Carter School Leadership

Richard Rubenstein attends conference in Rome on peacemaking in Ukraine

Mariam Aburdeineh — Tue, 28 Jun 2022 19:20:16 +0000

Richard Rubenstein attends conference in Rome on peacemaking in Ukraine Mariam Aburdeineh Tue, 06/28/2022 - 15:20

In This Story

��ӽ紫ý Carter School professor Richard Rubenstein attended a workshop conference at the Pontifical Academy for Social Sciences at the Vatican on June 6-7 to discuss peacemaking in Ukraine and other global conflict sites. The conference was organized by the U.N. Development Solutions Network headed by Columbia University professor Jeffrey Sachs.

Carter School professor Richard Rubenstein speaks on peacemaking in Ukraine at the Vatican. Photo by Gabriella C. Marino.

“The purpose was to produce a statement that would be given to the pope and that might also influence the parties to the conflict in Ukraine,” Rubenstein said.

“The meeting addressed the question of how to prevent the conflict in Ukraine from becoming a ‘frozen conflict,’ and the need for early peace negotiations,” Rubenstein said. “While the issue of what kinds of concessions might need to be made by both parties was discussed, the experts were in agreement that trust needs to be built on both sides and that a guarantee of peace in Eastern Europe is a necessity.”

About 40 VIPs were in attendance, including Romano Prodi, former prime minister of Italy and 10th president of the European Commission; Jeffrey Sachs, university professor at Columbia University; Michael von der Schulenburg, former United Nations assistant secretary-general in UN Peace Missions; Mario Marazziti, former deputy and president of Human Rights Committee, Italian Parliament; and Nina Khrushcheva, professor of international affairs at The New School.

Attendees each gave a 10- to 15-minute presentation, Rubenstein said, which included open discussions.

“The statement is now getting more signatories,” said Rubenstein. “It was a good meeting, and it may have some results. We’ll see.”

What do you hope the impact of the statement will be?

“What we want to happen is to get the document into places where it will be discussed by decision makers.”

What was the pope’s reaction?

“Pope Francis has already made a statement on this. The pope says to stop dramatizing, stop trying to turn this into some type of titanic struggle about the fate of an autocracy—that’s not what it’s about. It’s a very interesting statement by the pope and, I think, partly, that’s a response to our discussion.”

What was your role at the conference?

“One of my roles there was to raise the question of when this is all over, how do these people learn to live with each other again? What kind of reconciliation is going to be possible considering how many people are getting killed and how much bitterness has been created by the war?”

What does this say about the Carter School and Mason to be represented at the meeting?

“It’s a really good sign. It’s not just our expertise in negotiation that's being recognized, but our independence of mind and our ability to think about the possibilities of peacemaking even in a wartime atmosphere. Everyone at the conference understood that peacemakers may be blessed, but this doesn’t mean they will be popular.”

Attendees at the Pontifical Academy for Social Sciences outside of the Vatican. Photo credit: Gabriella C. Marino

Topics

Carter School Leadership

Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Peacebuilding

peacemaking

peacebuilding and analysis

Faculty and Staff News

Mason students map the Russia-Ukraine war through personal stories

Mariam Aburdeineh — Mon, 09 May 2022 17:17:45 +0000

Mason students map the Russia-Ukraine war through personal stories Mariam Aburdeineh Mon, 05/09/2022 - 13:17

In This Story

Alpaslan Özerdem

Karina Korostelina

Solon Simmons

Despite being more than 5,000 miles away from the war in Ukraine, students at ��ӽ紫ý’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution are actively assessing the conflict dynamics, with hopes that their research could improve the situation.

Keil Eggers is part of a team at ��ӽ紫ý that is digitally mapping the Ukraine-Russia war.

“A lot of students in [Solon Simmons’ Peace Engineering and Participatory Approaches to Narrative] class felt it would be important to do what we could locally with our set of methods and tools to try and help,” said Keil Eggers, Peace Engineering Lab manager and Carter School PhD student.

They’re creating a digital map of the war through peoples’ lived experiences.

Mapping the Conflict

The team, which includes faculty and seven students ranging from the undergraduate to PhD levels, is creating this map using SenseMaker, a program that allows for a large-scale collection of narratives.

Their SenseMaking in Ukraine project asks participants—ranging from U.S. citizens to those impacted on the ground in Ukraine and Russia—to answer one of three prompts. Responses can be submitted in English, Ukrainian or Russian:

How can ordinary people support peace in Ukraine? Share one of your lived experiences that shows how help can be given or how it has been blocked.
Start a conversation: Tell us one of your lived experiences that you would want people who are on the other side to hear.
What have you noticed about the conflict in Ukraine that makes you hopeful or concerned about a peaceful future

A unique aspect of SenseMaker is that participants evaluate their submissions through questions, including a series of triangles, where each point represents an opinion.

SenseMaker Triangle showing where participants placed their answer among the three choices within the triangle.

For the question, “The situation will improve when people…,” the points represent:

Thoughtfully react to the needs of the present
Overcome historical divides
Achieve security over the long term

“By placing their dot as a balance between one of those factors, you get quantitative data for each person’s story,” Eggers said, adding that Mason students designed the survey questions and will support the data analysis.

The data will help uncover patterns, he said, and will become part of a public dashboard the team is creating to support understanding and next steps.

Impacting Change

This is the first time the school has used SenseMaker in an active conflict, Eggers said. The class hopes to influence change by hosting workshops about the narratives.

“Most of the time in those stories, you start to ask people, ‘What can you do tomorrow to create more stories like ones you want to see and fewer stories like the ones you don’t,’” Eggers said, quoting SenseMaker thought leader Dave Snowden.

“You get people directly thinking about what they can do in their own lives, whether that’s giving aid, doing some kind of really local small action, or for somebody who’s actually making decisions, to change policy.”

More Than a Story

“The SenseMaking tool is one way to uncover the very complex process of meaning-making in how people see the peace process,” said Karina Korostelina, professor and director of the Program for the Prevention of Mass Violence.

Karina Korostelina, professor and director of ��ӽ紫ý's Program for the Prevention of Mass Violence.

In Ukraine, she said, peacemaking will likely include territorial concessions, which create moral dilemmas. Another dynamic, she said, is that people on both sides view the conflict drastically differently because of Putin’s information war.

“Helping reveal these complex patterns, and how people think about the issues, is very important for informing the peace process because governments and international actors have to know how people see and think about it,” she said.

The class, which is part of the school’s Peace Engineering Lab, exemplifies the Carter School’s key principles of innovation, integration of research and practice, and global impact, said Dean Alpaslan Özerdem.

“At the Carter School, we always strive to incorporate the cutting edge of scholarship and practice in our classroom experience,” Simmons added. “This project is a great example of how to do just that.”

Solon Simmons, Associate Professor of Conflict Analysis and Resolution at ��ӽ紫ý.

Students also benefit from the experience, as their contributions have peace-impacting potential.

“SenseMaking in Ukraine brings an innovative way of responding to the war, and preparing our future capacities and knowledge base for the war’s end, so that the Carter School could respond to its peacemaking and peacebuilding challenges from a more informed basis with solid partnerships on the ground,” Özerdem said. “It shows the real impact that our Peace Labs have started to have.”

Topics

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Carter School Leadership

Peace Engineering Lab

Ukraine

Russia

Narrative

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, ��ӽ紫ý’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

Mason Alumni

Campus News

An unusual prison encounter inspired this alum to open doors for peacebuilding

Mariam Aburdeineh — Thu, 14 Oct 2021 16:08:58 +0000

An unusual prison encounter inspired this alum to open doors for peacebuilding Mariam Aburdeineh Thu, 10/14/2021 - 12:08

In This Story

Agnieszka Paczyńska

Susan Allen

Charles Davidson

Charles Davidson being airlifted by the United Nations in the Congo in 2019, after the region came under attack from militia groups in the area. Photo provided.

A cultural immersion trip in 2008 brought Charles Davidson (PhD ’19) inside the walls of San Pedro prison in La Paz, Bolivia. What he saw there not only changed his life, he said, but ignited a spark of inspiration that led to peacebuilding efforts around the world.

“At the time, children were living in the prison with their incarcerated parents because there was nowhere else for them to go,” said Davidson, research faculty and alumnus of ��ӽ紫ý’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution. “I felt so deeply this reality that children were paying the price of their parents’ crimes, and I felt there was more to be done to address issues in war-torn countries, especially as a person of faith.”

From that moment, Davidson said he decided to dedicate his life to breaking cycles of violence.

“I came back to the United States and started reading everything I could about what it meant to be a professional peacebuilder,” the Arkansas native said. “I wrote down names of different war-torn countries I wanted to affect change in and nailed [the paper] to my doorframe.”

His dream wasn’t fleeting. Davidson said he spent his early 20s traveling to and living in conflict-ridden countries, including Colombia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Honduras and Uganda, to learn as much as he could about conflicts and peacebuilding.

When he returned home in 2009, he founded the nonprofit, Innovations in Peacebuilding International (formerly ForgottenSong), which has launched or supported 16 peacebuilding projects in five war-torn countries.

“A mountaintop moment for us has been working directly with the demobilization of child combatants [in the Congo],” Davidson said.

In partnership with a Congolese-led organization that works to demobilize young people engaged with militias, Davidson’s group helps offer sustainable futures and peaceful alternatives to children, when and if they choose to leave those militias. That could mean helping fund their education, or supporting their start in agriculture, entrepreneurship, or pursuit of a technical skill, Davidson said.

From left to right: David Bubasha, Charles Davidson, and the late Thierry Shabani. Bubasha and Shabani were former child soldiers who left militias to start AJDC, an organization that works to demobilize child combatants in the Congo, and partners with IPI. 2019. Photo provided.

“What has always impressed me about Charles is his infectious enthusiasm and passion for his work, research, family and friends, and especially for making the world a better place,” said Professor Agnieszka Paczynska. “He does this incredibly important work while remaining modest and humble.”

Davidson said the Carter School, with its reputation for being a leader in peacebuilding, was his dream PhD program.

Davidson and his wife, Abby, in Andorra in 2018. “[Abby] has always backed my ideas, and been the breadwinner for so long as I charged through school,” Davidson said. "I no way would be able to have done any of this [work] without her moral and all other types of support.”

“I got to learn the dynamics about what it means to be a peacebuilder from many different angles, read the great minds, be around great thinkers, attend conferences and meet my scholarly heroes,” Davidson said, adding that what he learned continues to influence his work.

“[The Carter School] helped me respect the agency and identity of people involved with conflict,” he said. “Thereby, it equipped me to go searching for peace in the minds of those who were experienced in the conflict, rather than thinking I possessed all the answers.”

Davidson is also impacting the world, said Professor Susan Allen, as he leads Mason’s Political Leadership Academy, which encourages participants to embrace conflict in healthy ways.

“I really hope that, domestically and internationally, my life and career will amount to people knowing how to think about conflict differently,” Davidson said. “If people are willing to meet one another on the field of their humanity, with kindness, love and respect, in spite of—or even through—their conflicts, I know I’ll have done my job.”

Davidson, and a team visiting the area to explore ideas for expanding peacemaking practices, gather with villagers from Minembwe in 2019, after the area came under attack from militia groups in the area. Photo provided.

Topics

Carter School Leadership

Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Peacebuilding

Conflict Resolution

Nonprofits

Carter School Political Leadership Academy

Students

Alumni

Faculty and Staff News

Carter School takes its expertise overseas, bringing hope to war-torn Ukraine

Mariam Aburdeineh — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 18:00:30 +0000

Carter School takes its expertise overseas, bringing hope to war-torn Ukraine Mariam Aburdeineh Mon, 03/08/2021 - 13:00

In This Story

Karina Korostelina

Juliette Rouge (Shedd)

Carter School faculty and participants in a "Dialogue and Difference Project" Seminar in Kharkiv, Ukraine prior to the pandemic. Photo provided.

The eastern region of Ukraine has been an intense battleground since 2014, when Russia controversially annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and invaded the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine. Though a ceasefire was called, it has been violated daily. More than 10,000 people have died and roughly 1.6 million are registered as internally displaced people (IDP).

But a step toward hope and peace may be on the horizon, thanks to ��ӽ紫ý’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, and their new project funded by a $50,000 grant from the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine.

“While we were working on [another U.S. Department of State-funded project introducing conflict resolution curricula in Ukraine], we were envisioning what else can be done,” said Carter School professor Karina Korostelina, who is spearheading the project with Associate Dean Julie Shedd and associate professor Mara Schoeny. “While conflict resolution can be used in schools, the major issue is conflict within the society.”

Karina Korostelina

One important issue in Ukrainian society is the inclusion and rights of IDPs.

“People who work in local administration have a lot of knowledge, but don’t know how to deal with IDPs, how to negotiate conflicts, how to use a problem-solving approach to conflict resolution,” Korostelina said.

That’s where Mason’s project comes in.

Faculty from the Carter School will be educating professors in Ukraine on conflict resolution best practices, so they can create a course to teach their own students in Ukraine. The project will also establish an internship program for undergraduate students at three Ukrainian universities, which were selected because their locations host the highest numbers of IDPs.

“We educate and teach students how to become agents of change in their communities,” Korostelina said.

About 15 students per university will intern with local administrations and NGOs that work with IDPs or community development projects. The goal is that these students will bring their newly learned skills to their internship.

The experiential learning equips students with skills to be leaders in society, and could potentially lead to jobs at these organizations after graduation, Korostelina said. It also reinforces values of tolerance, diversity, and inclusion.

“I strongly believe in education as one of the keys for conflict resolution,” Korostelina said. “The more people are aware of how conflict functions and what factors contribute to it, the less they actually become the subject of manipulation in conflict dynamics.”

It’s an ambitious project, she said, but it originates from Mason’s previous successful projects in the region.

“The Carter School, in its 40-year history, has always been an active actor in peacebuilding internationally, and this project is just the latest example of our substantial footprint for peace and justice across the world,” said Carter School Dean Alpaslan Özerdem. “Such a groundbreaking collaborative initiative between universities and NGOs through university students’ engagement is an excellent way of training future peacebuilders across the world.”

The project could also enable Ukrainian faculty to contribute more research in the conflict resolution field, and help communities address conflict more effectively, Korostelina said, adding that she hopes the model could be replicated around the world.

“People have to understand and acknowledge the importance of conflict resolution education,” she said. “What is great about our project is we bring knowledge to regions, which were not exposed to this knowledge before.”

Last semester, Carter School faculty conducted the first of four online workshop series on incorporating conflict resolution in internship curricula. Photo provided.

Topics

Carter School Faculty

Carter School Leadership

Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution

Campus News

Faculty and Staff News

Alpaslan Özerdem

Paul Snodgrass — Fri, 02 Aug 2019 14:37:44 +0000

Alpaslan Özerdem Paul Snodgrass Fri, 08/02/2019 - 10:37

Dean, Carter School
Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies, Carter School

Contact Information

Email: aozerdem@gmu.edu
Campus: Arlington
Building: Arlington: Vernon Smith Hall
Room 5106
Mail Stop: 4D3

Biography

Alpaslan Özerdem is Dean of the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution (formerly known as the School for Conflict Analysis & Resolution) and professor of peace and conflict studies. Prior to his appointment as Dean in August 2019, Dr. Özerdem was Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research at Coventry University in the UK.

Dr. Özerdem specializes in conflict resolution, peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction. With over 20 years of field research experience in Afghanistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, El Salvador, Indonesia, Kosovo, Lebanon, Liberia, Nepal, Nigeria, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan and Turkey. Dr. Özerdem has undertaken numerous research projects that were funded by the UK’s Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC); British Academy, US Institute of Peace, and various US and European Union funding schemes.

Dr. Özerdem has published extensively (14 books and numerous journal articles, book chapters and op-eds) and amongst others, is author of Post-war Recovery: Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (2008); co-author of Managing Emergencies and Crises (2011 & 2022); co-editor of Child Soldiers: From Recruitment to Reintegration (2011); co-author of Peace in Turkey 2023: The Question of Human Security and Conflict Transformation (2013); co-editor of Human Security in Turkey (2013); co-author of Youth in Conflict and Peacebuilding: Mobilization, Reintegration and Reconciliation (2015); co-editor of Local Ownership in International Peacebuilding (2015); (2016); co-editor of Routledge Handbook of Turkish Politics (2019), co-editor of Comparing Peace Processes (2020), co-editor of Routledge Handbook of Peace, Security and Development (2020), and co-editor of Routledge Handbook of Conflict Response and Leadership in Africa (2021). He is also co-editor of Modern Turkey Series by Edinburgh University Press.

Dr. Özerdem has also taken an active role in the initiation and management of several advisory and applied research projects for a wide range of national and international organizations such as the United Nations and international NGOs. He also runs tailor-made and in-country professional training programs for a wide range of audiences from humanitarian aid practitioners to civil servants and policy makers. Dr. Özerdem is a frequent speaker and workshop leader for events organized by the private sector, higher education institutions, international organizations and governmental authorities. He is a member of the Anna Lindh Foundation Scientific Committee, and received his Professor Extraordinary in Politics title by Stellenbosch University in 2017 and visiting professorship to the Jiangsu University and Coventry University in 2019.

Media Appearances

What the Montreux Convention is, and what it means for the Ukraine war. The Conversation, March 2, 2022.
Will the Post COVID-19 World Be Different? Hurriyet Daily News, May 8, 2020.
Exiting from Pandemic Lockdowns with Lessons from Aid World. The Hill, April 29, 2020.
United Nations Security Council Brief on Reconciliation, November 19, 2019

Degrees

PhD, Post-war Recovery Studies, University of York
MSc, Built Environment, South Bank University, London
BSc, Civil Engineering (First Class Honours), Istanbul Technical University

Mara Schoeny

admin_alpha — Tue, 20 Oct 2015 23:27:01 +0000

Mara Schoeny admin_alpha Tue, 10/20/2015 - 19:27

Director of Undergraduate Programs, Carter School

Contact Information

Email: mschoeny@gmu.edu

Phone: 703-993-9191
Campus: Arlington
Building: Arlington: Vernon Smith Hall
Room 5110A
Mail Stop: 4D3

Biography

Mara Schoeny is an associate professor at the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at ��ӽ紫ý and the Director of Undergraduate Programs. She teaches courses in research and evaluation methods, practice skills and the integration of inter-disciplinary approaches to conflict analysis and resolution. She was a 1998 USIA Visiting Fellow in the Curriculum Development Exchange Program, in residence at Yerevan State University, Armenia. As part of the grant she developed and taught simulation courses for undergraduate and master’s level sociology and social work students in family, organizational, political and community conflict. She is a former youth camp director with experience in traditional camp settings as well as dialogue and co-existence camps for youth from conflict areas. Her research and practice interests include nonviolence, education and training and dialogue processes.

Honors and Awards

Teaching Excellence Award, ��ӽ紫ý

Affiliations

Northern Virgina Mediation Service

She is Member of Board of Directors of Northern Virgina Mediation Service (NVMS).

Northern Virgina Mediation Service

Media Appearances

Washington Post Arlington Puts Diversity Among Its Top Priorities
February 18, 2009
Al Jazeera Virginia Votes 2008
December 2, 2008

Presentations and Performances

Webinar: Forging Alliances for Peace: Insights from a Conflict Resolution Scholar-Practitioner
May 6 2013 | Arlington Campus
Dissertation Proposal Defense - Soolmaz Abooali
Jan 23 2017 | Metropolitan Building
The Sixth Annual Graduate Education Symposium in Peace and Conflict Resolution
May 27 2016 | Arlington Campus, Founders Hall

Degrees

PhD, Conflict Analysis and Resolution, ��ӽ紫ý
MS, Conflict Analysis and Resolution, ��ӽ紫ý

Thomas Flores

admin_alpha — Tue, 20 Oct 2015 23:24:01 +0000

Thomas Flores admin_alpha Tue, 10/20/2015 - 19:24

Associate Professor of Conflict Resolution and Political Science, Carter School

Contact Information

Email: tflores2@gmu.edu
Phone: 703-993-9409
Campus: Arlington
Building: Arlington: Vernon Smith Hall
Room 5076
Mail Stop: 4D3

Personal Websites

Thomas Flores

Biography

Thomas E. Flores is an Associate Professor at the Carter School. His research focuses on democratization, civil conflict, and economic development. He is the author (with Irfan Nooruddin) of Elections in Hard Times: Building Stronger Democracies in the 21st Century (Cambridge University Press). His research has also been published in the Journal of Politics, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Review of International Organizations, and Social Psychological and Personality Science, among other peer-reviewed journals. In 2017, he was a Democracy Fellow in the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance. He has also been a J. William Fulbright Scholar in Colombia. Professor Flores teaches courses on the global conflict, peacebuilding, and research methods. He earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Michigan in 2008 and his B.A. magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1998.

Honors and Awards

Democracy Fellow, USAID
Research Workshop Grant, ��ӽ紫ý

Affiliations

Pease Science Society

The Peace Science Society (International), or PSS(I), encourages the development of peace analysis and conflict management. PSS(I) does not confine itself to ideas specific to peace research, but welcomes and utilizes relevant work of the social and natural sciences. A primary concern of the Society is the improvement of social science theory as it relates to international relations. PSS(I) facilitates acquaintance and provides a vehicle for discussion among its members and others worldwide. It encourages and supports the publication of research, particularly but not exclusively quantitative research. PSS(I) avoids social, religious, or national bias. It does not promote political action or polemical discussion.

Peace Science Society

Media Appearances

With Good Reason Predicting War
January 8, 2016
School of Conflict Analysis and Resolution Assessing Legitimate Rape Comments from Todd Akin - Part One
October 24, 2012

In the News

Elections are good, right? Well, not always
Published on April 10, 2016
Full article
Hope for Peace May Be Encouraged by Enemies in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Published on February 9, 2016
Full article

Presentations and Performances

Dissertation Defense: Charles Martin-Shields - When Information Becomes Action
Jul 28 2016 | Metropolitan Building
Alan Goulty: Sudanese Peace Processes and their Lessons for Peacemakers
Apr 14 2016 | Metropolitan Building
Dissertation Defense: Samuel Johnson - The Effects Of Microfinance Liability Structure On The Political Capital Of Post-Conflict Clients
Apr 5 2016 | Metropolitan Building

Degrees

PhD, Political Science, University of Michigan
BA, Government, Harvard University