Confronting and Resolving Global Security Challenges

The seminar will explore the dilemmas of divided societies, the origins of conflict and violence, especially civil war, be they irredentism, sectarianism, sovereignty disputes, dictatorship, external invasions, economic disparity, racism, societal disruption - and how to confront, potential resolve and mitigate them: negotiation strategy; conflict resolution, conflict management, peacekeeping, strategies of reconciliation, and societal rehabilitation.  

Referred case studies will include Bosnia & Herzegovina, Cambodia, Iraq, Israel/Palestine, Kashmir, Lebanon, Myanmar, Mozambique, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Rwanda, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, and the (dis)United States.

Unique components will be exploring collaborations with VII Photo Agency and its educational Foundation’s work on war and the  “inconclusiveness of peace." Given SaiU’s desire to integrate disciplines, and to especially expose our CDS students to global issues, and our A&S students to computer and data applications, will be an introduction to  C4ADS a unique digital think tank with a mission to defeat the illicit networks that threaten global peace and security, the work of Meta on UX, Benetech and the Human Rights Data Analysis Group. 

I envisage such beginnings will yield unique advantages and opportunities for research, internships, workshops, and programming into the future.  

You will meet both veteran experts and practitioners, and relatively young, thoughtful, and experienced thinkers and activists. Many are my former students who care about sharing their information and immersions with you, including Tamy Guberek and Julia Shufro 

One distinctive moment will be to introduce you to Padraig O’Malley, a distinguished expert in these concerns, The Peacemaker.   He will be coming to you from Ireland on the anniversary of the seminal Good Friday Agreement, and discussing how he also created this secretive diplomatic initiative, Iraq Moving Forward, with me, and your Vice Chancellor, Jamshed Bharucha. I will be presenting on Israel/Palestine after spending nearly a month there. 

This colloquium will be conducted in an informal, interactive collaborative manner, with tutorial interactions with its TAs, to create an informed community of knowledge with respect for the material and each other. 

I have determined to intensify your learning by securing wonderful, avid mentors and teaching assistants who will proceed through the course together with you, learning as you do. As with my usual pedagogy, this will not proceed in a simple linear manner, expect disruptions as schedules often shift and when unexpected events in the world take center stage, as in the recent Ukraine war. 

There will be interesting opportunities for ongoing research, for internships, and support for editing and publishing your colloquium work in SaiU's Zeitgeist publication.  You will have an impact on how we learn, the pace, and the outcomes of our learning.