Cultural Identity in a Mass Culture World
White Privilege and Racism: Needed Education for White Peace and Justice Studies Educators
lisa Albrecht (School of Social Work, University of Minnesota)
What does it mean for white people, especially Peace and Justice Studies educators, to say that we are committed to working for racial justice? In my book-in-progress, Beacons in the Storm: White Educator Activists Working for Racial Justice, I interview both educator activists and grassroots organizers and activists. To me, education offers us the greatest possibility to work toward social justice in this country. When I say “education,” I am not simply referring to public and private learned institutions. I think of “popular education” as well, since learning takes many forms in various communities. Popular education has many definitions; it is education for liberation, education for social change, education that leads to action. It is Paulo Freire’s education for critical consciousness (Freire, 1970/1995). Can we make real political change without revolution and violence? Is reform enough? Is there a nexus of change that exists between reform and revolution? I continually ask these questions of myself, my colleagues, my loved ones and my students. I believe that we can create a just world through education for liberation. To do this, I also believe that educators (in the system) must be activists, especially social work educators. What is activism? And who are activists? How is activism different than organizing? There’s no one definition for these terms. Are you an activist if you send an e-mail criticizing a policy to your legislator or dean? Does going to an antiwar demonstration or wearing a political button in your classroom make you an activist? What about speaking up at a department or community meeting about injustice? Is putting your life or job on the line what activism really is? Do you call yourself an activist if you do any of these things? If you call yourself an organizer, do you live your life building a base of grassroots people in your community? Do you see your work as movement building? And lastly, what role do white organizers and activists play in our work to dismantle white supremacy? I believe these are questions that must be addressed in social work education, particularly in community practice education. My collection of interviews is based on the premise that white educator activists who work for racial justice have many stories to tell about how we have been successful and how we have struggled to fight racism. The historical and contemporary practices of white supremacy in the U.S. have done tremendous damage to all peoples of color. I also believe that white supremacy has denied to white people our full humanity. Beacons in the Storm takes at its starting point that white people need to learn about our own histories as educator activists. Mainstream history has taught us the history of being dominators. We have been denied the rich history of white antiracist activism, and the breadth of white people who have worked for racial justice. Today, too many white people still look to people of color for support and education when it comes to working for racial justice. This book counters that approach. I believe that it is crucial we – white people – must work with each other. We need to be humble, demonstrate love, be constructively critical and collaborate together to challenge white supremacy. Simultaneously, we need to look for multiple ways to work with and be allies to people of color. This is essential work for anyone who practices \"peace education.\"
Shahla Aliguliyeva (Center for National and International Studies)
Celia emailed for more info but never heard back.
The Potential for Traditional and Modern Technologies to Teach Peace Abilities to Children
Bonnie Ballif-Spanvill (Brigham Young University) and Heather Farrell (Brigham Young University)
The Potential for Traditional and Modern Technologies to Teach Peace Abilities to Children Bonnie Ballif-Spanvill and Heather Farrell Women’s Research Institute Brigham Young University Worldwide data (Ballif-Spanvill & Farrell, 2007a) shows that individuals are personally involved in spreading violence in unprecedented ways. Not only do states have to deal with individual suicide terrorists, interpersonal violence dominates other types of violence and is escalating. More than ever individuals are experiencing domestic physical and sexual assaults, verbal and emotional violence, and suicide on a daily basis. Attempting to curtail violence is almost impossible among adults, but children can learn to develop the skills they need to get along with others (Clayton, Ballif-Spanvill, & Hunsaker, 2001). Usually, violent behavior is suppressed by increasing punishments, it is much more difficult to teach children to express compassion, be able to forgive, and to develop abilities required to maintain peaceful relationships (Ballif-Spanvill, Clayton, & Nichols, 2006). After reviewing international peace-education programs for children in over 400 organizations around the world (Ballif-Spanvill & Farrell, 2007a), we were disappointed to find that most did not focus on developing individual peace abilities, and that hardly any of the programs had been empirically evaluated. Evidence is urgently needed to identify the most effective approaches and promote their use among educators. While it has not yet been used to develop children’s abilities to be peaceful, Bandura’s (2004) use of modeling and modern technology has been highly effective in changing other social behavior. He found that storytelling is a valuable way of bringing about social and personal change. Given his empirical success, we propose that traditional folk tales illustrating peaceful abilities combined with television and computer technologies have great potential to help children acquire abilities to live peacefully. The challenge is to harness the potential of ancient cultural traditions and modern technologies to reach a wide audience in order to change individual hearts, replacing tendencies toward violence with expressions of peace, one to another. Ballif-Spanvill, B., Clayton, C. J., & Nichols, R.(April, 2006). The missing step in developing children’s abilities to live peacefully with others. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, California. Ballif-Spanvill, B. & Farrell, H. L. (2007a) Personalizing peace education globally. Manuscript in final preparation. Ballif-Spanvill, B. & Farrell, H. L. (February,2007b). The personalization of peace education. Paper presented at the Comparative and International Education Society, Baltimore, Maryland. Bandura, A. (2004). Going global with social cognitive theory :From prospect to paydirt.Paper presented at the American Psychological Association, Honolulu, Hawaii. Clayton, C. J., Ballif-Spanvill, B. & Hunsaker, M. D. (2001). Preventing violence and teaching peace: A review of promising and effective antiviolence, conflict- resolution, and peace programs for elementary school children. Journal of Applied and Preventive Psychology, 10, 1-33.
Anita Bright (George Mason University)
Celia emailed for more info but never heard back.
Greed or Grievance: What Explains the War in Mindanao, Philippines?
Michael Canares (Holy Name University-Center for Local Governance)
The decades of fighting between Muslim separatist groups and the Philippine government in Mindanao, the second largest island in the southern part of the country has been repetitively explained as an ethnic conflict that dates back to the American and Spanish periods more than 400 years ago. The rise of various literatures on contemporary conflicts, however, questions this claim. Paul Collier (2003) of the World Bank for example, argues that the most critical way to understand war is to look at the recent past rather than its distant history, more particularly its economic condition. Thandika Mkandawire (2000), drawing conclusion from the African conflicts, argues that war can not just be understood by cultural tradition and rational calculus. In a related vein, Campbell (1998) posits that the “ethnic hatreds” school often fails to recognize that ethnicity and its importance is shaped by the conflict than it shaping the latter. More importantly, David Keen (2000) argues that there is an incentive (more particularly economic) for participants in a war or conflict to prolong, rather than end it. How do these analytical frames apply to the never-ending conflict and never-ending peace process in the war in Mindanao? Is it grievance of the Muslim South the determining factor in understanding the continued but intermittent violence? Or is it the force of economic agendas that made the conflict subsist despite attempts to broker peace? This paper argues that though historical accounts may explain that grievance has started the war in the South, it is greed that sustains it to this day. Keen writes that those who wish to facilitate peace must understand the nature of war. It is important that those who work for peace in Mindanao take this alternative explanation into account, if it seeks to secure a more sustainable peace in the future.
Why Is Development Ignored? Bringing Development (Aid) into International Relations Theory via the English School
Stefan Cibian (Central European University)
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) concentrates the highest number of failed states and of aid-dependent states in the world in spite of the efforts of the international community to create functional states in the region. Statehood is central for understanding the integration of the non-Western areas into what today has become a global international society (IS) (Bull 1993[1986], Buzan 2004). The majority of the states comprised in the international society are in fact developing countries, fact which makes the developed states—developing states relationship a fundamental relation of the current international order. English School theory has paid significant attention to colonial relations, however it stops short of assigning meaning to the developed-developing dynamics on IR theory grounds. This paper takes Buzan’s (2004) account of the English School a step further by integrating development (aid) into IR theory. The paper argues that ‘development’ is a primary institution of the current international society and that through aid practices the nature of the ‘international’ has been diffused all the way to the very ‘local’. The paper addresses the link between the different but to some extent similar processes of expansion of international society (in non-Western areas) and that of development, and as such offers a meaningful reading of development (aid) practices for International Relations.
David Cortright (Fourth Freedom Foundation)
was on IVG
Patrick Coy (Kent State University)
see Lynne Woerhle in IVC woehrlel@mtmary.edu record 138
Peace professionals as public scholars
Joshua Eddings (Oregon Peace Institute) and Tom Hastings (Portland State University)
This panel will consist of peace professionals who have given thought and action to promoting peace via media. They are writers, filmmakers and web-oriented experts who, together, offer a rounded and probing evaluation of our potential as peace professionals to influence our national conversation about these life-and-death matters.
Electoral Endorsement of Terrorism in Democracies: Refuting Theories of Relative Deprivation
Mary Beth Ehrhardt (Princeton University)
This paper examines the degree to which electoral endorsement of ethno-nationalist terrorist affiliated political parties arises out of perceived relative deprivation or economic grievances in established democracies. While there is debate and inconclusive evidence in the literature concerning the relationship between economic hardship and terrorist group membership, I argue that widespread support for an ethno-nationalist terrorist affiliated party at the ballot box is not driven by economic conditions. Since the focus is individual rather than cross-national variation in voting behavior, I investigate this claim within Northern Ireland for the period 1969-2005. I draw on archival research, individual level survey data, and a newly compiled dataset combining sub-national socio-demographic information, data on the intensity and type of violence as a result of the conflict, and electoral results at the district level. The empirical evidence reveals that although individuals who vote for an ethno-nationalist terrorist affiliated party are more likely to face economic adversity, they are less likely to cite economic concerns as a primary election issue or reason for vote choice. There are also districts at the sub-national level where prospective voters face high levels of deprivation and do not vote for the terrorist affiliated political party. Furthermore, at the aggregate level economic and political grievances have always existed in Northern Ireland, it wasn’t until non-violent mobilization of those grievances was met with a heavy hand that support for oppositional terrorism began to escalate. Instead I find that the majority of citizens who vote for terrorist affiliated political parties report higher levels of insecurity, exposure to violence, and a lower levels of trust in the state and/or security forces. These findings are part of a larger project which demonstrates how local demographics shape levels of inter-communal insecurity and incentives for terrorist group infiltration of society. This is turn influence levels of state and security force legitimacy among the local population which reduce the costs of endorsing ethno-nationalist terrorism at the ballot box. Electoral support for terrorist affiliated parties is important for it allows parties who are not fully committed to the democratic process to enter and utilize the system. Such parties may not play by the rules of the game should democratic outcomes diverge from their political goals. By fully understanding the factors which motivate individuals to vote for such parties, governments can better target policy to address the problem. The conclusion here is that purely economically motivated policy may not reduce electoral support for a terrorist affiliated political party if indiscriminate counter-terror policy diminishes the perceived legitimacy and effectiveness of the government and security forces.
BRIDGING CULTURES THROUGH THE INTEGRAL PROCESS
Awolayeofori Harry (THE HAVIDS Centre for Environment & Development)
Oil/Gas exploration& exploitation affects disparate cultures-indigenes,peoples & businesses across the atlatic(s) and levels of government and agencies of governments etc.This being a complexity of the volatility(kidnaps,vandalism and other violent actions) in Nigeria\'s Niger Delta where i reside,we have adopted the integral process in our work and it could be replicated anywhere in the world to institutionalise systemic social change. The integral process utilises user friendly,step by step approach to disciplined thinking and decision making that meet the demands of multilayered complex issues like cultural identity in a mass culture. This project bridges the disparate cultures through four unique methods: a)thorough lay person public issues analysis b) a systenic method for the development of greater complexity reasonlng about issues by people c)a comprehensive theory and practice concerning individual and group deliberations and interests and d)a methodical approach to developing and deciding about multilateral action-systems that can address specific complex questions. This proposal seeks to address all the issues of identity & gender politics,ethnicity,nationalism,contact and integration amongst and between cultures and intersections of these issues in modern world. The format of this proposal shall be in paper and poster session presentations.
Survey of Houston High School Students on the 2006 Immigrant Rights Movement
Sean Herlihy (Houston Community College)
We will make a powerpoint presentation. There will be photos and charts showing what leads students to protest, and what impact the protest experience had on them. If we receive funding I would like for at least one of the African American and Latino high school students who helped design and carry out the survey to help make the presentation. Abstract: Survey of Houston High School Students on the 2006 Immigrant Rights Movement. Dr. Sean Herlihy, with Cindy Mendoza, Brianda Barrera, Priscilla Ramirez, Cynthia Vasquez, Sherry Tamez, Tiffany White, Steven Garza, Nelson Arriaga and Dr. Karen Callaghan. My students in Alta Academy, a segregated, mostly Latino, inner-city, Houston high school, helped me survey high school students on participation in the immigrant rights movement. In May we interviewed 88 of the 211 Alta Academy students who were at least 18 years old. We will analyze the survey results at the conference. Initial findings are that protesters were more likely to become interested and engaged in politics than non-protesters in the past year. The study has four objectives. I. It tests five theories on collective action: A. Relative Deprivation Theories, argue that US blacks rebelled in the 1960s because they received smaller pieces of the economic pie than whites. B. Resource mobilization theory says people protest when resources are in place - organizations, leaders, associations, media, and funding. C. Piven and Cloward argue that established organizations become bureaucratized and actually inhibit collective action. D. Latent effects or “sleeper” models predict parents’ values predispose young activists to protest. E. Opportunity structure models say people protest when governmental change, weakened security mechanisms, or greater numbers allow them to. II. The study notes specific stimulants to this particular protest movement: 1. Radio announcers, 2. Text messaging and Myspace, 3. President Bush provoking protests with his naturalization/border security plan. III. The study assesses the protests’ impact on subsequent political attitudes and participation. Did the protests: Teach students about democracy? Teach organizational skills? Make students more interested in politics? Induce students to participate more in politics? IV. The study assesses whether the protests could lead African Americans and Latinos to greater political cooperation on civil rights issues.
Under One Roof: The Middle East Coexistence House as a Model for Conflict Resolution
Danielle Josephs (Rutgers University)
The purpose of this study is to analyze social movements as a popular avenue for formal and informal political mobilization and to demonstrate the efficacy of the Middle East Coexistence House as a model for conflict resolution. The first section of the study contains an analysis of contemporary social movement literature, including a description of the three analytic foci on which scholars agree contribute to the development of a social movement: political opportunities, mobilizing structures, and framing. The first chapter also discusses Jan Barry’s toolkit for citizen activists as outlined in A Citizen’s Guide to Grassroots Campaigns, and its relevance to one of New Jersey’s most successful citizen action campaigns—the nuclear freeze movement of the 1980s and 1990s. The theories outlined in the literature review are used to determine the viability of the Middle East Coexistence House as a model for conflict resolution. I established the Middle East Coexistence House in my senior year at Douglass College of Rutgers University. The goals of the House are two-fold: to bridge the gap between Israeli/Jewish and Arab/Muslim/Christian students at Rutgers through dialogue and to encourage women’s involvement in international conflict resolution and negotiation. The House consists of twelve residents: five Jews, four Muslims, one Irish Catholic, one Hindu, and an Agnostic. All residents served as the subjects for the original research conducted in this study. Participants were subject to one forty-five minute interview and two written surveys. The in-person interview enabled me to glean information about residents’ childhoods, exposure to different faiths growing up, and their motivation behind joining the Middle East Coexistence House. The surveys allowed me to measure the fluctuation in residents’ opinions about critical issues like gender equality, women’s leadership in the Middle East, and their attitudes towards the House and each other throughout their year-long experience in the House. After conducting a statistical analysis of the both surveys, I have concluded that the Middle East Coexistence House is an effective model for conflict resolution. This is supported by a .19 increase in the mean of residents’ responses from the first survey to the second on the question “I believe in this project.” I also found that residents have moved towards the center regarding their views of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Their support for women leaders in the Middle East has remained high throughout the project. The Middle East Coexistence House, an effective model for resolving conflict among college students, has since been institutionalized at Douglass College and will be replicated next year on several American and international college campuses including the University of Michigan and the International Christian University in Tokyo, Japan.
Gregory Maney (Hofstra University)
coauthor with Woehrle woehrlel@mtmary.edu 138
Sue McGregor (MSVU Faculty of Education)
Legacies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: The Atomic Bomb and Narratives of National Identity
Andrew Moss (Cal Poly Pomona)
In what ways have the narratives of the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki become interwoven into complex discourses about national identity and purpose in both the U.S. and Japan? How have these narratives evolved in text and image over two generations? What pedagogies can help elucidate these issues to help shed light on current controversies over nuclear weapons and the possibilities of nuclear disarmament? This presentation examines these questions by looking at assignments and texts from a course on War and Peace in Literature (some of the selected texts include Kenzaburo Oe\'s Crazy Iris, John Hersey\'s Hiroshima, and materials related to the controversy in the mid-1990\'s over the cancellation of the original Enola Gay exhibit at the National Air and Space Museum). Issues of how to foster imaginative and critical responses to these materials will be explored in the presentation, which will point to a vast discursive spectrum ranging from Harry S. Truman\'s announcement that the bombing was the \"greatest achievement of organized science in history\" (statement, Aug. 6, 1945) to Kenzaburo Oe\'s hope that survivor narratives will help make \"the original A-bomb experiences a part of the shared experiences of peoples throughout the world\" (Introduction to The Crazy Iris). NOTE: Please note that this paper proposal is being submitted with the hope that it will be reviewed together with a proposal by Elaine Ognibene. We wish to present our two papers on the same panel, under the session heading, \"Cultural Identity, Literary Study, and Pedagogies of Peace: Questions, Approaches, and Possibilities.\"
Education for a Peaceful Change in Burma
Taylor O'Connor (independent)
Abstract not available.
Johnny Mad Dog and Beasts of No Nation: Child Soldiers in Search of Cultural Identity
Elaine Ognibene (Siena College)
Johnny Mad Dog and Beasts of No Nation: Child Soldiers in Search of Cultural Identity The movie "Blood Diamond" and the autobiography a long way gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier (Sierra Leone), by Ishmael Beah, both provide images of African civil wars, murders in broad daylight, the recruitment of child soldiers, the loss of decision making and the consequences of no compassion. However, both film and essay reveal the "unmaking" of a child soldier, as well: the first occurs because of a loving father, the second because of caring UNICEF field workers. Two novels, Emmanuel Dongala's Johnny Mad Dog (Congo) and Uzodinma Iweala's Beasts of No Nation (unnamed West African nation), reject such salvation. They do, however, echo the images revealed above that emerge in similar worlds: harrowing worlds without family or food where child conscripts become addicted and turn into killing machings without family, culture or conscience. In these novels, boys are transformed from children to desperate creatures trying to survive chaotic and brutal experiences. Deprived of parents, home, culture and friends; experiencing abuse, fighting, killing and taking drugs, the boys lose sense of who they are. Taken as slaves and trained as soldiers, children struggle to maintain a life despite random acts of violence. First person narrators in both novels present the sounds of suffering as they speak often difficult-to- understand languages. In Beasts, the single narrative voice is spit between an unbearable present and a remembered past. The child soldiers in both novels search for a self-identity and group identity that could situate them in a safe space, even though it might be momentary. Contradictions abound, salvation comes at a cost, moments of grace are infrequent and the collateral damage is immense. In this essay, I will examine how authors construct fictions out of facts, use narrative voices to reveal conditions that exist because of ethnic hatred, and show how the making of child soldiers allows peace only in the past tense. (I will present this paper on a panel with Andrew Moss. He is sending title for panel.)
Mediation in Kashmir
Gazala Paul (Samerth Trust)
Role of International Mediation in peacebuilding work in Kashmir International Mediation Kashmir: Brief History of Intractable Conflict: In 1947 the British withdrew from India leaving behind a partitioned subcontinent. Two independent states, India and Pakistan, had come into being. Jammu and Kashmir was at that time one of approximately 562 so-called \"princely\" states that had existed in India under the British. It is important to remember that the British, even at the height of their imperial power, directly administered only about half the subcontinent. The other half consisted of these 500-plus princely states of varying sizes, which were nominally under various tinpot Maharajas. Jammu and Kashmir was one of the largest of this category of princely states, which were nominally self-governing but ultimately under British control, like the rest of the subcontinent. At that time, the princely states had three choices on paper: they could either accede to India; they could accede to Pakistan; or they could opt to be independent units. This was on paper; in practice there were two choices: you go with India or with Pakistan. What would Jammu and Kashmir do (Ganguly:2002) ? What actually transpired was a complicated sequence of events, which led to this tinpot despot of Jammu and Kashmir declaring allegiance to India and formally acceding his domain legally to the Indian union. Since then the territory has been the focus of an intense territorial dispute between India and Pakistan. That is the genesis and the crux of the Kashmir dispute; both sides had a claim to this princely state; both sides ended up with effective control over one part of the former princely state but not the whole of it. Both sides have persisted in maintaining control over its own portion and persisted in dubbing the other part as illegally occupied territory. Complexities in Kashmir (ethnic, geographic, linguistic and any others). Without entering a labyrinth of complexity, let me point out the differences that exist between the different regions of Indian Jammu and Kashmir, which is the site of the most intense conflict, including protracted violence over the last 12 or 13 years. Indian Jammu and Kashmir consists of three regions. There is one very sparsely populated high-altitude region called Ladakh. The other two regions are more populated and constitute the crux of the present conflict. One is the Kashmir valley, which is overwhelmingly Muslim and overwhelmingly Kashmiri speaking. Then there is another region called Jammu which is much more mixed. There are a variety of confessional, ethnic, caste, linguistic and other groups in Jammu. So, when Pakistani or American officials or indeed anyone else talk about the \"Kashmiri people\" they are really obscuring and perhaps deliberately ignoring a lot of differentiation and complexity that exist in the society, that this is a divided society with three different allegiances: one orientation towards India, one orientation towards Pakistan and a third orientation towards the idea of an independent Kashmiri state. And that is the crux of the problem. Each of these positions makes a very maximalist claim, but at the same time each of these positions is unable to command the loyalty of more than a segment of the population in Jammu and Kashmir. Chief Obstacles:The bottom line however is that the positions of India and Pakistan and of the various factions within Jammu and Kashmir remain completely divergent and very sharply polarized, so any mutually agreed political solution or final settlement is a long shot at best. It is going to take years of step-by-step normalization and then, if it ever does get to those level, years of difficult bargaining and negotiations to really deliver something resembling a solution to this very complicated problem. But what is most important at this stage is that the primary parties to the conflict, the governments of India and Pakistan, and important armed groups like the HM, commit themselves to a cessation of armed hostilities and to a process of dialogue in principle. Once that commitment has been made it becomes easier to move forward. Composite Dialogue:On June 2004 a Composite dialogue between the erstwhile estranged nay hostile neighbors has been restarted in an atmosphere of bonhomie after short hiccups owing to the change of government in India. Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri and External Affairs Minister of India Kanwar Natwar Singh met before and after the secretaries’ talks to take the process forward and have reportedly developed an air of camaraderie, which augurs well for the peace talks. Although the two days of talks between the two foreign secretaries concluded on June 28, 2004 with no progress on their dispute over Kashmir, yet there was promise in store with the announcement of more measures meant to build confidence between the nuclear-armed neighbors. Though there has been halting progress on the agenda of the composite dialogue there has been relaxation of tensions. The debate between the two countries is that for India, Kashmir is not the core issue and actually, Kashmir is only one of eight issues that form the composite dialogue. High (or Insurmountable) Barriers to Entry. Third parties, including the UN, which seek a peaceful resolution to a dispute, may not be able to gain entry when faced with “denial” by a relatively powerful state, as illustrated by the Indo-Pakistani conflict over Jammu-Kashmir. The division of Kashmir into Indian and Pakistan-held sectors has witnessed repeated outbreaks of violent armed conflict between the two countries, the most serious of which occurred in 1965 and again in 1971 following India’s intervention in East Pakistan and the subsequent creation of the independent state of Bangladesh. The only instance of outside mediation in the conflict took place in 1966 when the Soviet Union tried unsuccessfully to broker a settlement between the two countries for largely self-interested reasons. Since that ill-fated attempt, India has actively resisted any kind of external mediated intervention, fearing that any sort of third party intervention would lend legitimacy to Pakistani claims to Kashmir. The United States’ role and influence on the India-Pakistan conflict: India and Pakistan have long held contradictory views on the involvement of external non-regional powers—primarily the United States—in their conflict. Whereas Delhi has opposed the intervention of ‘third parties’ in what it sees as a ‘bilateral’ dispute over Kashmir—due primarily to an uncertain outcome—Islamabad has actively encouraged international mediation to balance its asymmetrical relationship with India. The United States has also had an ambivalent attitude in an active and sustained role in South Asia (Hagerty:2005). Recent American engagement with India and Pakistan: In the post-11 September security environment, American relations with Delhi and Islamabad have strengthened considerably, placing it in a unique position of trust by two traditionally antagonistic nuclear-armed states. But the content of the two sets of ‘dehyphenated’ diplomatic relationships—stressing the absence of any inter-relationship—are quite different and complex. Current Indo-American ties are fairly broad-based and comprehensive, with the prospect of developing into a strategic relationship in the medium term. If the United States ‘tilted’ towards Islamabad in the 1971 India-Pakistan war, it clearly ‘tilted’ towards Delhi in the 1999 Kargil conflict. A relatively high level of joint military exercises, growing naval cooperation, and high-level political and trade related relations continue to take place between Delhi and Washington. This has not been adversely affected by Delhi’s refusal in mid-July 2003 to send troops to Iraq—at the behest of the United States—in the absence of a UN mandate or UN forces command. In January 2004, a joint agreement on cooperation in high technology fields, civilian nuclear and space program, and discussions on missile defence—provided the framework for significantly enhanced strategic relations. While this may appear related to an American requirement to counter China in the medium term, it is extremely unlikely that Delhi will acquiesce to such a role for some very good reasons—the most important being that both countries share a long land border. Identifying mediator: There have been suggestions that Nelson Mandela be called upon to mediate in this conflict. I am not sure that Nelson Mandela is ready, willing and able to take on such an onerous burden at this stage of his life. More seriously, India is in particular very opposed to third party mediation. There are a number of reasons for the Indian stand but it has its origins in the colonial experience and the feeling that powerful western countries come and start throwing their weight about, advising people how to behave, how to conduct internal affairs and how to resolve conflicts. That sets off a visceral reaction among many Indians. Indeed, for most of the cold war, India was more aligned with the former Soviet bloc than with the US bloc. Pakistan, on the other hand, was more the US ally in the south Asian region. So there is a strong residual suspicion of US motives in particular that is very widespread in Indian elite thinking. For these reasons, India is opposed to any third-party mediation, especially by a powerful western country, which could well have its own interests and its own agenda in the conflict. In this case the mediator available should be acceptable to all sides (Susskind and Babbit) and for many good reasons Nelson Mandela would be a good choice for all the three players in this conflict. That said, the US is still the only country in the world that has the clout and the leverage necessary to make some sort of positive difference. What I suggest is something that is not styled as mediation, but a more discreet, low-key facilitation which could be much more effective potentially than self-styled, self-conscious direct intervention or mediation. I think the US has been trying to play such a facilitating role in a low-key, discreet fashion. That does seem to be the way to go. It is an approach that could yield some dividends. Inclusivity: Another important point to keep in mind, while resolving the conflict, is that any process of dialogue must be as inclusive and as broadly based as possible. Prospects for the future: In view of the nature and extent of diplomatic relations with both Delhi and Islamabad, there are attempts to encourage a sustained American foreign policy engagement in the region. Instead of current American foreign policy fixation on what is essentially ‘crisis management’, a more activist role in conflict resolution in South Asia is advocated. In October 2003, for example, an American Independent Task Force on India and South Asia—co-sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations and the Asia Society—urged Congress and the Bush Administration to make South Asia a high foreign policy priority. It warned that if this did not take place, the United States could face crises in the region that would pose major threats to American national security. Although some members of the Task Force felt that American foreign policy did not go far enough in view of the dangers of another India-Pakistan conflict—and therefore urged a more active stance, including putting forward American ideas about a Kashmir settlement—this was not its formal conclusion. Instead, it felt that there should be more forward-leaning and sustained United States engagement. There should be a long-term American diplomatic effort to assist—not to mediate or arbitrate—India and Pakistan’s intermittent efforts to bridge their differences. Despite highly successful American facilitation between India and Pakistan in the recent past—-formally ending the Kargil conflict, easing tensions during the border confrontation, and helping initiate an official-level dialogue between the two countries—Delhi remains disinclined to accept an American mandated resolution of the Kashmir dispute. It continues to feel quite strongly that this remains a bilateral issue, as stated in the Simla declaration of 2 July 1972. This stated that both countries agreed to ‘settle their differences by peaceful means through bilateral negotiations or by any other peaceful means mutually agreed upon between them’. Emphasis on the implementation of the Simla Agreement—in letter and spirit—was reiterated in the Lahore Declaration of 21 February 1999.
The Bubbles ot the Boiling Pot? Living better in a better world
Andrea Pilon (University of São Paulo)
PROBLEMS: Quality of life, natural and man-made environments, physical, social and mental well-being are currently undermined by all sorts of hazards and injuries; political, economical, social and cultural disarray normalise atrocious behaviours and violence throughout the world, in a context of dehumanisation, depersonalisation and reification. Democracy, ethics, justice, social equity, education, culture, health and natural and man-made environments are impaired, human values that took centuries to develop are annihilated, reality is fragmented by public policies, academic formats, mass-media headlines, market-place’s interests and common sense prejudices. CONCEPTUAL APPROACH: Instead of dealing with the “bubbles” of the surface (consequences, taken for granted problems) and misrepresent or ignore what is inside the “boiling pot\" (the real problems), a multidimensional theoretical and practical ecosystemic approach and planning model consider the dynamic and complex configurations intertwining, as donors and recipients, four dimensions or components of being-in-the-world: intimate (subject’s cognitive and affective processes), interactive (groups’ mutual support and values), social (political, economical and cultural systems) and biophysical (biological endowment, natural and man-made environments). METHODOLOGY: Instead of “repairing” situations to make them “straight\", problems of difficult settlement or solution in the world are assessed in different contexts and settings (micro, meso and macro) as expressions of the interplay of dynamic configurations encompassing the different dimensions of being-in-the-world, as they induce the events (deficits and assets), cope with consequences (desired or undesired) and contribute for change (diagnosis and prognosis). The methodology is participatory, experiential and reflexive; heuristic-hermeneutic processes in the socio-cultural learning niches unveil connections and ruptures between the dimensions, working with cultural and epistemic paradigms and subject-object relationships, as people reflect on their own realities, engage in new experiences and explore new ways to live in the world, promoting the singularity of each dimension and the balance between them. Instead of an exploratory forecasting (projecting into the future the trends of today), a normative forecasting is posited (previous definition of desirable goals and probing new paths to reach them). CONCLUSIONS: The proposal is a creative model for thought and practice, providing many opportunities for holistic projects integrating different scientific domains and extensive applications in culture, education, environment, health and overall quality of life. Development projects articulate communication, culture, education, citizenship, environment, health and quality of life as by-products of an ecosystemic model of culture (opposite to the current non-ecosystemic model), considering acceptance, consistency, effectiveness, evidence and endurance. Individuals, groups, society, natural and man-made environments are developed simultaneously and enhanced by the integration and development of the four dimensions of being-in-the-world; new paradigms of growth, power, wealth, work and freedom are associated with economic, social, political, cultural and educational changes. Research projects, teaching programmes and overall public policies benefit from an ecosystemic approach and a planning model designed to enhance the singularity of (own characteristics) and the dynamic equilibrium (reciprocity) between all the dimensions of being-in-the-world. The development of the singularity of each dimension benefit from their mutual support and, in turn, contribute for the development of the ensemble. Research Findings: • How to deal with the enclosure of the cultural and environmental commons by the current fragmented public policies and reduced conceptual models, in view of an integrated multidisciplinary ecosystemic approach. • How to work with the dynamic configurations intertwining the four dimensions of being-in-the-world and develop their singularity and reciprocity, enhancing the connections and sealing the ruptures between them. • How to develop ethics, education, culture, natural and man-made environments, physical, social and mental well-being, as by-products of an ecosystemic model of culture, in view of acceptance, consistency, effectiveness, evidence and endurance. Policy Lessons: • Ethics, education, culture, human rights, public policies, physical, social and mental well-being, citizenship, natural and man-made environments are strongly affected by the different models of culture (ecosystemic or non-ecosystemic). • Planning, development and evaluation of public policies, research and teaching programmes and community building projects should encompass the four dimensions of being-in-the-world. • The circumstances that affect individuals, groups, society, natural and man-made environments depend on each other and must be supported simultaneously in view of their singularities and mutual balance; • New paradigms of growth, power, wealth, work and freedom should be developed to face the current economic, social, political, cultural, educational and environmental turmoil.
An Analysis of Growth Patterns and Expected Changes in Graduate Conflict Resolution Programs
Brian Polkinghorn (Salisbury University)
Co-authored with Haleigh LaChance (Salisbury University) and Robert LaChance (Salisbury University).
WordsAhead for K-12 Educators
Judy Ramirez (Vibrant Learning Affiliates)
I would invite 4 or 5 peace educators to participate in a panel presentation with me. I would seek representatives from preschool, elementary, middle, high school, and adult education to demonstrate the value of READING READINESS. Each educator would be asked to prepare and present a favorite sampling of literature (short paragraph or long sentence) and tell how it had been used to inspire meaningful, memorable discussion. Following each teacher's turn, I would demonstrate how to use their exact vocabulary to teach explicit pronunciation and spelling, ahead of time. I want to show educators how English fluency and literacy may benefit their learners, and add joy to their own professional efforts.
Harnessing the Power of New Media for Social Change
Valerie Schrock (Citizens for Global Solutions)
How can we, as Teachers, Professors, Students, activists, and organizers for peaceful social change increase our impact and broaden our reach through effective use of new media? As new technologies and powerful advocacy tools come to the fore, how do we integrate and coordinate their use across cultural divides? Advocacy organizations are beginning to understand well the cultural differences in world view and attitude between various generations of peace-builders. The stats are there. There are simply fewer Generation X & Y members entering the volunteer “pipeline” of social change through traditional models of grassroots organizing. So what are the new models? Valerie Schrock, Creative Director at Citizens for Global Solutions, will talk about harnessing the power of new media to educate and activate young people to engage in positive social change. She will discuss some of the most innovative uses of digital games, videos, and Flash animation out there for raising funds, engaging new activists, and inspiring future leaders. She will discuss the possibilities and pitfalls of using new media for advocacy, including some of her own lessons learned over the past few years. The presentation will also showcase some great examples of new media campaigns and techniques for constituency building. (Latecomers to online multi-media: be not afraid! You will be demystified!)
Social Harmony as Integration among and between Cultures
Leo Semashko (Public Institute of Strategic Sphere (Tetrasociological) Studies)
Leo M. Semashko Ph.D., A/Professor, ISA member, Director, Public Institute of Strategic Sphere (Tetrasociological) Studies, 7-4-42 Ho-Shi-Min Street, St. Petersburg, 194356, Russia. Tel: +7 (812) 513-38-63 E-mail: leo44442006@yandex.ru Website: www.peacefromharmony.org May 29, 2007 Social Harmony as Integration among and between Cultures For “Cultural Identity in a Mass Culture World” Hosted by Elizabethtown College, BCA and the Baker Institute of Juniata College on the campus of Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, PA September 27-30, 2007 Abstract Paper presentation and panel discussion Social harmony, as unity and consent of human diversity, is a conscious aspiration to attain balance at the most fundamental, structural level of the spheres of society. Personal harmony, as unity and consent of spheres of individuals, is the conscious aspiration to balance these spheres. The source and key attribute of harmony in both cases is a reasonable measure, as the necessary limitation and balance of spheres of society and the individual. The value of harmony was proclaimed in the most ancient civilizations of Egypt, India, Mexico, Africa, China, Greece, and many others. Harmony is an entirely human concept, for which there is evidence in every century of human history. Harmony is accepted by all cultures, but in every one it is expressed distinctly. For example, in Russian Orthodox culture, the harmony equivalent is “sobornost” (this word has no English translation, but its approximate meaning is “consent of diversity in community”). Harmony is multicultural and polymorphic. Harmony is acceptable for all peoples, groups, cultures, and religions. In all religions, God creates the world from chaos, and makes it harmonious. Global information civilization, necessarily, advances social and personal harmony as priorities, as a sole way to survive and further develop humanity in an information age. The continued existence of humanity at this stage can only be harmonious. Harmony gives to globalization the vectors of justice and sustainable development. Social harmony is a basis and way for integration among and between cultures. It allows to create a strategies of harmonization (harmonious integration) cultures at the levels of the different countries, local civilizations and global level. The cultural strategies of harmonization are necessary to overcome the extremes of culture and non-culture as well as to abate cultural, linguistic, and religious enmity, by introducing universal values of harmony. These ideas are submitted in more details in my Magna Carta of Harmony (2007) with 42 co-authors in http://peacefromharmony.org/?cat=en_c&key=3.
U.S. Deparment of Peace and Nonviolence Campaign
Julia Simon-Mishel (The Peace Alliance)
Uncovering One's Essential Being Through the Radical Education of Kant's Essay Toward Perpetual Peace
Dale Snauwaert (Center for Nonviolence and Democratic Education) and Tom Hastings (Portland State University)
was VC
Meditation and Mindfulness as Skill Preparation for Negotiation and Conflict Prevention
John Tigue (Baton Rouge Community College)
Participants in this interactive workshop will learn through dialogue and practice how meditation contributes to the skills needed in negotiation and conflict prevention. Meditation topics include: drunken monkey mind, non-reactive mind, and receptive mind. Meditation practice includes concentration (samadhi), cooling the mind (samatha), and mindfulness (vipassana). Basic negotiation theory and conflict prevention/resolution strategies will be addressed, and may include a role playing exercise. Handouts are provided.
Jennifer Turpin (University of San Francisco)
was in session IE
Learning and the World We Want: The Global Arts Project as a Tool for Promoting Peace and Global Citizenship
Roselynn Verwoord (University of Victoria)
was IC