Conflict Analysis and Resolution

Navy chaplain works to build international peace

Shayla Brown — Thu, 15 Aug 2024 16:52:48 +0000

Navy chaplain works to build international peace Shayla Brown Thu, 08/15/2024 - 12:52

U.S. Navy chaplain Andrew Hoyle studied hard in the classroom to complete his master of science in conflict analysis and resolution at ��ӽ紫ý in one year, but he hasn’t stopping learning and gaining more experience. This summer, the active-duty officer interned at the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) in Washington, D.C.

For his internship, Hoyle researched religions in Africa, China, Russia, and Rio de Janeiro, among other areas, looking at how the diversity of religions are embedded in cultures throughout the United States and internationally. His work culminated in an extensive article analyzing how the Russian Orthodox Church is expanding in Africa as part of Russian international relations efforts.

U.S. Navy Chaplain Andrew Hoyle. Photo provided.

Hoyle said one of his favorite internship experiences was collaborating with the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development representatives, sharing their research and knowledge on peace building.

“The U.S. Ambassador to Suriname met with our team and talked about how indigenous peace building in Surinam helped address some of the nation’s biggest concerns,” said Hoyle.

“That was so phenomenal because I not only saw collaboration between the State Department and USIP on an official level, but on a really personal level. Seeing them address how we can do things better really reinforced to me that’s what international relations is about.”

USIP also frequently hosts forums and guest lectures on specific topics in the peacebuilding field. Hoyle’s academic advisor at ��ӽ紫ý’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, David Smith, encouraged him to attend as many as he could during his internship, he said.

“I learned so much about peace building in Africa, post-conflict societies for women in Ukraine, and how they relate to the wars happening,” Hoyle said.

“There were all kinds of interesting topics that really expanded my understanding of peacebuilding and conflict resolution on an international level.”

The United States has active-duty service members all over the world working to deter wars and build positive relationships that create stability and security, explained Hoyle.

“Those relationships happen on the international and grassroots levels, and as a military chaplain, I have a unique opportunity to be there and build those relationships through religious actor engagement,” said Hoyle.

Hoyle was able to complete his master's program in one year through the Naval Postgraduate School Civilian Institutions program.

At USIP, “I was assigned to work with the Religion Inclusive Societies Team frequently doing research on the role of military chaplains in international peace-building endeavors and how chaplains could be better leveraged to engage in those capacities,” said Hoyle.

Hoyle said his course with Carter School professor Douglas Irvin-Erickson, CONF 600 Foundations of Conflict Analysis and Resolution, laid the framework of what to expect in this field.

“The course was really foundational in my understanding of what this field is all about,” said Hoyle.

Hoyle also earned course credit with a Carter School study-abroad trip, Cambodia: Post Genocide Community Development, and Spirituality, from December 2023 to January 2024.

“We visited Buddhist monks and a monastery college, and we saw Buddhism in action culturally and did some comparison. This study-abroad experience really gave me an appetite for seeing more peacebuilding in the international community,” explained Hoyle.

Hoyle said his time with USIP will also influence his work as a chaplain.

“Throughout this internship, I observed the importance of interfaith collaboration,” he said. “One of the action guides that the team has put out is called Religion and Reconciliation, which focuses on intra- and inter-religious dialogue, and it’s something I see every day on a local level. I think that's going to be nuts and bolts for my next duty station assignment with the Navy.”

In This Story

Douglas Irvin-Erickson

David Smith

Topics

internships

Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

study abroad

Conflict Analysis and Resolution

Students

Military

Summer Internship

Engineering, Carter School students give peace a chance

Nathan Kahl — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 18:51:26 +0000

Engineering, Carter School students give peace a chance Nathan Kahl Tue, 07/23/2024 - 14:51

Learn More About the Minor

In This Story

Incoming college students are increasingly concerned with social justice, conflict resolution, and sustainability. These are byproducts of being raised in an interconnected, interdisciplinary world, where they’ve been taught to consider the downstream consequences of their actions and decisions.

Engineering students like the Engineers for International Development group pictured here on a clean drinking water project in Ecuador served as inspiration for the new minor. Photo provided

In response, the ��ӽ紫ý College of Engineering and Computing (CEC) and Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution are now collaborating on a minor in peace engineering. The minor’s germination comes from numerous places but was pushed forward initially by Liza Wilson Durant, CEC’s associate provost for strategic initiatives and community engagement, and Alpaslan Özerdem, dean of the Carter School.

"I advised students in Mason’s Engineers for International Development chapter on developing engineered solutions to community problems in remote lands in Central America,” said Durant. “The engagement with community members and the work to understand the needs of a vast number of community stakeholders was as important as the final engineered solution. It occurred to me that we could bring that kind of understanding to the classroom for more engineering students through collaboration with the Carter School.”

Jane Walker, director of undergraduate student services for the Carter School, said the minor is ideal for students of both colleges. “The engineering students will better understand culture, people, and the complexity of their interactions, and Carter School students will better understand systems thinking and engineering design. Understanding design process helps with problem solving.”

Walker noted that their students have shown interest in adding to their expertise in conflict analysis with skills in project management and technical considerations, which they could get from classes that make up this minor.

Durant was inspired watching students tackle problems in Central America.

According to the university website, the minor “brings together expertise in systems-level science, engineering principles, and conflict resolution practice to support conditions for peace. It prepares students to engage in projects with conflict sensitivity and to understand the engineering technologies and approaches impacting human systems.”

“When I pursued my civil engineering degree in Istanbul during the late 1980s, our curriculum offered limited engagement with socio-economic and cultural issues,” said Özerdem. “Although we had the opportunity to select a few electives that touched upon these topics, the primary focus remained on the technical and structural aspects of civil engineering.”

Rajesh Ganesan, an associate professor in the Systems Engineering and Operations Research Department, explained how systems engineering approaches are useful. “As we look at conflict on the whole from a global perspective, and think of all the huge factors that play a role in any crisis, we want to incorporate systems thinking into conflict analysis," he said. "It’s important for our students to have those systems thinking approaches.”

Özerdem, an engineer by training, wants students to develop holistic approaches to problems.

Özerdem said, “The disciplinary focus has evolved from a narrow technical lens to a more holistic approach that embraces flexibility and interdisciplinary learning. This shift has been a response to the growing recognition that the challenges we face today—ranging from climate change and urbanization to social equity and global peace—cannot be adequately addressed by any single discipline alone.”

Ganesan added that increasingly students are asking for courses related to things like climate change, global conflicts, energy sustainability, and more. He said, “These words were nonexistent previously. If you had asked me six or seven years ago, nobody spoke about these things, but now the students are asking for them, and we have other pushes, like from the Dean’s Advisory Board.” He said the advisory board, students, and alumni are the key sources of feedback on curriculum change.

For students looking to graduate on time, the minor only requires 15 more credits, of which eight are unique. A student may complete the minor by adding three classes and no more semesters.

Özerdem has a strong vision for the minor. “In the coming years, we hope to see it become a flagship program attracting a diverse and dynamic cohort of students from across the university,” he said. “Our goal is to build a robust and supportive learning environment where students from different disciplines can collaborate and learn from one another, fostering a culture of innovation and interdisciplinary excellence.”

Topics

Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Conflict Analysis and Resolution

Civil Engineering

Students

minors

CEC Global Engagement

Carter School Partners with U.S. Department of State to Provide Research on International Conflicts

Paul Snodgrass — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 16:20:27 +0000

Carter School Partners with U.S. Department of State to Provide Research on International Conflicts Paul Snodgrass Fri, 11/10/2023 - 11:20

Carter School to become an Academic Center of Conflict Anticipation & Prevention Partner

The Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at ��ӽ紫ý and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Conflict & Stabilization Operations (CSO) have signed an agreement, along with a select number of other universities, to become an Academic Center of Conflict Anticipation & Prevention (ACCAP) partner. As part of this public-private partnership, the Carter School will provide research on “current, real-world conflict-related issues” as identified by CSO offices in the interest of supporting conflict resolution and stabilization efforts.

Under this new initiative, research will be conducted by select students, at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, with oversight from Carter School faculty. Students will be able to select from different projects that have been requested by CSO offices. Developed under the supervision of Carter School Dean Alpaslan Özerdem, Dr. Susan Allen, and Dr. Karina Korostelina, this partnership will not only allow Carter School students to contribute to international peacebuilding efforts with actionable research, but it will also provide valuable insight as to how the State Department considers approaches to conflict prevention or mitigation in regions around the world.

Carter School Dean Alpaslan Özerdem stated, “This is an excellent partnership for building bridges between policymaking and academia on a myriad of topics in conflict prevention. We are proud to work with the US Department of State on this exciting initiative.”

Dr. Susan Allen, who is also the Director of Graduate Programs at the Carter School, added, “I am pleased that when the U.S. State Department sought out leading university research centers in conflict analysis and resolution, they approached the Carter School. Our diverse student body comes from all over the world, and our faculty focuses on peace and conflict resolution from diverse methodological approaches.”

When asked about the benefit to students, Carter School professor and Director of Peace Lab on Reconciling Conflicts and Intergroup Divisions, Dr. Karina Korostelina commented, “This initiative will not only advance students’ research skills but also develop their capacities to write policy-oriented papers and briefs. The access to vast databases and localized data is essential for the understanding of conflict dynamics and complexities of peace and justice processes.”

��ӽ紫ý is a Tier 1 research institution.

About the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

��ӽ紫ý’s Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution is a community of faculty, students, staff, alumni, and partners with a fundamental commitment to building peace. Through the development of cutting-edge theory, research, education, and practical work, we seek to identify and address the underlying causes of conflict and provide tools for ethical and just peacebuilding on the local, national, and global stages.

In This Story

Alpaslan Özerdem

Susan Allen

Karina Korostelina

Topics

Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Conflict Analysis and Resolution

Peacebuilding

State Department

Podcast - EP 52: The tension between war, justice, and peace

Damian Cristodero — Mon, 11 Sep 2023 13:56:10 +0000

Podcast - EP 52: The tension between war, justice, and peace Damian Cristodero Mon, 09/11/2023 - 09:56

Professor Karina Korotelina joins Mason president Gregory Washington in the studio to discuss conflict analysis and resolution on this episode of the Access to Excellence podcast.

Photo credit:

Cristian Torres/��ӽ紫ý

Karina Korostelina, a professor of conflict analysis and resolution in Mason’s Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, conducts research with global implications that not only applies to countries and groups in conflict but societies as well.

She tells Mason President Gregory Washington that Ukraine’s war with Russia, at its end, will present enormous problems with the reconciliation of people and territories. A look behind the scenes at Korostelina’s remarkable research and what it tells us about human nature and how we can find peace after conflict.

_{The study was an analysis of 15 peace processes across the globe. What I found, in addition to many other factors, was that if a nation creates multicultural, or civic — based on connection to the state — identity, then peace processes sustained. If not, if a country promotes an ethnic concept of national identity, peace processes fail.”}

Explore the Carter School for Peace and Conflict

In This Episode

Gregory Washington

Karina Korostelina

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Mason Korea Professor Receives Fulbright Award to Serbia

Paul Snodgrass — Wed, 24 May 2023 01:18:20 +0000

Mason Korea Professor Receives Fulbright Award to Serbia Paul Snodgrass Tue, 05/23/2023 - 21:18

In This Story

Borislava Manojlovic

Dr. Borislava Manojlovic, assistant professor of conflict analysis and resolution at Mason Korea, has been awarded a Fulbright award to conduct research in Serbia.

The prestigious award will allow Dr. Manojlovic to continue her research work in the Balkans with a special focus on southern Serbia. “My experience of wars in the Balkans in the 1990s and my desire to understand the roots of violent conflicts shaped my life trajectory and dedication to conflict prevention and peacemaking,” said Dr. Manojlovic.

From this fall to next summer, Dr. Manojlovic will be working with colleagues at the University of Nis in southern Serbia to conduct research on the best strategies for integrating multiculturalism, tolerance, and inclusivity into the educational programs at higher education institutions in Serbia.

“As a Fulbrighter, I look forward to strengthening connections with local scholars in Serbia to reinforce joint educational programs, and also to publish a volume on the role of higher education in promoting tolerance and peacebuilding,” said Dr. Manojlovic.

Dr. Manojlovic also intends to produce reports and articles containing in-depth recommendations on how to address the challenges of diversity and inclusion of minorities. “My future plan is to grow research initiatives at Mason through faculty and student exchanges, research projects and organizing joint conferences, workshops and guest lectures,” said Dr. Manojlovic.

"I am excited to see that our faculty are being recognized for their expertise by prestigious organizations such as Fulbright," said Dr. Shannon Davis, Associate Dean for Faculty and Academic Affairs at Mason Korea. "The award to Serbia is one additional way in which Dr. Manojlovic's scholarship will have worldwide impact on the field and practice of conflict resolution," she added.

Named for US senator William J. Fulbright, the Fulbright program is the US's flagship program to support teachers, students, artists and other professionals in fostering international exchange. It is administered by the US Department of State.