In places like Bosnia and Liberia, peacebuilding efforts are showing signs of modest success, but many more post-conflict environments remain like festering wounds and the world community has little experience in reviving shattered societies. Join us to explore strategies that enable countries to break free of conflict and retribution. Funded by the Compton Foundation.
Guests:
Paul Hughes, Senior Program Officer, Center for Post-Conflict Peace and Stability Operations, United States Institute of Peace, Washington, DC
Rick Barton, Co-director, Post-Conflict Reconstruction Project, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, DC
Bartholomew Colley, Executive Director, Resource Center for Community Empowerment and Integrated Development, Monrovia, Liberia
Michele Brandt, Director, Interpeace Representation Office, New York, New York
Paul van Zyl, Executive Vice-President, International Center for Transition Justice, New York, New York
(click on guest's name to hear full, unedited interview)
Questions for Further Discussion
“Rising From the Ashes: Building Peace in the Wake of War”
Learning Goal: To explore post-conflict reconstruction in regions recovering from war.
Learning Methods:Assign one or more of the following questions to students individually, in pairs, or in small groups for discussion. Consider asking them to present their findings for the class in a short presentation, project, or research assignment.
Terms:
Peacekeeping
Peacebuilding
Globalization
Restorative Justice
Reconstruction
PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
1. Globalization has changed the landscape of war and peace. “Rising from the Ashes” discusses some of these shifts in post-conflict reconstruction processes. What are some of the ways in which we can meet the social, economic, and political needs of war-torn nations?
2. Colonel Paul Hughes discusses the out-dated model of a cycle of peace, crisis, war, resolution and peace. He argues it is being replaced with a new model of crisis and confrontation. What does he mean when he says there is no longer such a concept as “winning” a war? What accounts for this shift?
3. The changing and dynamic nature of war and peace has a significant impact on the U.S. military and the training involved for personnel moving into post-conflict regions. How has the training of the US military changed or adapted to address the emergent needs of the increasingly complex duties and responsibilities of soldiers on the ground? How does it need to change? Specifically, consider the training U.S. soldiers receive in Fort Polk, Louisiana as described in the audio program. Is this sort of training useful? Is it comprehensive? What other forms of training might be beneficial to the US military as it moves to address the multiple roles that military personnel have to serve?
4. Bartholomew Colley poses the poignant question of how a nation should address the psychological needs of an entire generation that has been exposed to extreme violence. He asks, “How can {this generation} be helped so that they begin to reclaim their humanity and come back to normalcy?” What is your response?
5. Michele Brandt discusses the constitution-making process following conflict as being pivotal in the creation of a dialogue that could lead to a lasting peace. What is the process of constitution-building? Consider whose voices are at the table and the stakes involved for both the region that is moving toward reconstruction as well as the nations involved in aiding them. What aspects do you feel are essential for a nation to recreate an identity and provide for national reconciliation?
6. Consider the story of Ishmael Beah and other children who become soldiers. What was their motivation to become a soldier? How can nations and international entities work to remove the incentive to fight?
7. Consider the concepts of restorative justice versus peace as they are described in the audio program. How does this fit in with constitution-making? How does a peacebuilding process incorporate these seemingly opposing ideas into a plan for healing and rebuilding a community? In other words, how might an individual or community learn to live and work again with other individuals or groups that at one time were adversarial?
INNOVATION IN ACTION: Additional Assignments
1. Research PTSD and its effects on an entire community rather than one individual. Can communities suffer from PTSD? How can any one program or plan meet the needs of an entire generation that suffers from PTSD? Design a program geared toward addressing the psychological needs of a community that has been through trauma. How should the U.S. community be working at healing the wounds of wars as soldiers are returning from Afghanistan and Iraq?
2. Focusing specifically on education, choose a post-conflict region and examine the government’s current educational goals for its citizens (or lack thereof). Design a process to set up pilot project to foster locally owned and operated educational programs.
3. What sort of plan would need to be in place in order to deter and prevent child soldiers from picking up a weapon in the first place? Consider the economic motivations as well as the lack of opportunities for education or jobs for youth as they relate to this project. Address this issue through a research based paper or a plan for preemptively removing incentives to fight.
