few epitomize this spirit better than Professor Jean-Marie Guéhenno, who served as the Deputy Joint Special Envoy of the United Nations and the League of Arab States on Syria this summer.

Guéhenno returned to SIPA this fall with a wealth of experience from the field in one of the most protracted political conflicts in the world today. His involvement in Syria began when he pulled together an observer mission, which was authorized by the Security Council in an auspicious but fleeting sign of unity among the P-5 nations: the United States, United Kingdom, France, China and Russia.

“The mission was really to see whether a political process could get off the ground, that is, to resolve the political crisis in Syria through political means rather than guns,” said Guéhenno, who worked on Syria with Kofi Annan from April to July trying to broker cease-fire between the Syrian regime and opposition.

Since peaceful protests began year and a half ago, the Syrian conflict has escalated into a full-scale civil war, resulting in more than 26,000 deaths. Even in his many years of working for the French government and the United Nations, Guéhenno said, he could not “think of a mission with more risk.”

Guéhenno speaks in first-person plural, and employs both a quiet authority and inarguable reason. The pragmatic French diplomat says he was very realistic about the chances of success when he joined the mission. “I knew the odds of success were not that high,” said Guéhenno speaking of the challenges Kofi Annan and his team faced in Syria. “But you owe it to the Syrian people to do your best to try to address the problem. Doctors can’t say ‘I only operate on the easy cancers.’”

Bashar Al-Assad’s besieged regime still controls most urban areas including Syria’s capital, Damascus. But Guéhenno said he was shocked to see how much territory the Syrian government had lost. “You would drive with Syrian security, let’s say in Homs, and then your security escort would stop at the last checkpoint and you would continue in a no-man’s land,” Guéhenno told Communique.

“You’d drive a few hundred yards and find yourself with the fighters on the other side in uniform, not hiding their faces, actually putting clips of the visit on the internet.”

As the political crisis in Syria unfolded, Guéhenno found himself shuttling between a regime battling to hold on to power and a determined opposition trying to take it down. When he wasn’t in transit, Guéhenno was speaking with Syrian diplomats, ministers and generals, as well as with armed opposition groups, conveying “honestly and without rhetoric” the costs of a civil war.

“It is your job to speak to rationality,” Guéhenno said of his mission.

The United Nations, especially the Security Council, has been criticized for failing to stop the bloodshed in Syria. Guéhenno understands the criticisms but says the problems are much more complex.

“How do you bring unity to the Security Council? How do you explore the possibility of some common space among Syrians? And then how do you limit divisions within the region?” he asked.

In addition to irreconcilable divisions between the Syrian government and the opposition, the Syrian crisis has exposed deep division both within the Middle East and in the Security Council. “Syrian issues cannot be separated from the broader regional issues,” said Guehenno. “I think you will have a more coherent [Syrian] opposition if you have a more coherent international community.”

As the UN-brokered ceasefire deteriorated and commitments to a transition belied their superficiality, Annan’s resiliency proved insufficient. “You need unity in the Security Council and that was one of Kofi Annan’s top priorities,” said Guéhenno. “But there’s no consensus on how to get from point A to Z.” According to Guéhenno, following NATO’s intervention in Libya, Russia and China remain deeply suspicious of Western motives, and worry about what happens the “day after” Assad leaves.

Amid increased violence and with Annan’s abrupt exit, a unified international response to the crisis in Syria remains distant. Guéhenno left the mission mid-July, at the behest of French President François Hollande, to chair a commission on French Defense and National Security.

Guéhenno is in his element, both at SIPA and in the field. As a professor, he revels in the opportunity to reflect on the theories behind conflict resolution, distancing himself from the operational dimensions of fieldwork. It’s a different sort of stimulation, a stimulation of having students who want to make the world a better place and I like that,” he said.

Guéhenno’s commitment to human rights and conflict resolution often pulls him out of the classroom. He finds the challenge of solving a conflict like the Syrian crisis, in which no solution is obvious or forthcoming, to be both interesting and frustrating.

“Sometimes you wish it was less interesting,” he muses.

Max Marder is a first-year Master of International Affairs student. This article first appeared in the September 25th, 2012 issue of Communiqué.

ICR SUMMER RESEARCHERS PRESENT RESEARCH FINDINGS FROM SUMMER 2012

Twenty SIPA students spent summer 2012 participating in the International Conflict Resolution (ICR) Practicum. The students took a course in Spring 2012 with Professor Marc Jacquand preparing them for their summer research. The ICR Practicum program then supported the students’ independent research for CICR. Partnering with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), students researched the impact of foreign investment in natural resources on peacebuilding and state legitimacy. In 2012 the students were hosted by UNDP offices in Colombia, Haiti, Liberia, and Zambia. The students presented their findings on November 12 at SIPA. More details on each of these projects is provided below:

 

Colombia:

SIPA students Julien Barbey, Aly Jiwani, Pushkar Sharma, Delaney Simon, and Victoria Webster spent the summer on a consulting project for the UN Development Program in Colombia. Due to the heavy emphasis that the Colombian national government has been placing on mining, the team focused their work on understanding how foreign investment in mining is affecting stability in Colombia. The team investigated gold mining specifically due to the historical and contemporary significance of the commodity in Colombia. Narrowing the focus of their work, the ICR team researched in the departments of Antioquia and Nariño, and discovered that gold mining is central to many of the major issues facing the nation today, because it exacerbates a rift between the national and local governments, creates major competition between small-scale Colombian and large-scale foreign miners, and helps to fund the efforts of armed actors.

Haiti:

SIPA students Kayoko Ajlani Hashimoto, Audrey Hanard, Keenan Mahoney, Valentin Olivry, and Seisei Tatebe-Goddu spent the summer consulting for the UN Development Programme in Haiti. The team members were assigned to three projects in Port-au-Prince and Les Cayes ranging from election monitoring and governance, to private sector reform and development, to the reduction of vulnerability through environmental protection. The ICR team conducted research throughout the south and central departments of Haiti, culminating in deliverables that supported the work of three different units within UNDP.

 

Liberia:

SIPA students Minhwan An, Hande Apakan, Joshua Keller-Fish, Sue-Ann Foster, and James Meisenheimer spent the summer conducting research in Liberia as part of the ICR Practicum. The team analyzed the impact of foreign direct investment in the timber sector on local communities and state-building efforts. They chose this topic in part due to the role of timber in Liberia’s conflict, and also because of the award of over 25% of the country’s land to logging companies in the past two years through questionable means. The team performed field research through focus groups and interviews with affected communities and local government officials in four different counties in Liberia, in addition to meeting with government officials and civil society organizations in Monrovia. In their report, the team gives recommendations to the government of Liberia, UNDP, UNMIL and other stakeholders on how to manage the timber sector and to ensure equitable division of benefits.

Zambia:

SIPA students Carlyn Cowen, Zhiyao Ma, Edward Janis, Jesse Forsythe, and Tarik Carney worked as interns for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in their Zambia Country Team Office. Under the guidance of the UNDP, the students researched the impact of the copper mining industry and the practices of the Zambian Wildlife Authority and Forestry Departments on traditional communities living within the North Western Province. The required methodology for this research included first hand community interaction, interviews, surveys, and focus groups. The students spent one month in the rural villages of the North Western Province conducting research, in addition to a month in Lusaka completing interviews with agencies and ministries of the Zambian Government. The final portion of their time in Zambia was dedicated to data analysis at UNDP headquarters. Given the tremendous influence of the mining industry on the Zambian economy, as well as Zambia’s current rank as one of the most deforested nations annually, the research undertaken by these students aims to allow the Zambian Government to better understand what opportunities exist for improved relations and mutual benefit sharing between stakeholders from the mining, wildlife and environmental protection sectors, as well as the local communities.

CICR WELCOMES THE SIPA CLASS OF 2014!

The Center welcomed the SIPA Class of 2014 with a number of orientation activities, including introductory briefing sessions on the ICR Specialization and a happy hour for first-year SIPA students interested in conflict resolution.

The ICR Specialization held its annual student-retreat in the Catskills Mountains on September 22rd and 23nd. The retreat provided a get-away from New York City and allowed students the opportunity to directly engage practitioners in the field of international conflict resolution. The retreat featured presentations by Professor Jean-Marie Guéhenno (CICR Director), Robert Dann (Chief of Mediation Support Unit, UN Policy and Mediation Division), and Dr. Fiorella Triscritti (CICR Postdoctoral Research Scholar). Guéhenno shared specific details of his recent work on the ground in Syria. Dann’s talk focused on his work on peace negotiations in Cyprus, Israel-Palestine, and Syria as well. Triscritti’s talk focused on her research on corporate-community conflicts related to large-scale gold mining in Peru. In addition to these in-depth conversations, students participated in a conflict-styles workshop led by ICR Coordinator Jessica Baen, and took advantage of the hiking trails and kayaking available at the camp.

RECENT EVENTS HOSTED BY CICR

Transition Period: Justice and Reconciliation in Libya

 

On September 6, three members of the Department of State-sponsored International Visitor Leadership Program engaged in Libya’s transition spoke to SIPA students. In an event moderated by CICR Director Professor Jean-Marie Guéhenno, they discussed their involvement in the Libyan uprising, describing the evolution of the opposition movement and the euphoria resulting from the fall of the Gaddafi regime. The discussion revolved mainly around their efforts to reconstruct Libya’s civil society and support the development of national institutions. The three speakers emphasized the challenges faced in implementing effective change to Libya’s processes and institutions after the revolution.

 

Afghan Civil Society During the Transition Period 2011-2012

On September 24, CICR hosted a presentation by Mr. Arnault Serra-Horguelin, who worked with the UN mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) to support civil society development and improve aid effectiveness. In his remarks, Mr. Serra-Horguelin sought to broaden the definition of Afghan civil society by understanding its existence within a fragile state context in which informal and traditional actors are the dominant forms of social organization. Mr. Serra-Horguelin outlined the support UNAMA provided to nurture of Afghan civil society by acting as a neutral facilitator that sought to enhance access to information and promote links with the Afghan government. Mr. Serra-Horguelin focused on issues critical to the development of a more organic Afghan civil society, such as ways to balance liberal and conservative values, develop coalitions around pressing issues, encourage the government to recognize the importance of civil society actors to the country’s development prospects, and influence donors to strengthen the capacity of civil society organizations as reliable long-term development partners, rather than as temporary actors implementing donor-driven projects.

Unarmed Civilian Peacekeeping

On October 1st, CICR hosted a presentation by Tiffany Easthom on Unarmed Civilian Peacekeeping (UCP). Easthom, Country Director for the Nonviolent Peaceforce’s program in South Sudan, explained the principles and practice of UCP, a relatively new innovation for protecting civilians and reducing violence without the use of armed force. Easthom’s presentation focused in part on the creation of an all-women’s peacekeeping team in South Sudan to protect women from sexualized violence. Dirk Salomons, Director of the Program for Humanitarian Affairs at SIPA, Betty Reardon, Founding Director Emeritus of the International Institute on Peace Education, and Kiryn Lanning, duel-degree student at SIPA and the Mailman School of Public Health, participated in a respondent’s panel, which made for an engaged and thoughtful conversation.

 

 

CICR Panel Discussion on the Environment, Natural Resources and Peacebuilding

On October 2nd, CICR Scholars Fiorella Triscritti, Elizabeth Wishnick, and Marta Debolini presented their work in a panel discussion on the Environment, Natural Resources and Peacebuilding. The presentation was supported by the Fund for Global Environment and Conflict Resolution, a joint initiative between CICR and the Italian Ministry for the Environment that seeks to enhance understanding of the global environment and conflict resolution in order to support peace and sustainable development. Fiorella Triscritti presented on corporate-community conflicts in Peru related to the gold-mining industry; Elizabeth Wishnick shared her research on potential conflict on water-related risks in China; and Marta Debolini discussed conflict dynamics and conflict resolution possibilities related to land management and land use in peri-urban areas in Morrocco.

The discussion was moderated by John Mutter, Professor of International and Public Affairs and Earth & Environment Sciences. Marc Levy, Deputy Director of the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) at the Earth Institute, Robert Barnett, Director of the Modern Tibet Studies Program, and Jacqueline Klopp, Associate Research Scholar at the Center for Sustainable Urban Development at the Earth Institute, served as respondents to the presentations.

 

“A First Glimpse of North Korea”

In May 2012, SIPA’s Conflict Resolution Working Group partnered with the United Nations Studies Program to take a trip to North Korea, the first of its kind sponsored by an American university. UN Studies Program Director Elisabeth Lindenmayer and 15 SIPA students, including many in the ICR program, traveled on a six-day research trip to North Korea, regarded by many as the most isolated nation in the world. On October 2, 2012, CICR co-hosted a panel in which Professor Lindenmayer and the students presented their findings. Included here are a number of the students’ impressions.

“As we visited museums, cultural heritage sites, universities, and farms in Pyongyang and Wonsan, the divergence between depictions of the DPRK vis-à-vis what I was experiencing firsthand became more pronounced. Discerning the truth behind the stories we were told at the war museum or the USS Pueblo, or the extent to which the universities we visited were legitimately educating students was and is impossible to know. What I learned before arriving was that everything I would be told in the DPRK was likely to be either fabricated or greatly embellished. What I felt while listening to our guides was that they were honest, kind, and genuine human beings, although their political leanings could not be more different than mine.”

— Samir Ashraf (MIA ’13, USA)

“I have returned from the DPRK, and still cannot measure why every North Korean I have seen wears a small red pin over their heart, depicting the same image of the “Dear Leader.” Whether it is worn out of love, fear, pride, or nostalgia in remembrance of more prosperous times, I cannot say. In a country where the truth seems to exist in small hints and subtleties, rather than large gestures or rehearsed rhetoric however, it’s easy to find yourself seeking further answers in the fog.”

— Tarik Carney (MIA ’12, Jamaica)

“On the road outside Pyongyang, I saw a Korea similar to the province my mother had been raised in the south. On the foot of the mountains and on either side of the road our bus travelled on, there were farmland for rice paddies and other crops. There were a number of people traveling on foot between the roads connecting cities and children roaming in groups unaccompanied. No field was left unattended to by the laborers who were heavily represented by the elderly population.”

— Sandra Choi (MIA ’13, USA)

“I approached our trip with the expectation of visiting a communist regime similar to Eastern Germany prior to reunification…. DPRK is an extremely controlled country, but it was also peaceful and is one of the most organized countries that I have visited. It is clearly a communist country, but it might not be worthy of all the negative press received throughout the world.”

— Michelle Hanf (MPA ’13, Germany)

“As we visited the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) the stationed soldiers told us repeatedly that this was the most dangerous place in the world. And yet it was a tourist attraction, we spent several moments taking group photos, and the western tourists in front of us had even brought their baby. It is hard to image that happening in Somalia or Syria.”

— Mara Ladewig (MPA ’12, USA)

“The pictures of large groups of people walking what looked like very long distances due to the lack of fuel, the nearly omnipresent scenes of “collectives” of individuals working gigantic fields with their bare hands, sunk in deeply…. Even though we could not directly interact with these people, this second experience made me realize how truly resilient and hard-working a people North Koreans are.”

— Patrick Martin-Menard (MIA ’12, Canada)

“There is an inherent pressure to craft a memory of the DPRK that fits into the narrative Western media has created about the nation; to articulate a horrifying and trying experience. The more wrenching of an image the narrator creates the more attention the narrator commands, the more the listener feels they are hearing the ‘truth,’ and the more praise the narrator receives from the listener for having ‘survived’ a trying experience. Monsters and monstrous behavior make the most compelling (and simplest) headlines. And so it may come as a disappointment to some when I write that the biggest surprise for me in my trip to the DPRK was simply that I had fun.”

— Pushkar Sharma (MPA ’13, USA)

“The isolation, loneliness, together with the huge pride, strength and resilience DPRK demonstrated are all too similar to China in the past.”

— Jin Zhou (MIA ’13, China)

 

To Syria and Back: Why We Must Not Give Up

On November 13th, 2012, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, CICR Director and Arnold A. Saltzman Professor of Professional Practice, presented to a crowded hall at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). SIPA professor Dipali Mukhopadhyay served as a discussant. Mr. Guéhenno spoke of his experience as Deputy Joint Special Envoy of the United Nations and the League of Arab States on Syria. From March to July of this year, Mr. Guéhenno worked with former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to seek a negotiated resolution to the conflict. Mr. Guéhenno shared his insights on the current situation in Syria, the role of international actors, and the conditions that might promote an end to the civil war.

Mr. Guéhenno identified some of the challenges facing Syria, including a fractured UN Security Council, regional polarization, and deep divisions within Syrian society along sectarian and generational lines. Mr. Guéhenno’s analysis of the divisions within the Security Council referenced the oft-cited objection by China and Russia to foreign-led regime change under any circumstances, but included additional considerations. He explained that Russia might accept changes in Syria through internal negotiations, but was doubtful that a foreign-led intervention would lead to a smooth transition. On the contrary, Russia feared that such an intervention would cause further instability in Syria, leaving the country vulnerable to extremist Islamist influence.

Mr. Guéhenno asserted that the only sure means to protect civilians is to have a government that protects them, ultimately making a political solution essential to humanitarian efforts. He recommended engaging in political negotiations even as the armed conflict continues because the chances of achieving a complete cease-fire prior to substantive negotiations are low. He explained that mutual consent within the Security Council and various actors in the region will be necessary to achieving an end to the violence, and emphasized that the P5 nations do have a common interest in avoiding an extremist regime in Syria.

 

UPCOMING EVENTS:

CICR Holiday Party

December 10, 2012, 6-8PM, at Havana Central (2911 Broadway) in Manhattan

More information on CICR can be found here.

 

 

 
Sunday, December 9th, 2012 CICR News No Comments

ICR Practicum 2013: Call for Applications

Eligibility: Only current 1st Year SIPA MIA/MPA students who will be returning to SIPA in their 2nd year are eligible to apply. Those accepted into the program will be enrolled in the ICR Practicum INAF U8292 (3.0 credits) at the start of the Spring Semester 2013. Students will spend two months in the summer of 2013 (usually in June and July) in their field placement and return in September to present to the SIPA community as part of the overall evaluation for the course. Students who are not able to spend two months in the field over the summer should not apply. 

Due Date: applications are due by 5 p.m., Friday, Dec. 14th, 2012. Students will be notified by January 4th, 2013 regarding the outcome of their application.

To apply: email the following documents in PDF format to Jessica Baen (jrb2178@columbia.edu):

1.  A one-page statement of interest detailing relevant background, skill sets and career aspirations.  Explain what skills and qualities you will bring and what you hope to gain from the experience.

2.  Your resume (Only SIPA Master’s students are eligible to apply)

Course objective: 2013 will be the third year of the Center for International Conflict Resolution (CICR)’s series, Drivers of Conflict and Peace: Practicum (Practicum), which seeks to bridge the academic and policy communities while simultaneously addressing a major gap in opportunities being offered to students who wish to enter the field of international conflict resolution.

The objective of the class and of the student’s research program is to explore the economics of conflict and peacebuilding. The course’s specific thematic focus is based on the recognition that peacebuilding efforts often fail to connect various challenges, with political and security actors insufficiently involved in economic and financial issues, and socio-economic challenges inadequately reflected in political engagement strategies. The concept of state legitimacy, which underpins both the class discussions and the research findings, is used to bridge this gap.

The students will therefore focus their work on a range of economic interventions, with a particular focus on investment in natural resource and/or financial sector development. Students will explore the extent to which these interventions impact local communities and support real economic recovery and the mechanisms through which they affect people’s perceptions of, and trust, in the state.

Course format: The Practicum combines knowledge acquisition with transfer of practical skills to allow the students to make a significant contribution to the field through desk based and in-country research for a client organization.

Over 14 sessions, students explore the drivers of conflict and peace from an economic perspective, within a broader framework of peacebuilding to strengthen their understanding of the complex links between economic challenges and overall security and stability imperatives. At the same time, students engage in a series of practical skill development modules, which include project management and design, conflict assessments and analysis, quantitative and qualitative research methods, and process skills – such as communication, facilitation and negotiations. The objective is to equip each student with a range of tools to undertake rigorous, practical and action oriented research in fragile contexts.

The course also allows the students to simultaneously apply their knowledge. In early February, each student is assigned to one of the four research projects as a member of a five-member research group. Each group immediately initiates contact with the client organization to refine the research question(s), conduct desk-based analysis and make preparations for the field trip.

The field trip consists of a two-month in-country mission over the course of the summer (usually June and July). The fieldwork undertaken in the context of the ICR Practicum fulfills the SIPA internship requirement.

While the specific details of each mission is to be agreed to with the client organization, students are normally expected to undertake a series of briefings upon arrival, spend a few days in the capital city to meet with client and other stakeholders, and then deploy to the communities for a period of several weeks. A debriefing with the client should be scheduled prior to the end of the field mission. The students are then expected to provide a final report, with practical and actionable recommendations, to CICR and the client, who share ownership of the product.  In late September or October, each group is also expected to present their findings and experience to the SIPA community as well as other invitees during ICR practicum presentation event.

CICR also intends to use the Practicum to build stronger, more sustainable links with other thematic and regional experts across Columbia University, while also offering critical research support to international organizations on specific areas where there is a pressing need, or challenge which needs to be addressed.

Friday, November 16th, 2012 CICR News No Comments

Students Present Key Findings from CICR Practicum Series

CICR’s Practicum Series is designed to increase students’ practical understanding of conflict dynamics and approaches to peace. Partnering with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), four student teams conducted eight-week data collection missions on topics related to natural resources management, foreign direct investment, and peacebuilding. On November 12, 2012, the four student teams presented their key findings.

Friday, November 16th, 2012 CICR News No Comments

The Criminalization of Anti-Mining Social Protest in Peru

CICR Postdoctoral Scholar Fiorella Triscritti has published a blog about the criminalization of anti-mining social protest in Peru at the Earth Institute State of the Planet blog. Read her blog here.

Tuesday, September 11th, 2012 CICR News No Comments

AC4 Link: New from AC4 at the Earth Institute

NEW from AC4 at the Earth Institute: You can learn more about the CICR along with over 200 other people, centers and programs at Columbia University working in the areas of peace, conflict, violence and sustainability by visiting AC4 Link.

Wednesday, August 1st, 2012 CICR News No Comments

Guéhenno Will Leave Position as Deputy to Annan for Syria Crisis; Agrees to Chair Committee for France’s Hollande; Plans Fall Return to SIPA

 SIPA professor Jean-Marie Guéhenno, who has been working since March to address the crisis in Syria, will soon leave his position as deputy to international envoy Kofi Annan.

At the request of the new French president Francois Hollande, Guéhenno, a French national, will chair a committee charged with writing a white paper on the future of French defense and security. Because the part-time position is related to a UN member state, it is incompatible with the status of an international civil servant, Guéhenno said. He will end his service as deputy joint special envoy of the United Nations and the League of Arab States on Syria by August 1.

The change will also allow Guéhenno, who is the Arnold Saltzman Professor of Professional Practice in International and Public Affairs and director of the Center for International Conflict Resolution, to return to SIPA. After completing his current leave of absence, he will teach Peace Operations in Fragile States as scheduled this fall.

“The last few months have been fascinating, although sometimes frustrating,” Guéhenno says. “The Syrian tragedy continues, and the pace of diplomacy has not caught up with the pace of killings. The conflict is still worsening, and we may be many months away from genuine political engagement.

“I am honored by the request of President Hollande, and I am pleased, as a professor of professional practice, to take up this new responsibility while resuming my teaching at SIPA,” he adds. “I plan to come back to New York in August, and — while I will regularly go to Paris during the fall for meetings — I look forward to being back at SIPA with my students.”

July 18, 2012

Wednesday, July 18th, 2012 CICR News No Comments
« Previous Entries