Russia-Ukraine war

Economic Recovery in Ukraine during and after war - Dean Özerdem on Pritzker's appointment in the Kyiv Independent

Paul Snodgrass — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 15:43:30 +0000

Economic Recovery in Ukraine during and after war - Dean Özerdem on Pritzker's appointment in the Kyiv Independent Paul Snodgrass Mon, 09/18/2023 - 11:43

In This Story

Alpaslan Özerdem

In an article by the Kyiv Independent, Dean Alpaslan Özerdem reacts to the selection of Penny Pritzker to lead the U.S. efforts in the economic recovery of Ukraine. The article by Elsa Court, published on September 18, 2023, is entitled, Who is Penny Pritzker, new US special representative for Ukraine's economic recovery?

Excerpt from the article:

Starting the job in the middle of the war means that Pritzker is taking on a challenge that "few would envy," said Dr. Alpaslan Özerdem, dean at the Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution and expert on post-conflict reconstruction.

"She will need to connect many dots to build sustainable momentum in the economic recovery of Ukraine both before and after the war's end," Özerdem told the Kyiv Independent.

Her experience in philanthropy will come in useful, Özerdem believes, not least because "war-affected communities appreciate the sensitive approach of empathy, passion, and solidarity" that experienced philanthropists can bring.

Read the full article with more comments from Dean Özerdem in the Kyiv Independent.

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Carter School hosts activist whose organization documents war crimes in Ukraine

Mariam Aburdeineh — Mon, 13 Mar 2023 15:31:57 +0000

Carter School hosts activist whose organization documents war crimes in Ukraine Mariam Aburdeineh Mon, 03/13/2023 - 11:31

In This Story

Karina Korostelina

Alpaslan Özerdem

Daniel Rothbart

On February 24, the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, ��AV’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution hosted “One Year After: Ukraine War Analysis and Prospects,” an all-day virtual event to discuss the effects of the war and potential post-war contexts.

The event featured Romantsova Oleksandra, executive director of the Center for Civil Liberties, the first Ukrainian organization to win a Nobel Peace Prize. The recognition, which the human rights organization received in 2022, was due in part to their work documenting war crimes against civilians in occupied areas of Ukraine.

Karina Korostelina (left) and Romantsova Oleksandra during the virtual event, "One Year After: Ukraine War Analysis and Prospects."

Oleksandra spoke about her work to an audience of about 50 people, and answered questions about the war via Zoom. The discussion was moderated by Karina Korostelina, professor and co-director of Mason’s Program for the Prevention of Mass Violence.

“The war in Ukraine has presented a real challenge to those who favor negotiated outcomes,” said Carter School Dean Alpaslan Özerdem in his opening remarks. “However, even if the political space is constrained for negotiations at the moment, we shouldn’t write off what conflict resolution could achieve in the future.”

Oleksandra began by explaining how her work started in 2014—around the time Russia invaded Crimea—and explained how they started with a hotline where they gathered questions about Crimea and Donbas before starting field work there.

After summer 2014, and the disputed Crimean status referendum, their mobile teams on the ground were blocked, Oleksandra said.

“They don’t give the possibility of Ukrainian human right defenders of going into the territories,” she said. “So, we collect[ed] information using the help of our partners from Belarus, from Russia, and from other countries.”

Oleksandra described various ways her team collects information, including gathering testimonials from individuals or relatives of those who have been prosecuted. The team also investigates sites where crimes occurred, and documents the aftermath with photos and video.

Other times, the Center for Civil Liberties uses data from institutions, such as hospitals.

“We have a lot of evidence that sexual crimes happened, too, like thousands of cases. People [don’t] very directly speak about that with prosecutors or police, but they easily speak with doctors,” Oleksandra said. “That’s why we have some statistics, and we have a national line where the people can call and speak about that.”

Oleksandra’s organization has used all this information to create databases and maps of where human rights violations have occurred.

“We have now more than 33,000 cases [of] potential war crimes against humanity and crimes of genocide,” she said. “Why ‘potential’? Because at the end, only courts can give this characteristic and classification.”

“[The] International Criminal Court is working now in Ukraine,” Oleksandra said. “We support them. We give them information, but they will cover maybe 20 cases.”

Despite a backlog of cases waiting to hit the courts, the work is still worth pursuing. Oleksandra said documenting evidence is important to punish those who committed atrocities, bring justice, protect human rights, promote public awareness, influence policy, and move toward sustainable peace.

Oleksandra said their ideal is to create a new model to deal with the thousands of other cases that demand attention. She also hopes an international tribunal against crimes of aggression would be assembled to hold Russian leaders accountable, including President Vladimir Putin.

“I’m really glad to speak with people who are thinking about what happened in Ukraine and trying to understand what kind of experience Ukraine now can give all the world about war crimes,” Oleksandra said.

The session was also meaningful for attendees.

“The presentation was outstanding,” said Carter School Professor Daniel Rothbart.

“The selection of [Oleksandra’s] Center for Civil Liberties for the Nobel Peace Prize demonstrates just how vital her work is for bringing peace to this war-torn nation,” he said. “The center represents an inspiration to all of us hoping for a peaceful end to this tragic violence in Ukraine.”

Click here to watch recorded sessions from "One Year After: Ukraine War Analysis and Prospects."

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Russia-Ukraine war

Ukraine

Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Podcast - EP41: What it means to build peace

Damian Cristodero — Mon, 25 Jul 2022 16:26:35 +0000

Podcast - EP41: What it means to build peace Damian Cristodero Mon, 07/25/2022 - 12:26

In This Story

Gregory Washington

Alpaslan Özerdem

Alpaslan Özerdem, dean of the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, talks to Mason President Gregory Washington about the keys to effective peacebuilding, whether it concerns the war in Ukraine, gun violence or local issues. And don’t miss the discussions about how the Carter School helped broker a peace accord in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and how an alien invasion could help heal the rift between Russia and the West.

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Access to Excellence podcast

Podcast Episode

podcast

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

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

Paul Snodgrass — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 19:38:10 +0000

Point of View Statement on Conflict in Ukraine: Negotiate Peace Now Paul Snodgrass Wed, 03/30/2022 - 15:38

In This Story

The opinions and views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of the Carter School or ��AV, its affiliates, or employees.

Add Your Signature

Peace and Conflict Resolution scholars and foreign affairs practitioners convened at the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School’s Point of View research and retreat facility in Mason Neck, Virginia issued the following appeal to the conflicting parties in Ukraine:

All parties to this conflict are now hurting. The costs in human life and suffering are mounting and the damaging effects of the conflict are rippling around the world. It is high time for the parties to agree to an immediate and complete cessation of hostilities. Continuing the struggle inevitably multiplies the damage and poses increasing risks that nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction may be used.

Along with the U.N. Secretary General, we believe that conditions now exist for negotiating an agreement acceptable to all parties. The parties should therefore set about negotiating a comprehensive peace agreement with no preconditions.

We call on the international community to support peace as it emerges, offering humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding support for the long-term process of recovery.

In addition, it is imperative that all OSCE Participating States commit to a throughgoing review of the existing security architecture. This review should begin immediately with a view to updating the Helsinki Final Act and other security agreements at the OSCE’s forthcoming 50th Anniversary in Helsinki in 2025.

Signatories are listed below. Others are invited to join the statement and to distribute it widely. To be added as a signatory, please provide your information here.

John M. Evans
Former U.S. Ambassador to Armenia

Jeffrey Sachs
University Professor at Columbia University

Jack F. Matlock, Jr.
U.S. Ambassador to the USSR, 1987-91

Richard Falk
Professor of International Studies, Emeritus, Princeton University

Ambassador Jacques Paul Klein
Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations (Ret.)

Alpasian Ozerdem
Dean, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, ��AV

Christopher R. Mitchell
Professor Emeritus, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, ��AV

Susan H. Allen
Director, Center for Peacemaking Practice, ��AV

Richard E. Rubenstein
University Professor, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, ��AV

Karina Korostelina
Professor, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, ��AV

Sergey Utkin, Leading Researcher, Primakov Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences

Daniel Rothbart
Professor, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, ��AV

Prabha Sankaranarayan
President and CEO, Mediators Beyond Borders International

Hugh DeSantis
Former career office, U.S. State Department, Author

Sara Cobb
Professor, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, ��AV

Dr. Margarita Tadevosyan
Research Assistant Professor
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, ��AV

Ivan Kislenko
Fulbright Scholar

Alex van Oss
(Former) Coordinator, Caucasus Area Studies
Foreign Service Institute

Michael Shank
Adjunct Professor at New York University's Center for Global Affairs and ��AV's Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Dr. Lara Olson
Consultant, Peacebuilding and Conflict Sensitive Development
Research Fellow, Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies (CMSS), University of Calgary, Canada

David Carment
Professor of International Affairs, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
Fellow, Institute for Peace and Diplomacy,

Cynthia Lazaroff
Founder and Director, Women Transforming Our Nuclear Legacy

Omar Grech
Director, Centre for the Study and Practice of Conflict Resolution, University of Malta

Rene Wadlow
President, Association of World Citizens

Kevin Avruch
Henry Hart Rice Professor of Conflict Resolution Emeritus
Professor of Anthropology Emeritus, ��AV

Peggy Mason
Former Canadian Ambassador for Disarmament to the United Nations
Current President of the Rideau Institute

Antonio Carlos da Silva Rosa
Editor, Transcend Media Service

Jake Lynch
Associate Professor, Peace and Conflict Studies
The University of Sydney

Diane Perlman
U.S. Convenor, TRANSCEND

John Scales Avery, PhD

Michael Loadenthal
Executive Director, The Peace and Justice Association

Jeremy Wildeman
Adjunct Professor, Adjunct Professor at the School of Indigenous and Canadian Studies, Carleton University; and in International Development Studies, Trent University

J.M. Flagg
Chicago, Illinois

Jan Oberg, dr hc, director
The Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research, TFF
Lund, Sweden

Dr. Mary Wade
Founder, Building Respect in Community (BRIC), Philadelphia, PA

Professor Marianna Muravyeva
Russian Law and Administration
For Legal and Peaceful Conflict Resolution
Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki

Tatsushi Arai
Associate Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies, Kent State University

Dr. Paula Garb
University of California, Irvine Center for Citizen Peacebuilding

Alma Abdul-Hadi Jadallah
Advisory Board Member and Part-Time Faculty, Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Sean Howard
Adjunct Prof. of Political Science, Cape Breton University

Douglas Irvin-Eriksen
Assistant Professor, Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Dr. Peter Langille
Director, Sustainable Common Security

Marie Myers Lloyd
Member, Ceasefire.ca

Nicholas Ourusoff
Educator in Computer Science, Chomskian Activist

Dr. Gordon Yanchyshyn
Psychiatrist

Connie Duchene
Council of Canadians

Emmanuel K. Akyempong
Graduating Senior, Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Irene McPhee
Mother, Grandmother, Human

Dr. Paul Owen
Retiring Politician, Counselor

David Parnas

Phyllis Creighton
Honorary Life Member, Science for Peace

Sara Petite

Eleanor Coffey

Larry Kazdan
Global Citizen

Crl Boychuk

Sk. Tawfique M. Haque, PhD.
Professor and Director South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance (SIPG) and Center for Peace Studies (CPS) Chair, Department of Political Science and Sociology, North South University

Dr. Katherine Li
Assistant Professor, Department of English & Modern Languages Adviser, Center for Peace Studies (CPS), North South University

Ambassador Shahidul Haque
Professorial Fellow South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance (SIPG), North South University

Dr. Abdul Wohab
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science and Sociology Coordinator, Center for Peace Studies (CPS), North South University

Dr. Ishrat Zakia Sultana
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science and Sociology, North South University

Dr. M Jashim Uddin
Associate Professor, Department of Political Science and Sociology, North South University

Dr. Bulbul Siddiqui
Associate Professor, Department of Political Science and Sociology, North South University

Dr. Helal Mohd. Mohiuddin
Professor, Department of Political Science and Sociology, North South University

Dr. Harisur Rahman
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science and Sociology, North South University

Dr. Md Rizwanul Islam
Professor & Chair, Department of Law, North South University

Dr. Norman K. Swazo
Professor, Department of History and Philosophy, North South University

Ahmed Hossain
Professor, Department of Public health, North South University

Dr. Nova Ahmed
Associate Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, North South University

Dr. Raymond Kwun-Sun Lau
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science and Sociology, North South University

Dr. Mohammed Nuruzzaman
Professor, Department of Political Science and Sociology, North South University

Ms. Parisa Shakur
Senior Lecturer, Department of Economics, North South University

Tata Zafar
Senior Lecturer, Department of Political Science and Sociology, North South University

Tasmia Nower
Lecturer, Department of Political Science and Sociology, North South University

Dr. Hasanuzzaman
Assistant Director, Office of External Affairs, North South University

Dr. Md. Jakariya
Professor, Department if Environmental Science and Sociology, North South University

Mizanur Rahman
Senior Lecturer, Department of Political Science and Sociology, North South University

Fahd Bin Zahed
Lecturer, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, North South University

Dr. Tasnuva Enam
Assistant Professor of Psychology, Department of History and Philosophy, North South University

Farin Shabnam Ritu
Research Associate, South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance (SIPG) and Center for Peace Studies (CPS), North South University

Md. Parvez Hasan Yousuf
Research Associate, South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance (SIPG) and Center for Peace Studies (CPS), North South University

Rudmila Khan
Research Associate, South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance (SIPG) and Center for Peace Studies (CPS), North South University

Miad Islam
Research Assistant, South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance (SIPG) and Center for Peace Studies (CPS), North South University

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Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution