International Relations

Collected Resources on the Ukraine Invasion

Paul Snodgrass — Thu, 07 Apr 2022 17:28:28 +0000

Collected Resources on the Ukraine Invasion Paul Snodgrass Thu, 04/07/2022 - 13:28

In This Story

Point of View Statement on Conflict in Ukraine: Negotiate Peace Now

The Carter School has collected articles and seminars written and presented by our faculty to help researchers, peacebuilders, and knowledge seekers understand the scope and impact of Russia’s war on Ukraine. As new resources become available, they will be added to this page.

Student Initiative

The Carter School Peace Engineering Lab and students of the “CONF 695- Peace Engineering and Participatory Approaches to Narrative” course have launched Sensemaking in Ukraine to bring to light the experiences of everyone who has been affected and better understand what can be done to improve the situation in the short term and prepare for peace.

Seminars

Karina Korostelina spoke at a web conference hosted by Al Jazeera Center for Studies on March 28 and 29, 2022 entitled “Redrawing Spheres of Influence: The Dynamics and Implications of the Russian-Ukrainian War.”

Karina Korostelina co-organized a panel entitled Conflict, politics and crisis in Ukraine Implications for EiE, an Education in Conflict & Emergencies Seminar on Monday April 11, 2022.

On April 6, 2022, the Russian and Eurasian Studies Program at ��AV held an online discussion featuring Karina Korostelina on the Current State of Russia's War on Ukraine with the participation of faculty with specializations in history, politics, and conflict analysis and resolution

Articles

Karina Korostelina was featured in Mason News on March 4, 2022: The conflict in Ukraine is fueled by Putin’s information war, Carter School expert says. Here’s what needs to be done.

Richard Rubenstein wrote The Ukrainian Conflict and the Imperial World System for CounterPunch on March 4, 2022.

Alpaslan Özerdem wrote an article for The Conversation entitled, What the Montreux Convention is, and what it means for the Ukraine war, published March 1, 2022.

Susan Allen and Paula Garb are signatories to the letter Independent American and Russian Women Call for Peace published in The Nation and in Russian at Новые известия on February 15, 2022.

Social Media Image Credit: Image by M.Bitton is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license via Wikimedia Commons.

Updated April, 12, 2022

Topics

Ukraine

School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution

Peacebuilding

Violence

Negotiation

International Relations

Jeff Helsing

Paul Snodgrass — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 20:25:09 +0000

Jeff Helsing Paul Snodgrass Wed, 03/23/2022 - 16:25

Research Associate Professor
Executive Director of the Better Evidence Project

Contact Information

Email: jhelsing@gmu.edu

Biography

Jeffrey Helsing is Executive Director of the Better Evidence Project and Research Associate Professor in the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution. Prior to joining the Carter School, he spent over 20 years at the United States Institute of Peace, including as Associate Vice President where he led USIP’s education and training programs as well as curriculum development that included conflict resolution training for civil society organizations, peacebuilding practitioners, youth and religious leaders, humanitarian aid workers, and diplomats. Helsing has taught a broad range of subjects, including conflict resolution, analysis of war and peace, negotiations, human rights and conflict, comparative foreign policies, American foreign policy and international relations theory, and helped develop a master’s degree concentration in international relations at the American University in Cairo. His published articles have focused on conflicts in the Middle East and he co-edited Human Rights and Conflicton the links between human rights, humanitarian law and peacebuilding. He has also written articles and delivered numerous conference papers on the impact of education policies and projects in conflict zones. Helsing holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Stanford University and a doctorate in political science from Columbia University.

Rare peace accord signed in the Congo, thanks to Carter School’s community-centered approach

Mariam Aburdeineh — Tue, 14 Dec 2021 00:18:43 +0000

Rare peace accord signed in the Congo, thanks to Carter School’s community-centered approach Mariam Aburdeineh Mon, 12/13/2021 - 19:18

In This Story

Alpaslan Özerdem

Charles Davidson

Members of 21 armed groups, Congolese leaders, members of the armed services and local community leaders, including several female peacemakers, met in November to discuss a path to peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Photo provided by the Carter School.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has not seen peace for more than three decades, but in November 2021, ��AV’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution helped the country take a leap in a hopeful direction.

In the province of South Kivu, the school gathered representatives from 21 armed groups, the Congolese government, military, police, intelligence services, religious leaders, civil society groups, and peace advocates. Not only did everyone discuss a path toward peacebuilding, but they also signed a peace accord to solidify it.

“As a methodology, what we’ve done here is exemplary, and it can really change the way peace processes are designed, peace agreements are brokered, and the role of academic institutions in that,” said Carter School Dean Alpaslan Özerdem. “This is the first of many direct engagements we’re hoping to have in carrying the flag of peacemaking as an academic institution.”

Female peacemakers were also in attendance and played a substantial role in the four day conference. Photo provided by the Carter School.

So, what was new about the school’s approach?

Charles Davidson, PhD ’19, Carter School research faculty and alumnus, said it was reexamining the intersection of local and international peacebuilding—something he calls the “new hybridity” approach.

“It’s about, what would it look like to not have outsiders dominate the conversation? What happens when locals and internationals combine efforts?” Davidson said.

Özerdem said the process gives locals hope and opportunities to build their own peace.

“The role of the Carter School has been to facilitate, to accompany local actors by providing our direct qualities of trust building, and knowledge in the planning and implementation,” Özerdem said.

Members of local armed groups sat alongside members of the Congolese state and armed services in pursuit of peace. Photo provided by the Carter School.

The school’s model flips tradition on its head.

Typically, peace processes are administrated by outside states or international organizations. Özerdem said that dynamic may cause lower trust among locals, due to the nature of the conflict and the legacy of those relationships.

“With this South Kivu process, the uniqueness is that it was really designed and implemented by local leadership and international actors accompanied the process,” Özerdem said. “When an external academic institution comes, that creates a different type of opportunity for trust building.”

In many peace negotiations, money is given to incentivize collaboration.

“We emphasized we are not going to pay [non-essential] stipends—you come if you’re interested in making peace,” Özerdem said. “That gave a different proposition than previous peacemaking attempts.”

Surprisingly, it was effective.

“Many people showed up who were not invited,” Davidson said, mentioning more than 60 people were in attendance. “Knowing they had nothing [financial] to gain…they still came and I think it was a huge testament to what was going on.”

Members of local armed groups sat alongside members of the Congolese state and armed services in pursuit of peace. Photo provided by the Carter School.

That wasn’t the only break from the norm. Özerdem said third parties typically consult academic institutions for expertise only if and when needed.

“In this one, because an academic institution is the lead actor in facilitating the entire process, the knowledge part is integrated in a much more organic and natural way,” he said.

Özerdem said the school plans to replicate the process, piloted in the Congo, in other conflict-ridden zones.

“Particularly with our renaming last year, one of our key aspects of the vision is our relevance for conflict-affected communities and how we can translate this into practice, from addressing issues in our neighborhoods here, to global challenges of peace and security,” he said

It’s a sensitive undertaking with risks the school does not take lightly, Özerdem said, so each step is strategic.

And that’s what the school’s mission is about.

“For units like the Carter School, it’s really important that the practice of conflict resolution is part of our DNA,” Özerdem said.

David Bubasha (center), a former child soldier who left the militia to start AJDC, an organization that works to demobilize child combatants in the Congo, speaks to members of the Congolese press about the peace summit. AJDC, Charles Davidson's nonprofit Innovations in Peacebuilding International, and the Carter School helped facilitate the peace summit in November 2021. Photo provided by the Carter School.

Members of local armed groups sat alongside members of the Congolese state and armed services in pursuit of peace. Photo provided by the Carter School.

Topics

Carter School Leadership

Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Peacebuilding

peacebuilding and analysis

Leadership

grand challenges

International Relations

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