Peacekeeping
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Nora Sulots
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The Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) is pleased to share that Ayça Alemdaroğlu, a research scholar and associate director of CDDRL’s Program on Turkey, has been appointed a Global Fellow at the Peace Research Institute of Oslo (PRIO).

PRIO is a world-leading peace research organization that conducts research on the conditions for peaceful relations between states, groups, and people, seeking to understand the processes that bring societies together or split them apart. Researchers explore how conflicts erupt and how they can be resolved, investigate how different kinds of violence affect people, and examine how societies tackle crises and the threat of crises. They document general trends, seek to understand processes, and inform concrete responses.

PRIO Global Fellows are academics with strong scholarly records and a commitment to the research agenda on peace and conflict. They all have their main positions elsewhere but work closely with PRIO researchers and regularly spend time in Oslo. Following nomination by PRIO staff, fellowships are awarded to scholars from all over the world, of different seniority levels,, and with diverse methodological and analytical perspectives.

Ayça specializes in social and political change in the Middle East, focusing on Turkey's domestic politics and international relations. Her research examines the interplay between authoritarianism, youth politics, and public policy. Her scholarship extends into various other domains, including nationalism, eugenics, urban segregation, and the impacts of neoliberalism on education. She is the co-editor of Kurds in Dark Times: New Perspectives on Violence and Resistance (University of Syracuse Press, 2023). Prior to her current role at Stanford, she was an Assistant Professor of Research in Sociology at Northwestern University and served as a postdoctoral fellow and lecturer at Stanford. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge and actively contributes to academic discussions through her editorial roles.

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Challenges and Opportunities in Turkey's 2023 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections

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Erdogan Is Turning Turkey Into a Chinese Client State

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PRIO conducts research on the conditions for peaceful relations between states, groups, and people.

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Clifton B. Parker
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Salam Fayyad, a former prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, told a Stanford audience that a peaceful outcome of the Gaza War depends on a principled two-state solution that recognizes Palestinian rights at the outset.

Fayyad engaged in a conversation on April 29 with Larry Diamond and Hesham Sallam at an event hosted by the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law’s (CDDRL) Program on Arab Reform and Democracy (ARD). Diamond is the Mosbacher Senior Fellow in Global Democracy at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and director of the Program on Arab Reform and Democracy, and Sallam is a CDDRL senior research scholar and associate director for the program. 

The problem, Fayyad said, is that a two-state solution has never been defined with adequate precision. “Part of this is to be expected if something is going to be the product of negotiations,” as was not the case in prior years with proposals such as the Oslo Accords.

On Oct. 7, 2023, Palestinian militants led by Hamas attacked Israel, killing almost 1,200 people, and Israel responded by launching an invasion of Gaza that has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians as of April 2024. With the war ongoing for seven months now, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict goes back many decades to 1948, when Israel was established. The question now is, what does the future hold for Gaza, the Palestinian people, Israel, and stability in the Middle East?

Fayyad raised the issue of what the key organizing principle to determine a future State of Palestine and a peaceful solution with Israel could be.

He said, “That process must be preceded by formal recognition of our rights as a people, our national rights. It's very important. Oslo was not about that. Oslo was very transactional.”

‘Voices in these discussions’


Sallam, a moderator, said in an email prior to the event that “the ongoing war has caused a grave humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza with tens of thousands of deaths, a serious risk of famine, and a pressing public health crisis. It is important for us to advance as many conversations as possible about how we got to this reality and how we can find a peaceful exit out of it. And it is imperative to elevate and center Palestinian voices in these discussions.”

He added, “Dr. Fayyad’s visit to CDDRL’s Program on Arab Reform and Democracy promises to shed light on a host of pressing questions that the Stanford community has been grappling with since last year. It is a timely opportunity to learn, engage, and deliberate.”

It is important for us to advance as many conversations as possible about how we got to this reality and how we can find a peaceful exit out of it. And it is imperative to elevate and center Palestinian voices in these discussions.
Hesham Sallam
Associate Director, Program on Arab Reform and Democracy

Fayyad is an economist who served as minister of finance for the Palestinian Authority from 2002 to 2005 and as prime minister from 2007 to 2013. During his tenure, he introduced a number of economic and governance reforms. Afterward, he founded "Future for Palestine," a nonprofit development foundation. He also worked for the International Monetary Fund, including as the resident representative in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Currently, he is a Visiting Senior Scholar and Daniella Lipper Coules '95 Distinguished Visitor in Foreign Affairs at the Princeton School of Public Affairs. He is also a distinguished statesman at the Atlantic Council and a distinguished fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Recognition of Rights


Fayyad said that the recognition of Palestinian rights is critical to any future negotiations. “One of the key lessons learned is that it's a mistake to engage in a problematic process that is not defined well in terms of outcome – what it is supposed to lead to if it is not based particularly from our point of view, or on recognition of our national rights as a people? Because so far, we have gotten none of that.”

He added, “I, like many Palestinians, would find it reasonable to engage in a process that could take us there in agreement and through negotiation.”

Fayyad said that if Palestinians' interests and those of all countries in the region are ultimately to live in peace and sustainable harmony, then the process must be recalibrated. “It has to be more principled.”

Asymmetry and Conflict History


Fayyad said that asymmetry exists between Palestinians and Israelis. “You see this everywhere, in terms of power relations, you see it everywhere, all facets of life. You see it on college campuses; you see it everywhere.”

For example, he said that Israel, over 75 years, has built a strong, vibrant economy with a strong military. “So, to deny people (Palestinians) the right to self-determination, which is a right that is absolute for us under international law, just like any other people anywhere in the world,” is asymmetrical.

He noted, “It is equally important, if not more important, for us Palestinians to understand that just because we are the weaker party in this balance of power … that we must actively assume full agency in the act of our liberation. We must.”

It is equally important, if not more important, for us Palestinians to understand that just because we are the weaker party in this balance of power … that we must actively assume full agency in the act of our liberation. We must.
Salam Fayyad
Former Prime Minister, Palestinian Authority

During the conversation, Diamond told Fayyad, “Everything you've talked about was challenging enough on Oct. 6.” But, he asked, how have the last seven months after a devastating terrorist attack affected everything, including the war in Gaza that has leveled much of the physical infrastructure of the country? “Where do we go from here?”

Fayyad described Oct. 7 as a “major shock” that has made a solution more difficult and distant than it already was. He added that Israel’s response to eliminate Hamas is likely impossible to extremely unlikely.

A Sisyphean Task


Our freedom is an inalienable right, Fayyad said about the Palestinian people, and it's an inseparable component of them as human beings. 

“As human beings and members of the human race, like everyone, we have that to share with everyone else. You have to have that kind of recalibration.”

Future conversations between Palestinians and Israelis have to begin from the recognition that two equal parties exist to this disagreement, he said. “Not the oppressor, not the oppressed, not the master and the slave. Not the master and the surrogate.”

Fayyad compared the Palestinian-Israeli conflict to a Sisyphean task of sorts. 

“But I never really understood Sisyphus to be an exercise in futility myself,” he said. “You learn something every time that boulder rolls back on. It's really about empowerment. That’s why it is most inspiring to try it. Even if you fail, even if you know you’re going to fail, you learn from it, you learn from it, and you keep pushing that boulder up the hill. There will come a point in time when the stars align for that which is just.”

The Program on Arab Reform and Democracy at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law at Stanford University examines the different social and political dynamics within Arab countries and the evolution of their political systems, focusing on the prospects, conditions, and possible pathways for democratic reform in the region.

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Salam Fayyad, former prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, spoke about the quest for peace and Palestinian statehood during a conversation on the Palestinian people, the Gaza War, and the conflict’s implications for stability in the Middle East, hosted by CDDRL’s Program on Arab Reform and Democracy.

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Positive Peace Conference

The fifth Positive Peace Conference brings together diverse thought leaders from private industry, foundations, governments, and non-profit organisations to celebrate and learn from the latest advancements in the field of peacebuilding. Hosted by the international think tank, the Institute for Economics & Peace, the event is held in partnership with the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law) and represents an exceptional learning, networking, and strategic planning opportunity for those working to strengthen the attitudes, institutions and structures that create and sustain levels of peacefulness at local, regional and global levels.

Transport & accommodation | Venue location
 

Speakers Include:
 

  • Alberto Diaz-Cayeros, Director, Center for Latin American Studies, Stanford University
  • Alexander Njukia Ndung’u, Senior Technical Advisor, Interfaith and Peace Building, World Vision East Africa
  • Celia Ramirez, Director, Jalisco State Secretariat of Planning and Citizen Participation
  • Dan Baker, President and CEO, National Peace Corps Association
  • Don Chisholm, Director, USAID Center for Conflict and Violence Prevention
  • Irene Santiago, Peace Adviser, Local Government Academy, Philippines
  • Kathryn Stoner, Mosbacher Director, Stanford Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law
  • Lisa Broderick, Executive Director, Police2Peace
  • Liz Hume, Executive Director, Alliance for Peacebuilding
  • Michael Collins, Executive Director Americas, Institute for Economics & Peace
  • Neda Amidi, President, Plug and Play Tech Center
  • Patricia Shafer, Executive Director, NewGen Peacebuilders
  • Shaphan Roberts, Director, Online Programs Adjunct Professor, Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution Caruso School of Law
  • Steve Killelea, Founder and Executive Chairman, Institute for Economics & Peace
  • Sukhsimranjit Singh, Assistant Dean, Graduate Law Program, Pepperdine Caruso Law
  • Summer Lewis, Partnership Coordinator, Rotary International

Vidalakis Dining Hall (Schwab Residential Center)
680 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford, CA 94305

Conferences
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Building resilient inter-ethnic peace: Hindus and Muslims in South Asia

A key challenge that many nations face in the 21st century is to build societies that not only are able to peacefully accommodate increasing ethnic diversity but also to leverage its potential benefits. This is not a straightforward task. Ethnically diverse communities tend to provide fewer public goods to their citizens (e.g. Alesina et al. 2004, Alesina and La Ferrara 2005) and are less likely to voice common priorities (e.g. Ban et al. 2012). With ethnic identities often coordinating political competition as well, it is perhaps not surprising that violent conflict is more likely in ethnically polarised countries and regions (e.g. Montalvo and Reynal-Querol 2005, Esteban et al. 2012, Jha 2023 and Figure 1). With 82.1 million people around the world forcibly displaced due to persecution and conflict in 2020, and widespread economic migration, the challenge of building resilient inter-ethnic peace is one faced not only by societies that have been diverse historically but increasingly in nations and communities with less experience navigating a diverse setting.

What can economic theory, in combination with the historical experiences of these communities, tell us about the necessary conditions for resilient inter-ethnic peace, and how these can be fostered?



This book presents a synthesis of key recent advances in political-economy research on the various approaches and strategies used in the process of building nations throughout modern history. It features chapters written by leading scholars who describe the findings of their quantitative analyses of the risks and benefits of different nation-building policies. The book is comprised of 26 chapters organized into six sections, each focusing on a different aspect of nation-building. The first chapter presents a unified framework for assessing nation-building policies, highlights potential challenges that may arise, provides a summary of each of the other chapters, and draws out the main lessons from them. The following chapters delve into the importance of social interactions for national identification, the role of education, propaganda and leadership, external interventions and wars, and the effects of representation and redistribution. The book offers a nuanced understanding of effective nation-building policies.

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Chapter in Nation Building: Big Lessons from Successes and Failures, edited by Dominic Rohner and Ekaterina Zhuravskaya

Authors
Saumitra Jha
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CEPR Press
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Time:  7:30am-8:45am  California, USA 15 February 2022 
3:30pm-4:45pm London, UK 15 February 2022
11:30pm-12:45am  Singapore, 15-16 February 2022

How does India’s civil-military relationship affect its security? Historically, civil-military relations have been characterized by an “absent dialogue,” with the military enjoying almost complete operational autonomy in planning and fighting wars. But that arrangement has produced some mixed results for Indian national security, and is coming under increasing strain in an environment of intensifying peacetime strategic competition. New Delhi recognizes the need for reform, and has made some halting progress. This webinar will examine the evolution of civil-military relations in India, the challenges with the current configuration, and the agenda for reform that will face the next Chief of Defence Staff.

Speakers: 

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anit_mukherjee
Anit Mukherjee is an Associate Professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, in Singapore. He is the award-winning author of The Absent Dialogue: Politicians, Bureaucrats and the Military in India, the definitive analysis of Indian civil-military relations. He is also Non-Resident Visiting Scholar at the Center for the Advanced Study of India (CASI), University of Pennsylvania, and at Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP), New Delhi. Prior to his academic career, he was a Major in the Indian Army and is an alumnus of India’s National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla. Anit holds a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University.

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saawani
Saawani Raje-Byrne is a lecturer (assistant professor) in International History at the Department of War Studies, King’s College London. She is currently working on a book, based on her PhD dissertation, that presents novel theoretical analysis and detailed historical case studies of Indian civil-military relations. She previously taught at Defence Studies Department at King’s, and the Joint Services Command and Staff College at Shrivenham, and was a researcher at the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi. She holds a PhD from King’s College London, and a BA from the University of Cambridge.

Moderated by :
Arzan Tarapore, South Asia research scholar at the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, Stanford University

This event is co-sponsored by Center for South Asia

Via Zoom  Register at:
https://bit.ly/3HpyMMO

Seminars
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A documentary film festival featuring films speaking to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s vision of the World House


For the 2022 King Holiday, the World House Project will host a free, four-day webinar and virtual film festival, from the evening of January 14 through January 17, 2022. This virtual event will feature over 30 documentaries, musical performances, interviews, and panel discussions that speak to Dr. King's vision of the World House. 

The webinar will consist of daily Zoom meetings with the World House Project director Dr. Clayborne Carson who will speak with guests and webinar registrants on a range of topics, from the history of the civil rights movement to the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the African American freedom struggles.

The films and performances cover a variety of themes, from the history of the civil rights and anti-apartheid movements to James Baldwin and Martin Luther King's global visions. A full list of featured films and short descriptions will be available shortly.

The festival is produced in partnership with the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom CenterCalifornia NewsreelClarity Films, the Camera as Witness Program (Stanford Arts), the Office for Religious & Spiritual Life at Stanford, and the Kunhardt Film Foundation.
 

Online via Zoom. Register Now

Film Screenings
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Is it possible to reduce crime without exacerbating adversarial relationships between police and citizens? Community policing is a celebrated reform with that aim, which is now adopted on six continents. However, the evidence base is limited, studying reform components in isolation in a limited set of countries, and remaining largely silent on citizen-police trust. We designed six field experiments with Global South police agencies to study locally designed models of community policing using coordinated measures of crime and the attitudes and behaviors of citizens and police. In a preregistered meta-analysis, we found that these interventions led to mixed implementation, largely failed to improve citizen-police relations, and did not reduce crime. Societies may need to implement structural changes first for incremental police reforms such as community policing to succeed.
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Science
Authors
Graeme Blair
Fotini Christia
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Issue 6571
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On Friday, October 22, 2021 from 10:00-11:00 am PT, The World House Global Network is honored to have Andre Kamenshikov as our guest speaker. We will be discussing current challenges for civil society in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine.

Register Now


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Andre Kamenshikov
Andre Kamenshikov is a civil society activist in the field of peacebuilding, with both a US and Russian background. He graduated Moscow State University majoring in sociology in 1991 as well as studied various subjects in Carroll College, Waukesha, Wisconsin and undertook courses in human rights and other relevant topics. He is the representative of a US-based NGO Nonviolence International and the regional coordinator of an international civil society network - the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC) in the Eastern Europe region. He has over 28 years of experience as a civil peacebuilding activist in conflict areas of the ex-USSR. He was the founder of Nonviolence International–CIS, a civil society organization that was based in Moscow and operated in the post-soviet states for 22 years until it had to be closed due to the current political climate in Russia. Since 2015 he has been based in Kyiv, Ukraine, working primarily with the local civil society sector on enhancing its capacities to contribute to peace and democratic development of the country. He is an author of a number of publications about the role of civil society in post-soviet conflicts, including “International experience of civilian peacebuilding in the post-soviet space” (2016), the “Strategic framework for the development of civil peacebuilding activities in Ukraine” (2017).

Online via Zoom. Register Now

Andre Kamenshikov
Lectures

Shorenstein APARC
Stanford University
Encina Hall, Room E301
Stanford, CA 94305-6055

(650) 736-0656 (650) 723-6530
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Michael (Mike) Breger joined APARC in 2021 and serves as the Center's communications manager. He collaborates with the Center's leadership to share the work and expertise of APARC faculty and researchers with a broad audience of academics, policymakers, and industry leaders across the globe. 

Michael started his career at Stanford working at Green Library, and later at the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies, serving as the event and communications coordinator. He has also worked in a variety of sales and marketing roles in Silicon Valley.

Michael holds a master's in liberal arts from Stanford University and a bachelor's in history and astronomy from the University of Virginia. A history buff and avid follower of international current events, Michael loves learning about different cultures, languages, and literatures. When he is not at work, Michael enjoys reading, music, and the outdoors.

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