Center for International Conflict Resolution http://www.cicr-columbia.org Committed to Conflict Transformation and Peace Building Wed, 02 May 2012 17:12:15 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 en hourly 1 Call for Applicants: CICR Visiting Research Scholar (2012 – 2013) http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?p=3552 http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?p=3552#comments Wed, 02 May 2012 17:10:04 +0000 admin http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?p=3552 Applications are sought for a Visiting Research Scholar during AY 2012-2013 at the Center for International Conflict Resolution (CICR) of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA).  Candidates who qualify as research scholar or senior research scholar are eligible.

The position, which is supported by The Fund for Global Environment and Conflict Resolution of the Italian Ministry for Environment, Land and Sea, supports an outstanding candidate with experience and expertise looking at the nexus between natural resources, the global environment, climate change and security, conflict resolution, post-conflict reconstruction and sustainable management.

The position is open to researchers and/or practitioners with a PhD and substantial experience in the above fields. It is designed to foster new scholarly experts in the following countries or regions: Italy, the Balkans, Iraq, Afghanistan, Peru, Colombia, China, the Middle East, and/or North Africa.  Applicants with experience teaching in or conducting research in these countries are encouraged to apply. The successful candidate will possess a strong research record, including publications, as well as an inter-disciplinary orientation and accomplishments in cross-cutting and cutting-edge initiatives.

The visiting appointment will be for between three and six months during academic year 2012-2013 (September 1, 2012 through June 30, 2013), specific dates to be determined in consultation with the Center.

The successful applicant will be chosen for the originality and feasibility of their work within the designated time frame. Projects that combine research, practice, fieldwork and policy recommendations are welcome. The research should be relevant to lessons learned and best practices regarding the environment-conflict/development nexus in the following specific fields and geographical areas:

* Fragile states and the field of conflict prevention: specifically in China, the Middle East and North Africa with respect to conflicts or potential conflicts fuelled by natural resources, deforestation, and the role of renewable energy

* Conflict resolution and post-conflict reconstruction: specifically the Balkans, Iraq, Afghanistan, Peru and Colombia, looking specifically at environmental solutions and sustainable development policies

*  International security and climate change, in general, taking into consideration the impact of the current financial crisis and potential consequences on the field, with particular attention on water scarcity.

The selected candidate will complete his/her project during the period of appointment. He/she will lead a three part lecture series (one a month) at Columbia on a topic of interest, to be determined in consultation with the Center. The lectures will be published and recorded for CICR’s website. The series may be an individual lecture or part of a panel with other members from Columbia and the wider field. The candidate will present the results of his/her research project at Columbia at the end of their stay.

Salary will be commensurate with experience.

Please visit our on-line site at:  https://academicjobs.columbia.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=56169 to submit your application.

Applications will need to include:

* A 3-page research/project description including area(s) of focus, methodology and three-month work plan.

*  Current CV.

*  Names and contact information for two references.

The deadline for applications is May 31, 2012.  The selection will be announced in June 2012 or as soon as possible thereafter.

If you have questions email Jessica Baen at jrb2178@columbia.edu.  (Do NOT send applications to this address.  All applications must be submitted online.)

SIPA is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer.

]]> http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?feed=rss2&p=3552 0 Panel Discussion: Environment, Natural Resources and Peacebuilding http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?p=3541 http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?p=3541#comments Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:53:49 +0000 admin http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?p=3541 The Center for International Conflict Resolution (CICR) at
The Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War & Peace Studies (SIWPS)

invites you to:

A Panel Discussion

Environment, Natural Resources and Peacebuilding

Tuesday April 17th, 2012 from 2.00pm – 4.00pm

With

CICR Research Scholars: Dr. Salehyan, Dr. Schmitt and Dr. Triscritti.

UNEP Programme Officer: Matti Lehtonen

Columbia University, International Affairs Building, Room 270B

Refreshments will be served.

For further information contact Lobna at lh2516@columbia.edu


]]> http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?feed=rss2&p=3541 0 Annual Saltzman Forum: “Endgame: Afghanistan” http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?p=3537 http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?p=3537#comments Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:47:18 +0000 admin http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?p=3537

Friday, April 13, 2012

10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

International Affairs Building


Ahmed Rashid is a Pakistani journalist and writer. He is the author of five books,  including ‘Taliban’ (2000) which was translated into 26 languages and sold 1.5 million copies in English alone, and ‘Jihad – The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia’ (2002). ‘Taliban’ was updated and re-issued in 2010.  ‘Descent into Chaos; The United States and the disaster in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia’ (2008) has been translated into 16 languages. Both ‘Taliban’ and ‘Descent into Chaos’ are on course lists at over 200 universities and defense colleges around the world.  His latest book, “Pakistan on the Brink. The future of America, Pakistan and Afghanistan,” will be published in March 2012.

Foreign Policy magazine chose him as one of the world’s most important One Hundred Global Thinkers in 2009 and again in 2010. At the invitation of the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, he became the first journalist to address the UN General Assembly in New York in September 2002 and the first journalist to address NATO ambassadors in Brussels in September 2003.

Tom Gregg is Program Director and a Fellow of the Center on International Cooperation’s (CIC) Afghanistan Regional Project.  Prior to joining CIC he served for four years with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan as Special Assistant to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and as the Head of UNAMA’s Southeast Region. He also consults for the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue.  He has worked at the Australian Council for International Development, Australian National University and the Pacific Concerns Resource Centre.

Mr. Gregg’s publications include: Is a Regional Pact to Stabilize Afghanistan Possible? (2010), Caught in the Crossfire: The Pashtun tribes of Southeast Afghanistan (2009) and How Ethical is Australia: An Examination of Australia’s Record as a Global Citizen (2004).  He studied as a Hedley Bull Scholar at the Australian National University where he completed a Master of Arts in International Relations.

The event will be moderated by Scott Smith, Adjunct Associate Professor of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. Mr. Smith was a Special Assistant to Kai Ede, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Afghanistan, from 2009-2010. He is also the author of Afghanistan’s Troubled Transition (First Forum Press, 2011).

This event is restricted to online registration on Columbia Calendars to CUID cardholders only

]]> http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?feed=rss2&p=3537 0 Jean-Marie Guéhenno Named to Joint UN-Arab League Position in Syria http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?p=3502 http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?p=3502#comments Wed, 21 Mar 2012 19:52:31 +0000 admin http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?p=3502 Jean-Marie GuéhennoJean-Marie Guéhenno, the Arnold A. Saltzman Professor of Professional Practice in International and Public Affairs and Director of the Center for International Conflict Resolution, has been appointed as the Deputy Joint Special Envoy of the United Nations and the League of Arab States on Syria.

Dr. Guéhenno will work under Joint Special Envoy Kofi Annan, and alongside Nasser al-Kidwa, “to seek an urgent end to all violence and human rights violations, and to initiate the effort to promote a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis,” as a statement by the Kofi Annan Foundation explained the mission.

Dr. Guéhenno served at the UN as Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations from 2000 to 2008.

Read the United Nation’s press release here.

]]> http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?feed=rss2&p=3502 0 CICR Student Practicum Report on Social Impact of FDI in Liberia Cited in “The Guardian” http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?p=3498 http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?p=3498#comments Mon, 19 Mar 2012 15:04:54 +0000 admin http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?p=3498 CICR Practicum series 2011 report on Liberia “Smell No Taste”: The Social Impact of Foreign Direct Investment in Liberia was cited by the Guardian.

The article “Liberia land deals with foreign firms ‘could sow seeds of conflict’” can be accessed through the link below:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2012/feb/29/liberia-land-deals-could-seed-conflict?newsfeed=true

]]> http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?feed=rss2&p=3498 0 “Global Great Gambles: Resource Nexus Risks, Threats and Opportunities and Implications for the Transatlantic Community”, February 16, 2012 http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?p=3329 http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?p=3329#comments Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:43:25 +0000 admin http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?p=3329 February 16, 2012

11:00 – 12:00 am

Room 1302 , International Affairs Building (13th floor),

Columbia University, New York

“Global Great Gambles: Resource Nexus Risks, Threats and Opportunities and Implications for the Transatlantic Community”

Presented by Researchers of the Transatlantic Academy, Washington D.C.

Executive Summary

The nexus of energy, water, food, land and minerals challenges is the primary focus of this discussion. Together with trends such as climate change, increasingly volatile commodities markets and a growing global population and ever accelerating global consumption, resource nexus challenges are expected to put enormous pressure on social, political and economic institutions and seriously test existing governance frameworks. What threats, risks and opportunities arise from the nexus as described? What are the consequences for the transatlantic community, and its policymakers and institutions? What response options are available?

]]> http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?feed=rss2&p=3329 0 Somalia: Challenges and Opportunities http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?p=3000 http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?p=3000#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:54:13 +0000 admin http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?p=3000 Somalia: Challenges and Opportunities, with Mr. Augustine P. Mahiga, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for Somalia and Head of the United Nations Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS)

Ambassador Mahiga, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General and head of the UN Political Office for Somalia, spoke at SIPA early last week. In a candid, yet optimistic, address he shared with the audience his views on the challenges and opportunities faced by Somalia today. Acknowledging the country’s complicated past, and present, Ambassador Mahiga nonetheless emphasized his own view that Somalia had reached a critical stage in its transition to peace. “Now more than ever we may begin to see the possibility of ending the transition but also establishing much more representative institutions and hopefully paving a durable road to a peaceful and stable Somalia.” Mahiga credited a convergence of factors – social, political, and natural – for the renewed momentum in Somalia. Most recently this momentum has taken the form of the UN-endorsed roadmap which if successful would result in the formation of a new Somali government. The one-year roadmap calls for a new constitution, parliamentary reform, and improved security. It is in the words of Mahiga, a source of hope.

The Ambassador emphasized the roadmap’s unique nature in that it brought together the many and diverse Somali stakeholders and sought to empower the very civil society which has suffered too long from the transitional government’s inability to bring about change and security at the macro and micro levels. Mahiga concluded with a call for unity of action and purpose within the international community. In so doing he recognized past shortcomings but also the need for a coordinated and coherent international response if recent developments are to bear fruit.

]]> http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?feed=rss2&p=3000 0 Newsletter October 2011 http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?p=3269 http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?p=3269#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:13:51 +0000 admin http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?p=3269

Center for International Conflict Resolution (CICR) at

The Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War & Peace Studies (SIWPS)

Newsletter October 2011

At a glance:

  • Somalia: Challenges and Opportunities, with Ambassador Augustine P. Mahiga
  • CICR Annual Student Retreat
  • ICR Specialization Dinner
  • Reducing Tensions relating to Religious Identity through Shared Understanding: EWER Situation Review
  • ICR Practicum Series: Drivers of Conflict and Peace
  • Josie Liana Kaye, CICR Assistant Director Steps Down
  • Director’s News: Dag Hammarskjöld’s Legacy for UN Preventive Diplomacy in the 21st Century and Saving Lives, Securing Interests: Reflections on Humanitarian Response and U.S. Foreign Policy
  • Faculty Publishing: Afghanistan’s Troubled Transition: Politics, Peacekeeping,and the 2004 Presidential Election, by Scott Smith
  • Faculty News: Commitment in Peacekeeping
  • Upcoming Events at SIPA, Columbia and NYC


PAST EVENTS

Somalia: Challenges and Opportunities, with Ambassador Augustine P. Mahiga, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General for Somalia and Head of the United Nations Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS)

Jean-Marie GuehennoAmbassador Mahiga, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General and head of the UN Political Office for Somalia, spoke at SIPA September 20th. In a candid, yet optimistic, address he shared with the audience his views on the challenges and opportunities faced by Somalia today. Acknowledging the country’s complicated past, and present, Ambassador Mahiga nonetheless emphasized his own view that Somalia had reached a critical stage in its transition to peace. “Now more than ever we may begin to see the possibility of ending the transition but also establishing much more representative institutions and hopefully paving a durable road to a peaceful and stable Somalia.” Mahiga credited a convergence of factors – social, political, and natural – for the renewed momentum in Somalia. Most recently this momentum has taken the form of the UN-endorsed roadmap which if successful would result in the formation of a new Somali government. The one-year roadmap calls for a new constitution, parliamentary reform, and improved security. It is in the words of Mahiga, a source of hope.

The Ambassador emphasized the roadmap’s unique nature in that it brought together the many and diverse Somali stakeholders and sought to empower the very civil society which has suffered too long from the transitional government’s inability to bring about change and security at the macro and micro levels. Mahiga concluded with a call for unity of action and purpose within the international community. In so doing he recognized past shortcomings but also the need for a coordinated and coherent international response if recent developments are to bear fruit.

CICR Annual Student Retreat

CICR’s annual student retreat took place this year in the beautiful hills of the Catskills with three high-level guests and a variety of activities. The retreat featured the participation of CICR’s Director Jean-Marie Guéhenno and three experts in the field of conflict resolution: Mr. Edmond Mulet, Special Representative for the UN Mission in Haiti, Dr. Renata Dwan, Head of the Aid Coherence Unit in the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, and Mr. Matt Shermann, Member of General David Petraeus’Strategic Advisory Group in Afghanistan. Students spent the weekend getting to know one other and gaining useful insights from the guests on career opportunities in the field of conflict resolution. To view photos from the retreat, click here.

ICR Specialization Dinner

Sep 13th 2011, CICR hosted the fall ICR specialization dinner to welcome first year students to SIPA and to the specialization. Mr. Guéhenno, Director of CICR, and Ms. Josie Lianna Kaye, Assistant Director, introduced themselves and provided students with an overview of the specialization and the center’s activities. The dinner offered students an opportunity to meet a number of the specialization’s faculty who were also in attendance to welcome SIPA’s newest additions.

Research

EWER Conflict Potential Analysis

Trimester VII, February – May 2011

In 2008, Belun (an organization to bolster civil society in Timor-Leste and reduce underlying tensions that may lead to violent conflict), in cooperation with Columbia University’s Center for International Conflict Resolution (CICR), established the Early Warning Early Response (EWER) program in Timor-Leste. EWER is designed to increase early responses to conflict and prevent the escalation of violence at the national and community level.

The most recent publication from the program marks the seventh trimester conflict analysis and is the first in the series to include three additional sub-districts in Dili, as a result of EWER’s expansion to cover all six sub-districts in the capital area.

Data collected by the program reveals that there has been a decrease in the total number of violent incidents from the previous trimester. However, despite this reduction in violence, several concerning themes were identified during this reporting period including the involvement of martial arts group members in violent incidents, the continued presence of conflict based on religious identity, and increased family tensions over the allocation of compensation funds received from the government by families of deceased veterans. A significant increase of political activities was also observed with associated divisive impacts on community dynamics, which may become amplified during the 2012 presidential and parliamentary campaigns.

Building on methodologies of other third-generation early warning system models, EWER emphasizes response to conflict and tensions, rather than focusing efforts on forecasting violence alone. The program focuses monitoring at the community level and operates nationally, integrating the distinct perspectives, roles and experiences with violence of women and men of various ages throughout the program’s components. This local analysis forms the basis for recommendations provided to government and civil society actors as to how best to respond to causal conflict factors.

Reducing Tensions relating to Religious Identity through Shared Understanding: EWER Situation Review

September 19th 2011

During the months of February – July 2011, a high number of incidents between existing religious groups and those groups who have sought to further their activities in Timor-Leste were witnessed throughout the country. These incidents have occurred in the form of public demonstrations, destruction of property, physical assaults and intimidation.

This Situation Review seeks to highlight this shift in local behaviors, as the number of incidents relating to religious identity and conflict, inter-linkages between incidents and the intensity of confrontations have increased, while previously such incidents were more sporadic and relatively isolated in nature.

In communities where more recently established religious groups have become active, existing congregations are expressing discontent towards the activities conducted by these groups, which have been perceived, on occasion, as being disrespectful towards existing religions as well as Timorese culture and traditions.

Belun believes that although the escalation of conflict regarding religious identity is a great challenge, it also presents an opportunity for all stakeholders to examine the legal, cultural and societal problems associated with this phenomenon and build foundations for the peaceful co-existence of diverse religions in Timor-Leste.

Belun urges the Government of Timor-Leste, leaders of religious groups, civil society and other stakeholders to actively collaborate to discuss and pursue the recommendations made and deliberate on available means and pathways to promote the peaceful resolution of conflicts based on religious identity.

ICR Practicum Series: Drivers of Conflict and Peace, with 2nd year ICR Graduate Students

Wednesday, October 5th, 6:15 pm to 9:00 pm, Columbia University, International Affairs Building, Room 707

CICR’s program entitled Practicum Series: Drivers of Conflict and Peace has been underway since January 2011. The series is designed to increase students’ practical understanding of conflict dynamics and approaches to peace, and to enhance their technical skills in program design and management — with both desk-based research and field-based experience. Partnering with major actors in the field — UN agencies, multi-lateral organizations and regional bodies — each of the three teams conducted a two-week scoping mission and a 10-week data collection mission in the countries on which their projects are focused: Republic of Liberia, Togolese Republic and Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In mid-March, the current second-year students from each team successfully completed their scoping missions and helped formulate a working plan and methodology for the first-year students who carried out the field research in June and July of 2011 during their summer break. The key findings and recommendations of each project will be presented on October 5th. A Q&A session is to follow each presentation.

Overview of the projects:

  • Impact of foreign direct investment on community relations and statebuilding: The iron ore and palm oil sectors in LiberiaSummer research team: Frazier Lanier; Ashoka Mukpo; Frithiof WilhelmsenPartner Organizations: United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), World Bank (Liberia) and United Nations Development Program (Liberia).
  • Dialogue as a means of sustaining peace and reducing fragility? Case study: TogoSummer research team: Sandra Bitar; Abilene SeguinPartner Organizations: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the International Dialogue for Statebuilding and Peacebuilding, United Nations Development Program (Togo).
  • Leveraging benefit streams from mining sector activity in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Implications for statebuilding and developmentSummer research team: Haya Dweidary; Severine Koen; Emma Loebelson; Anna SnyderPartner Organizations: Bureau d’Etudes, de Recherches et de Consulting International (BERCI), UNDP Political and Strategy Unit (DRC).

    • Co-moderated by Jean-Marie Guéhenno, Director of the Center for International Conflict Resolution, and Professor Marc Jacquand.

FACULTY NEWS

Josie Liana Kaye, CICR Assistant Director Steps Down

The CICR team wanted to take a moment to thank Josie Lianna Kaye for her contribution to the Center for International Conflict Resolution. Josie worked as Assistant Director/Staff Associate and Program Assistant at CICR for over 5 years. She is the co-author of ‘A Choice for Peace? The Story of Forty-One Days of mediation in Kenya’ published at the International Peace Institute (IPI) in 2009. It has been a privilege to work with her and she will be greatly missed. We do wish Josie every success in all her future endeavors.

Dag Hammarskjöld’s Legacy for UN Preventive Diplomacy in the 21st Century: High-Level event commemorates former UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld

As an important component of commemoration of former UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld during the year, the Swedish Government organized a High-Level event on Thursday, September 22, 2011. The theme of the event was Dag Hammarskjöld’s Legacy for UN Preventive Diplomacy in the 21st Century, focusing on his role and importance in the development of the UN’s efforts in the field.

Following Prime Minster Reinfeldt of Sweden’s speech and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s personal statement, the main part of the event consisted of a panel seminar. Mr. Jean-Marie Guéhenno moderated the following discussion with three distinguished keynote speakers: the Executive Director of UN WOMEN and former President of Chile, Ms. Michelle Bachelet, the former Under-Secretary-General Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi and the former Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr. Betrand Ramcharan.

Saving Lives, Securing Interests: Reflections on Humanitarian Response and U.S. Foreign Policy

September 28, 2011, Mr. Jean-Marie Guéhenno commented on a speech by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration Mr. Eric Schwartz at the United States Institute of Peace regarding the international humanitarian challenges confronting the United States and the nation’s interest in a coherent and effective response. Mr. Schwartz described how changes in the humanitarian landscape have impacted the State Department’s work, including its institutional relationship with agencies within the U.S. government, as well as with international and nongovernmental organizations. He also looked ahead to future international humanitarian challenges. Mr. Schwartz was joined by Ambassador George E. Moose. For a webcast of the event, please click here.

Faculty Publishing: Afghanistan’s Troubled Transition: Politics, Peacekeeping, and the 2004 Presidential Election, by Professor Scott Smith

In his newly published book, Scott Smith thoroughly describes the personalities, policies, bureaucracies, and external factors that shaped the faltering transition process from 2001 through 2009. He points to the missed opportunities that contributed to the flawed elections of 2009. Arguing that the failure to give sufficient weight to the importance of institution building led to the crisis of confidence and the resurgence of warlord politics that we see today. He sheds light not only on what has gone wrong in Afghanistan, but also on the prospects for Afghan democracy.

Commitment in Peacekeeping

Professor Michael Gaouette was commissioned by the United Nations to review their peacekeeping efforts in Cote d’Ivoire. He is currently in the process of completing the study.

He has also been actively advising and fundraising for a start-up NGO, Digital Democracy (Dd), which works internationally, using common technologies to help marginalized communities defend their rights. Dd believes that change does not come from technology, but from how people use it. The programs focus on a cycle of digital literacy, digital organizing and digital governance link to catalyze a 21st century“digital democracy.”

UPCOMING EVENTS

SIPA, COLUMBIA & NYC

SIPA

Uprisings and Transitions: Today’s Politics and Economics in Middle East and North Africa

Friday, October 7th, 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm, Davis Auditorium, Shapiro Center

The Committee on Global Thought presents a conference examining the major path-breaking transitions in North Africa and the Middle East as a continuation of three panels presented spring 2011 when the uprisings first broke out. “Uprisings and Transitions: Today’s Politics and Economics in Middle East and North Africa” focuses on complex, unresolved issues in the region, and examines new histories in the making by analyzing key issues in this rapidly changing area: financing transition, unemployment, health and migrations. Each panel of interdisciplinary experts highlighting distinguished faculty from the Committee on Global Thought, Columbia University and Harvard University will feature discussions and debate which emphasize future challenges and strategies for the nations and organizations involved in these popular movements, as well as implications for the international community. Registration is required.

Africa’s Decade of Transformation: The NEPAD Perspective

Monday, October 10th, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, International Affairs Building, Room 1501

The Institute of African Studies, Economic and Political Development Concentration and International Organizations Specialization invite you to a lecture, panel discussion and reception on “Africa’s Decade of Transformation: The NEPAD Perspective”.Registration is required.

Columbia

Advanced Consortium on Cooperation Conflict and Complexity (AC4)

Thursday, October 6th, 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm, Alfred Lerner Hall, Room 555

The Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict, and Complexity (AC4) will host its third annual Conflict and Sustainability Information Share. The AC4 is a new consortium for research, practice, and scholarship. It is committed to advancing knowledge and best practices in the areas of conflict, violence, peace-building, and sustainable development from an interdisciplinary perspective.

Human Rights & Conflict in Kashmir

Thursday, October 6th, 12:10 pm – 1:10 pm, Jerome Greene Hall Room 101

Human Rights Watch has long urged the government of India to establish an independent inquiry into allegations of enforced disappearances in Kashmir. An official investigation by the State Human Rights Commission recently found nearly 3000 unmarked graves in north Kashmir. They believe that some of those buried in these graves could be victims of enforced disappearances. Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia Director of HRW will discuss these reports findings and the way forward.

New York City

Gender-Based Violence and Access to Food and Water in Humanitarian Crises: Is there a Connection?

Thursday, October 6th, 12:30 pm to 1:30pm, New York University Wagner at The Puck Building, 295 Lafayette Street, 2nd Fl.

Speaker: Meg Satterthwaite, faculty director, CHRGJ; professor, the Global Justice Clinic

Ethiopia’s Planned Gibe III Hydrodam: Dismantling Pastoral Survival Systems, Armed Conflict and Political Destabilization in the Kenya-Ethiopia-Sudan Border Region

Thursday, October 13th, 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm, New York University Wagner at The Puck Building, 295 Lafayette Street, 2nd Fl.

Speaker: Claudia J. Carr. Associate professor, Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley

The Role of UN Sanctions in African Conflict Zones

Thursday, October 20th, 12:30 to 1:30pm, New York University Wagner at The Puck Building, 295 Lafayette Street, 2nd Fl.

Speaker: Howard Wachtel, U.S. Mission to the UN
]]> http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?feed=rss2&p=3269 0 CICR/SIWPS Event Jan.24 2012: Ambassador Series – Afghanistan http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?p=3264 http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?p=3264#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:04:52 +0000 admin http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?p=3264 The Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies and the Center for International Conflict Resolution, School of International and Public Affairs, presents a Saltzman Ambassador Series event:

“Power Struggle Over Afghanistan: An Inside Look at What Went Wrong – and What We Can Do to Repair the Damage”

A presentation of his new book by Ambassador Kai Eide, former United Nations Special Representative to Afghanistan, former Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA)

With remarks by Ambassador Zahir Tanin, Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the United Nations

Moderated by Jean-Marie Guéhenno, Arnold A. Saltzman Professor of Professional Practice in International and Public Affairs, Director, Center for International Conflict Resolution (CICR)

Date: January 24, 2012 from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm EST
Location: Columbia University, Morningside Campus, International Affairs Building, Kellogg Center, 15th Floor
Contact: For further information regarding this event, please contact Ingrid Gerstmann by sending email to ig79@columbia.edu or by calling 2128547879.

The event is Columbia ID only. No backpack or luggage is allowed in the venue. Mandatory bag/coat check in lobby.

Ambassador Kai Eide was appointed the former United Nations Special Representative to Afghanistan and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) on 7 March 2008, a position he held until March 2010. He has previously served as the Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General in Kosovo in 2005. His report to the Secretary General of the United Nations on the political situation in former Serbian province of Kosovo resulted in the launching of the negotiations that ultimately brought about the independence of Kosovo. Ambassador Eide has also Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1997–1998. He has been a member of the Norwegian Foreign Service since 1975. He was the Norwegian ambassador to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) from 2002 to 2006 and to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) from 1998 to 2002. He has also been posted as Special Adviser on the Balkans at the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as Norway’s ambassador at the International Conference for the former Yugoslavia. He has also been active in national politics; for the Conservative Party. In the Syse government, between 1989 and 1990, he was appointed State Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister. He later served as a deputy representative to the Norwegian Parliament from Akershus during the term 1993–1997. Ambassador Eide holds a cand.mag. degree from the University of Oslo in 1975, where he studied political science, international law, French and literature.

Ambassador Zahir Tanin During his tenure at the United Nations, Ambassador Tanin has held a number of other positions in the Organization. Ambassador Tanin has served as a Vice-President of the 63rd and 65th Sessions of the General Assembly on behalf of the Asian Group. In this capacity, Ambassador Tanin served as acting President several times including during High Level General Assembly Sessions. As Permanent Representative of Afghanistan, Ambassador Tanin has participated in the high level meetings of the General Assembly as a member of his country’s high level delegation since 2007, has delivered statements on behalf of the Government of Afghanistan in the Security Council, General Assembly, and other events and panels both within and outside of the UN. Ambassador Tanin has traveled to high level meetings around the world to represent his country, including the 4th UN Conference on Least Developed Countries in Istanbul in June 2011, and as head of delegation in LDC conferences in Lisbon in 2010, in Delhi in 2011, and the Non-Aligned Movement Ministerial Meeting in Cuba in 2009. After chairing the informal plenary of intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform during the 62nd General Assembly, Ambassador Tanin was appointed Vice-Chair of the Open-ended Working Group and Chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) on Security Council Reform during the 63rd General Assembly in 2008. Ambassador Tanin was reappointed to chair the ongoing negotiations during the 64th, 65th and 66th sessions. In this capacity he has spoken frequently at conferences around the world, most recently at the Global Governance and Security Council Reform conference in Rome, and also at the Doha Forum, in May 2011. As Chair of IGN, Ambassador Tanin presided over seven rounds of negotiations and produced a compilation text which is currently in its third revision. Ambassador Tanin has also served as a Vice Chair of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People since 2006, and has Chaired or attended numerous meetings around the world in this capacity. These conferences include include the UN International Meeting in Support of the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process in Brussels in June 2011, the UN Seminar on Assistance to Palestinian People in Helsinki in April 2011, the UN Latin American and Caribbean Meeting in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace in Uruguay in March 2011, and the UN International Meeting About Palestinian Political Prisoners in Vienna in March 2011, as well as a number of other meetings on the issue. Ambassador Tanin’s statements addresses and articles from December 2006 through September 2009 are published in his book, “Afghanistan on the World Stage.” Before his appointment as Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Tanin worked for eleven years with the BBC: as a Producer from 1995 to 2000; as a Senior Producer from 2000 to 2001; as an editor for BBC World Service, Afghanistan and Central Asia from 2001 to 2003; and as an editor for the BBC Persian/Pashto Section (Editor for Afghanistan) from 2003 to 2006. Before joining the BBC, Ambassador Tanin was a research fellow in International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science from 1994 to 1995. Ambassador Tanin is a graduate of Kabul Medical University. He began his career in 1980 working as a journalist in Kabul. He was Editor-in-Chief of Akhbar-e-Haftah and Sabawoon Magazine until 1992. He co-authored The Communist Regime in Afghanistan, a study of the political and social changes in Afghanistan from 1978 to 1992. He also authored Afghanistan in the Twentieth Century. He produced a landmark 29-part program, The Oral History of Afghanistan in the 20th Century, which was broadcast on the BBC.

]]> http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?feed=rss2&p=3264 0 CICR Events Nov.15-22 2011 http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?p=3261 http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?p=3261#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:56:14 +0000 admin http://www.cicr-columbia.org/?p=3261

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

Dear colleagues,

The Center for International Conflict Resolution (CICR) is pleased to draw your attention to the following events in the coming week:

“8 Pieces of Empire: A 20-Year Journey Through the Soviet Collapse”

with author Lawrence Scott Sheets

South Caucasus Project Director for the International Crisis Group

Wednesday, November 16th, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Columbia University, International Affairs Building, Room 1219

Not with a bang, but with a quiet, ten-minute address on Christmas Day 1991: this is how the Soviet Union met its end. Lawrence Scott Sheets, who was then living in Moscow as a young foreign correspondent, went to the center of the capital to witness the response. “In the streets around Red Square,” he writes, “life went on as usual. One would not have known that 300 million people had just become citizens of other countries.”

But in the wake of that one deceptively calm moment, conflict and violence soon followed. Some of the emergent new countries began to shed totalitarianism, while others sought to revive their own dead empires or were led by barely or totally unreformed ex-Soviet leaders who built equally or even more repressive political machines. Since the late 1980s, Sheets lived and reported from the former USSR and saw firsthand the reverberations of the collapse of empire across Russia, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Ukraine, and Chechnya. Eight Pieces of Empire draws readers into the people, politics and day-to-day life in the region, painting a vivid portrait of a tumultuous time.

On the 20th anniversary of the fall of the USSR, Sheets’ stories about people living through these tectonic shifts of fortune – a trio of female saboteurs in Chechnya, the chaos of newly independent Georgia in the early 1990s, young hustlers eager to strike it rich in the post-Soviet economic vacuum – reveal the underreported and surprising ways in which the ghosts of empire still haunt these lands and the world.

Lawrence Scott Sheets reported for National Public Radio for seven years and was NPR’s Moscow bureau chief from 2001-2005, covering the entire former USSR. He was Caucasus region bureau chief for Reuters from 1992-2000 and a Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University from 2000-2001. He also worked for NBC News in Moscow during 1992 and his work has been published in the Atlantic Monthly, the New York Times, and heard on the BBC World Service, Public Radio International, and other news outlets. Sheets is currently South Caucasus Project Director of the International Crisis Group, focusing on Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia.

The event will be moderated by Director of the Center for International Conflict Resolution, Professor Jean-Marie Guéhenno. Guéhenno also serves as Associate Director of the Arnold A. Saltzman Institute for War and Peace Studies at SIPA, and is a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. Guéhenno previously served as United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations from 2000-2008. In that role, he led the largest expansion of peacekeeping in the history of the UN, overseeing approximately 130,000 staff on eighteen missions. Before joining the United Nations, Guéhenno served as director of policy planning inthe French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ambassador to the Western European Union, and chairman of the French Institute of Higher Defense Studies.

Please RSVP to eingraham@crisisgroup.org

If you are unable to attend this event but would like further information on 8 Pieces of Empire or to interview Lawrence Scott-Sheets please contact Rachel Rokicki at rrokicki@randomhouse.com

ICR Practicum 2012 Information Session

for First-Year Students

with Professor Jean-Marie Guéhenno and Professor Marc Jacquand

Thursday, November 17th, 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Columbia University, International Affairs Building, Room 1302

After the successful conclusion of ICR Practicum series 2011, CICR is pleased to announce the commencement of ICR Practicum 2012. The program is designed to increase students’ practical understanding of various aspects of conflict resolution, and to enhance their technical skills inprogram design and management. With strong partnership with international organizations, such as the United Nations, students are able to obtain first-hand and in-depth knowledge as well as experience in the field of conflict resolution.

Professor Jean-Marie Guéhenno, Director of CICR, and Professor Marc Jacquand, advisor of ICR Practicum I & II will present the upcoming programs to students interested in participating in the practicum.

Please RSVP to zm2180@columbia.edu

“Fambul Tok”: A Film about the Power of Forgiveness

with commentary by Mr. Ishmael Beah

Author of “A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier”

Monday, November 21st, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Columbia University, International Affairs Building, Room 1219

“Fambul Tok” is a documentary on truth and reconciliation in Sierra Leone. The film explores the healing process by way of the personal narratives of perpetrators and victims and provides a unique window into the grass-roots attempt at building the peace in post-civil war Sierra Leone. Following the screening Mr. Ishmael Beah will provide his own commentary and answer the audience’s questions. Seating is limited and registration is required. Preference will be given to valid CUID card holders.

Please RSVP via Sundial. For more information please contact: Nathalie Sheppe atnas2147@columbia.edu

State-building in Somalia and the Economics of Maritime Piracy

with Field Researcher Meg Smaker

Tuesday, November 22nd, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Columbia University, International Affairs Building, Room 407

Meg Smaker will present her findings from field research conducted in Somalia on the varying levels of nationalism in the political economy and its effect on state building and piracy. How has international recognition, or lack of, shaped Somalia’s three emerging governments, each of which have drastically different economic structures and state building trajectories? And how do these economic and government structures explain the pattern of warlordism, terrorism and piracy? Has international aid actually promoted instability?

Meg has extensive experience in a myriad of volatile countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Colombia, and Yemen. Her first trip to Somalia was in 2004 where she spent most of her time inMogadishu and Somaliland. Her more recent fieldwork, in 2011, was conducted in Puntland and Somaliland where she interviewed everyone from the president to pirates. She is currently working on a paper with her coauthor, Professor Martha Johnson of Mills College, entitled “Nationalism and State-Building: Somaliland and Puntland Compared” which will be presented inWashington at the African Studies Association Conference. In addition, Meg is authoring ‘Somalia and the Piracy Bell Curve,’ a paper on the prevalence of maritime piracy in Somalia, and is planning to return to Somalia to film a documentary, to cover topics of both papers.

Please join us for this unique insight into the reality of Somalia’s conflict and please bring your own lunch.

Please RSVP to faw2109@columbia.edu

Dr. Astri Suhrke on Afghanistan

Moderated by Professor Scott Smith

Tuesday, November 22nd, 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Columbia University, International Affairs Building, Room 1302

Western-led efforts to establish a post-Taliban order in Afghanistan are in serious jeopardy. Beginning with the dynamics of Western intervention and its parallel peacebuilding mission, Astri Suhrke examines the forces that have shaped this grand international project and the apparent systemic bias toward deeper and broader international involvement.

Dr. Aastri suhrke is senior researcher at the Chr. Michelsen Institute, Bergen, and has been a professor of international relations at American University, Washington D.C. She has more than twenty-five years of experience with Afghanistan.

Professor Scott Smith was a political affairs officer in the United Nations for 12 years, most of those working on Afghanistan, including as the senior political affairs officer and team leader for Afghanistan within the Department of Peacekeeping Operations between 2007 and 2009, and Special Assistant to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Afghanistan, Kai Eide, between 2009 and 2010. He also participated in the peace negotiations that settled the conflictin Bougainville, Papua New Guinea.

Please RSVP to zm2180@columbia.edu
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