Day: November 26, 2018

Peace Picks November 26 – December 2

Posted in Rory Coleman - November 26, 2018 - 0 Comment
  1. How to Rehabilitate and Reintegrate Violent Extremists | Tuesday, November 27 | 10 am – 12 pm | United States Institute of Peace | 2301 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037 | Register Here

As the loss of ISIS territory drives thousands of “foreign terrorist fighters” to return home, and hundreds of people convicted of terrorism-related offenses are scheduled for release over the next several years, communities worldwide are faced with rehabilitating and reintegrating people disengaging from violent extremism. Often returning to the same environments and social networks that facilitated violent radicalization initially, significant psychosocial and other support will be key to addressing trauma, reducing stigma, and guarding against recidivism.

The trauma- and stigma-related barriers to help-seeking behavior, prosocial interactions, and social healing are new challenges to preventing and countering violent extremism. While there is increasing consensus on the urgency of systematic rehabilitation and reintegration programs, a realistic or concrete proposition of just what such mechanisms might look like, and how they might operate, has not been put forward. Join USIP for a discussion of how policies and programs can address trauma and reduce stigma to foster cross-cutting affiliations and social learning, enable rehabilitation, and ease reintegration for people disengaging from extremist violence.

Panelists

Jesse Morton
Founder and Co-director, Parallel Networks, and co-author of the forthcoming report, “When Terrorists Come Home: The Need for Rehabilitating and Reintegrating America’s Convicted Jihadists”

Dr. James Gordon
Founder and Executive Director, The Center for Mind-Body Medicine 

Dr. Sousan Abadian
Franklin Fellow, Office of International Religious Freedom, Department of State

Stacey Schamber
Senior Program Officer, International Civil Society Action Network

Colette Rausch, moderator
Senior Advisor, U.S. Institute of Peace

2. The Role of the Business Sector in Peacebuilding in Africa | Tuesday, November 27 | 10:30 am – 12 pm | Wilson Center | 1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20004 | Register Here

Many traditional approaches to peacebuilding in Africa have emphasized the roles of government, civil society organizations, and multilateral international organizations over that of the private sector, specifically business. While the economic power of the business sector can help to reduce unemployment and increase economic opportunity—both key factors in conflict prevention—big business has also contributed to conflict and fragility in parts of the continent. However, there is an increasing awareness that businesses can play an important role in peacebuilding efforts, but the question of what this role is, and what it should be, needs further exploration. This event will examine the landscape of business sector efforts in conflict management and peacebuilding in Africa, including the key challenges and opportunities.

The discussion will explore the role that the business sector might play, including how to better and more effectively integrate the sector into peacebuilding frameworks and post-conflict reconstruction efforts. In addition to assessing the role of international corporations, the event will also discuss the role of the African business sector—including small and medium-sized enterprises and the informal sector—in peacebuilding, address the possibility of reimagining corporate social responsibility initiatives to more effectively contribute to peace, and discuss the potential for effective private-public partnerships. The event will also provide policy-oriented options to the business sector, as well as policymakers and practitioners, to make the business sector a more effective partner for peacebuilding in Africa.

Speakers

Introduction

Moderator

Speakers

3. Europe in 2019 | Tuesday, November 27 | 2 pm – 3:30 pm | Carnegie Endowment for International Peace | 1779 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 | Register Here

A multitude of challenges confront the EU in 2019. The Brexit deadline at the end of March, uncertainty over Italy’s economic situation, and the forthcoming European Parliament elections in May are key determinants shaping the direction of the European project. On top of these flashpoints, looming challenges such as the continued spread of populism and illiberalism, fragmentation of European cooperation, and a changing security landscape add further complexity. How European leaders address these developments over the course of the next year will have far-reaching consequences. Join a panel of experts to discuss the future of Europe and its wider implications. 

FEDERIGA BINDInonresident scholar in the Europe Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace working on European politics, EU foreign policy, and transatlantic relations.

ERIK BRATTBERG director of the Europe Program and a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington. He is an expert on European politics and security and transatlantic relations.

KAREN DONFRIED president of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Before assuming her current role in April 2014, Donfried was the special assistant to the president and senior director for European affairs on the National Security Council at the White House.

PIERRE VIMONTsenior fellow at Carnegie Europe. His research focuses on the European Neighborhood Policy, transatlantic relations, and French foreign policy.

JONATAN VSEVIOV Estonia’s ambassador to the United States since August 2018. This is his third diplomatic posting in Washington, DC.

4. Soft Power in a Sharp Power World: Countering Coercion and Information Warfare | Wednesday, November 28 | 9 am – 10 am | United States Institute of Peace | 2301 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037 | Register Here

Global adversaries, especially states like Russia, China and Iran, use sharp power tools of coercion, disinformation and proxy campaigns to achieve their geopolitical goals and weaken Western influence. This new way of doing business threatens the post-Cold War stability that fostered peace, freedom and development around the globe.

Former U.S. ambassadors Rep. Francis Rooney (R-FL) and Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) will discuss their views on how soft power tools can and should be used to counter sharp power employed by global adversaries at USIP’s seventh Bipartisan Congressional Dialogue on Wednesday, November 28 from 9:00-10:00 a.m. Rep. Rooney is the vice chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and former U.S. ambassador to the Holy See. Rep. Beyer is the vice ranking member of the Science, Space and Technology Committee and former U.S. ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein. 

Speakers

Rep. Francis Rooney (R-FL)
19th Congressional District of Florida, U.S. House of Representatives
@RepRooney

Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA)
8th Congressional District of Virginia, U.S. House of Representatives
@RepDonBeyer

Nancy Lindborg, moderator 
President, U.S. Institute of Peace
@nancylindborg

5. The Commission on the National Defense Strategy | Wednesday, November 28 | 9 am | Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies | 1740 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 | Register Here

The Dean’s Forum has partnered with Strategic Studies to host the Commission on the National Defense Strategy’s presentation of its newly released, congressionally-mandated report. Established by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017, the NDS Commission, co-chaired by Eric Edelman and Gary Roughead, is a panel of bipartisan national security experts appointed by Congress to review and evaluate the NDS, which Secretary of Defense James Mattis announced in January 2018 at SAIS.

The Commission’s final report offers recommendations for ensuring the U.S. maintains the strong defense the American people deserve and expect, taking into account current and prospective circumstances as well as the broader geopolitical environment. Following opening remarks from Dr. Mara Karlin, Dr. Eliot Cohen will moderate a discussion with the Commission’s co-chairs on the report’s observations and recommendations.

Keynote Speakers

Ambassador Eric Edelman

Roger Hertog Distinguished Practitioner-in-Residence at the Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies, appointed by Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX) to the NDS Commission

Admiral Gary Roughead, USN (Ret.)

Robert and Marion Oster Distinguished Military Fellow at the Hoover Institution, appointed by Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) to the NDS Commission

Moderator

Dr. Eliot Cohen

SAIS Vice Dean for Education and Academic Affairs and Robert E. Osgood Professor of Strategic Studies

Opening Remarks

Dr. Mara Karlin

Acting Director of the Strategic Studies Program and Executive Director of The Merrill Center for Strategic Studies

6. Building Peace from the Bottom Up | Thursday, November 29 | 10 am – 11:30 am | United States Institute of Peace | 2301 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037 | Register Here

Do postwar peacebuilding interventions work to keep peace? How do we measure the effectiveness of such international interventions? Join former USIP Jennings Randolph Senior Fellow Pamina Firchow as she discusses her findings on how to measure the impact of local-level interventions on communities affected by war. 

Firchow shows in her book “Reclaiming Everyday Peace: Local Voices in Measurement and Evaluation after War” that efforts by international organizations to implement peacebuilding interventions are often ineffective, overly focused on reconstruction, governance, and development assistance while paying significantly less attention to rebuilding local community relations.

Firchow presents empirical evidence from villages in Uganda and Colombia on local level peacebuilding effectiveness using community generated indicators that reflect how people measure their own everyday peacefulness. Firchow develops a new way of establishing accountability of international and domestic actors to local populations and opening more effective channels of communication among these groups.

Speakers

Kevin Avruch, Opening Remarks
Dean, The School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University

Kathleen Kuehnast, Introduction
Director, Gender Policy and Strategy, U.S. Institute of Peace

Pamina Firchow
Assistant Professor, The School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University

David Connolly
Director, Learning, Evaluation & Research, U.S. Institute of Peace

Roger MacGinty
Professor, School of Government and International Affairs, Durham University, United Kingdom

Anthony Wanis-St. John
Associate Professor, School of International Service, American University

7. China’s Power: Up for Debate | Thursday, November 29 | 8:15 am – 5 pm | Center for Strategic and International Studies | 1616 Rhode Island Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 | Register Here

The challenges and opportunities presented by China’s rise are hotly contested. ChinaPower’s annual conference features leading experts from both China and the U.S. to debate core issues underpinning the nature of Chinese power.

8:15 a.m.      Opening/Greeting
Bonnie S. Glaser Director, China Power ProjectSenior Adviser for AsiaCSIS

8:30 a.m.      Morning Keynote: TBD
 
9:15 a.m.      Proposition: U.S. engagement policy toward China has failed. 
FOR: Ely Ratner Executive Vice President and Director of StudiesCenter for a New American Security (CNAS)
AGAINST: J. Stapleton Roy Former U.S. Ambassador to ChinaFounding Director Emeritus and Distinguished ScholarKissinger Institute on China and the United States, Wilson Center

10:25 a.m.    Coffee break
 
10:40 a.m.    Proposition: China is an illiberal state seeking to reshape the international system in its own image.
FOR: Pei Minxin Tom and Margot Pritzker ‘72 Professor of GovernmentGeorge R. Roberts FellowClaremont McKenna College
AGAINST:Wu Xinbo Professor and Dean, Institute of International StudiesDirector, Center for American StudiesFudan University

11:50 a.m.    Proposition: Made in China 2025 and China’s broader industrial program pose a threat to global innovation and the world economy.
FOR: Scott Kennedy Deputy Director, Freeman Chair in China StudiesCSIS
AGAINST:Mu Rongping  Director-General, Center for Innovation and DevelopmentChinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)

1:00 p.m.      Lunch
 
1:40 p.m.      Proposition: China is likely to be the leader of the coming artificial intelligence revolution.
FOR: Edward Tse Founder and CEO
Gao Feng Advisory Company
AGAINST: Samm Sacks
Cybersecurity Policy Fellow
New America

2:50 p.m.      Proposition: China has the capability to control the South China Sea in all scenarios short of war with the United States.
FOR: Bryan ClarkSenior Fellow
Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments
AGAINST: Peter Dutton Professor and Director, China Maritime Studies InstituteU.S. Naval War College

4:00 p.m.      Coffee break
 
4:15 p.m.      Afternoon Keynote (VTC)
Admiral Philip S. Davidson 25th Commander of United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM)

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