S-CAR's monthly Activity Recaps highlight the ongoing contributions being made by S-CAR students, faculty, and alumni to the field of conflict analysis and resolution. Each Activity Recap includes publications, presentations, and awards from the previous month.
Are you a member of the S-CAR community? Send your publication, presentation, and award updates to scarlib@gmu.edu so that we can include them in our Activity Recaps.
Summary
In February 2019, two S-CAR faculty members received awards and recognitions, including Pamina Firchow, who received a 2019-20 Jean Monnet Postdoctoral Fellowship from the European University Institute in Florence. Throughout the month, multiple S-CAR faculty, students, and alumni published a wide range of academic work, including PhD alum Sudha Rajput, whose book on internal displacement and conflict was released by Routledge. Members of the S-CAR community published four journal articles and reports on a variety of subjects, including on secondary marginalization within the Black community in the U.S. and on relations between Tunisia and Israel. Additionally, eighteen newspaper and online articles were written by or featured members of the S-CAR community, including one in The GW Hatchet mentioning a lecture that Daniel Agbiboa gave at George Washington University as part of GW’s Dean's Seminar on African Politics.
Awards and Recognitions
Pamina Firchow received a Jean Monnet Postdoctoral Fellowship from the European University Institute in Florence for the 2019-20 academic year.
Daniel Rothbart served as an external reviewer to the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro.
Academic Publications
Books
Sudha Rajput, PhD ‘12, Internal Displacement and Conflict: The Kashmiri Pandits in Comparative Perspective. Routledge, February 2019.
Journal Articles
Tehama Lopez Bunyasi and Candice Watts Smith, “Do All Black Lives Matter Equally to Black People? Respectability Politics and the Limitations of Linked Fate.” Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics, 1–36, February 2019.
Lisa Schirch, PhD ‘99, “Trauma Triggers and Narratives on Israel and Palestine.” Journal of Peacebuilding and Development, 13(3), 108–114, February 2019.
Alex Cromwell, PhD candidate, “How Peace Education Motivates Youth Peacebuilding: Examples from Pakistan.” International Journal of Educational Development, 66, 62–69, April 2019.
Reports
Adina Friedman, Adjunct Faculty, PhD ‘06, “Tunisia and Its Relations with Israel Following the Arab Spring.” For Mitvim – The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies, February 2019.
S-CAR in the News
Pamina Firchow wrote an article titled “Colombia's Long-Term Peace May Depend on Support for the Truth Commission” for The Washington Post’s Monkey Cage blog, published on February 4, 2019.
Lisa Schirch, PhD ‘99, wrote an article titled “Afghanistan Needs a Dignified, Inclusive Peace Process” for The Hill (February 4, 2019), as well as a blog post titled “Progressive Christians & Antisemitism: From Ignorance to Arrogance on Israel & Palestine” for her blog series, Writing on Human Security (February 11, 2019).
Richard Rubenstein wrote an article titled “Trump vs. the Anti-Trumps: It's the System That Needs Changing Not Just the Personnel” for CounterPunch (January 11, 2019), as well as a blog post titled “Ralph Northam Should Stay: An Anti-Racist Dissent to the Campaign to Purge Virginia’s Governor” for his self-titled blog (February 5, 2019).
Ibrahim Fraihat, PhD ‘06, wrote an article titled “Palestine and the Israel-Saudi Arabia Alliance” for Al Shabaka, published on February 7, 2019.
Ziad Al Achkar, PhD student, Joanna van der Merwe, and Josje Spierings wrote an article titled “What Would It Take for a Company like Palantir to Become an Acceptable Ally?” for Leiden University’s Centre for Innovation, published on February 7, 2019.
Cameron Shuler, MS ‘18, wrote an article titled “Community-Centric Conflict Resolution: The Community Health Center Model” for S-CAR News, published on February 8, 2019.
Talha Kose, PhD ’09, wrote “Turkish-Greek Normalization Key to Economic Opportunities in Eastern Mediterranean” (February 8, 2019) and “Daesh Will Continue to Be a Challenge” (February 21, 2019) for Daily Sabah.
Audrey Williams, MS student, wrote an article titled “Film Screening at Mason Addresses Plight of Syria’s Disappeared” for S-CAR News, published on February 9, 2019. The article quoted Douglas Irvin-Erickson and S-CAR undergraduate student Connor Cuevo.
Ashley Stewart, BA student, was profiled in an article by Damian Cristodero titled “A Legislative Loss, but a Winning Experience” for University News: George Mason University, published on February 21, 2019.
Jayne Docherty, PhD ‘98, wrote a blog post titled “Do the Right Thing” for her blog series, Working for Emergence, published on February 10, 2019.
David J. Smith, MS ‘09, wrote “We Should All Review Our Yearbooks to See What We Can Learn” for the Baltimore Sun (February 24, 2019), as well as “How to Transition into a Career After Service Work” for Forbes CommunityVoice (February 11, 2019).
Ernest Ogbozor, PhD ‘18, was interviewed for an article titled “Security Priorities for the New Nigerian Government” by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, published on February 25, 2019.
Daniel Agbiboa was mentioned in an article by Alec Rich titled “Elliott School to Host New Seminar Series Highlighting African Affairs” for The GW Hatchet, published on February 14, 2019.
Marc Gopin was featured in an article by Mariam Aburdeineh titled “Building Ties Across Enemy Lines” for University News: George Mason University, published on February 25, 2019. The article also quoted Sarah Sadowski, MS ‘16.
S-CAR Events, Presentations, and Public Lectures
Daniel Agbiboa presented a research paper titled “Life is War: Lagos Through the Eyes of Minibus-Taxi Slogans” at a conference on “Urban Security Assemblages: Protection Beyond the State and Beyond the Human.” The conference was held at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands between February 6 and 8. He also gave a lecture on February 19, 2019 titled “Between Boko Haram and Government ‘Haram’: The Civilian Joint Task Force and the War on Terror in Nigeria” as part of George Washington University's Dean's Seminar on African Politics.
Edward Palmer, Distinguished Visiting Fellow, launched his book, The World is Watching: African-American Activists on the International Stage, at S-CAR in Arlington, VA, on February 7, 2019. Richard Rubenstein provided the introduction at the event and facilitated the discussion.
Susan Allen, Peter Stearns, and Mark Farr participated in a moderated discussion during the book launch for Peacebuilding Through Dialogue: Education, Human Transformation, and Conflict Resolution, which was edited by Stearns and included contributions from Allen and Farr. Kevin Avruch moderated the discussion. The launch was held at S-CAR on Mason’s Arlington campus on February 27, 2019.
The 2019 Spring Dialogue & Difference Project organized a facilitated discussion on human rights on February 13, 2019, on Mason’s Fairfax campus.
The S-CAR Diversity Committee organized the first of three listening sessions on February 26, 2019, at S-CAR on Mason’s Arlington campus. During the listening session, attendees were able to ask questions of the diversity committee, share ideas or concerns, and learn about the committee's purpose and plans.