Director’s Column

While the Human Security Report from the Human Security Centre at Liu Institute indicates that there are fewer wars between states, since WWII, and fewer deaths, overall from violence, the persistent presence of genocide, the tremendous increase in refugees and internally displaced persons, the rise of civil conflicts along religious and ethnic lines, as well as the constancy of the Middle East conflict, with the increasing chaos in Iraq and Afghanistan, we here at ICAR feel the urgency of the need to develop theory, research, as well as advances in effective practice, that can do more than conflict management, but actually move the world toward conflict transformation and resolution.

While these international conflicts call our attention, as a research institution in the US, we cannot ignore the role of our own government in making wars, destabilizing civil societies, but also increasing the very processes of radicalization that the “war on terror” is supposed to control and defeat. No longer can we study the conflicts of “others” without also studying the role of the US policy institutions, the nature of the discourse in American culture about war and peace, as well as the diplomatic processes that could, we would argue, foster the quality of engagement that would reduce the threat of violence globally. To this end, ICAR has developed a focus on US policy that reflects our intention to engage the policy community on our doorstep, in Washington, D.C. Professor Richard Rubenstein and a group of students and alumni have formed a Policy Working Group at ICAR.

The group is developing a series of initiatives that are intended to expose legislators, diplomats, and government agencies of all kinds to a “conflict” lens. These initiatives, we hope, can provide new strategies for US foreign policy makers that deal with Iraq, Iran, Korea, the Middle East conflict, as well as other conflicts around the globe where “interest-based” approaches fail to generate solutions for identity-based conflicts. As ICAR has expertise in the analysis of asymmetric conflicts, as well as identity politics, we are excited to participate in policy conversations where our expertise may open new options and outcomes.

The connection between policy and conflict resolution calls for attention to how we re-build relationships, the method we use for conflict resolution; but it also calls attention to the role of values in conflict dynamics. We are very pleased to announce that the Sargent Shriver Peace Institute (SSPI) has located at ICAR, under the direction of Professor Jamie Price. SSPI is developing a research stream, focused on understanding and explaining “turning points” in peacemaking and peace building, via case studies. Dr. Price is also planning a seminar series on this topic as well. Given Sargent Shriver’s efforts to create peace, collaboration and social justice, we all look forward to participating in this exploration. A website debut of SSPI is underway. Stay tuned!

We also know that the global is local. Because George Mason University is one of the most diverse universities in the country, ICAR has been asked to create a “Dialogue and Difference Initiative.” And speaking of “different,” this initiative distinguishes itself from others around the country in its breadth, as its focus goes beyond attention to “prejudice reduction” and instead focuses on the meaning systems, the “collective axiology” (to use the term that is the focus of a new book, Identity, Morality and Threat, from ICAR professors Rothbart and Korostelina) that underlies the dynamics of groups in conflict. Monica Jacobsen, a doctoral student at ICAR, with ICAR professor, Dr. Susan Hirsch, have created this initiative. Monica is leading an ICAR APT team of graduate students who began with a needs assessment (which we know is in and of itself an intervention), and are now in the process of planning a set of dialogues on the campus.

But because ICAR is involved, they are also working with a faculty group who specialize in dialogue processes, in order to develop a mode of dialogue process that reflects ICAR’s theoretical commitments and the research on dialogue that has been conducted at ICAR. We are hoping to secure multi-year funding for this project, as we anticipate that it will be an excellent resource for George Mason University and beyond as it innovates new campus dialogue practices, as well as a wonderful educational experience for the ICAR graduates and undergraduates that are involved across the campus. In this way, the initiative is an incubator for learning about practice, a site for research on dialogue, and an opportunity to develop innovative theory.

This link between research, theory and practice, critical to reflective practice, is the core design feature of ICAR’s Point of View (POV) project. About 5 years ago, Ed and Helen Lynch gave ICAR 120 acres on the Potomac River for the development of a research and retreat center for conflict analysis and resolution. While Mr. and Mrs. Lynch have now passed away, their dream lives on, and I am delighted to report, is materializing. We have opened a master planning process---we will have the plan completed in June. We will then get architectural plans and begin site development. However, we will also need to raise the funds, approximately $10 million for the building, as well as another $15M for an endowment to support operations. While these are big numbers, we are enthusiastic as we know that there is no other site like this, close to DC, focused on conflict resolution.

Point of View will be the place where small groups involved in conflict can come together to work through differences, rebuild relationships, and reflect on their own needs and goals. Current research on conflict resolution will be the foundation of the practice, which will, in turn, generate new theories of conflict dynamics, which will roll back into the ICAR curriculum, as well as back into the conflict resolution practice at POV. No other conflict resolution program in the world will have this opportunity for integrating research with teaching, and practice with theory. If you are interested in more information, please do let me know. I would love to take you out to the POV site, and listen to your dreams about a place for conflict resolution.

Finally, I am happy to report that ICAR has successfully launched a suite of new graduate certificate programs, again reflecting our interest in impacting the professional communities in our area. These are targeted to specific communities including professionals in community planning, in reconstruction and stabilization, in religion and conflict, as well as those interested in advanced skill training. These “students” are all experienced professionals who seek to learn and incorporate a conflict resolution lens into their work. And of course, they bring interesting cases and important questions to the ICAR learning environment.

We are privileged to have them in our community. Each year we will welcome another cohort to these programs. Professionals wishing to join an ICAR graduate certificate program this fall are encouraged to apply by May 2007. We all owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Susan Allen Nan at ICAR who has shepherded the development of our certificate programs, and to each of the exceptional faculty who have shared their expertise in special intensive weekend courses for these programs.

Outreach. ICAR’s alumni, students, and faculty are in the world making a difference, all over the world. They are making a difference in how work gets done in the policy community, as well as on our own campus, in current conflicts around the globe, as well as the conflicts on our own doorstep that are organized around race and class. Reach out to us if you are interested in getting involved in any of our programs, attending events, or offering support to our undergraduate and graduate students, to the creation of Point of View, or our campus initiative on Dialogue and Difference. At the core of our outreach effort is an intention to connect, to be relevant, and to build relationships.

If you would like to get involved in supporting our efforts, please do reach out; call me at 703-993-4452 or email me at [email protected]. Otherwise, please do check our website for events, and I hope to see you there! icar.gmu.edu

Sara Cobb
Director of ICAR