GRADUATE PROGRAM IN COEXISTENCE AND CONFLICT

COEX 220a– Strategies for Coexistence Intervention

Alain Lempereur, Alan B. Slifka Professor in Coexistence and Conflict Resolution

Mrs. Isabella Jean and Mr. David Steele, Lecturers

Class time:Spring 2015, Friday, 2:00 pm –4:50 pm
Location:Brown Building, Rm 163

Contact information for Prof. Lempereur

Office Hours: Please use the Google document to set up appointments

Office:Masters Program in Coexistence and Conflict

Heller School, Schneider Building, Level 1, # 106

Email:

Phone:6-3959

Contact information for Prof. Jean

Email:

Contact information for Prof. Steele

Email:

Contact information for Rebecca Herrington, TeachingAssistant

Email:

Description

This course introduces and mobilizes a variety of strategies for coexistence and conflict interventions. It also supports strategic program design and evaluabilityof such interventions.

Objectives for Participants:

  • To enable participants to analyze and match coexistence interventions to contextual needs and values frameworks of intended identity-group audiences. This includesleveraging of the appropriate role of structural approaches (such as political agreements, constitutional developments, democracy, human rights, governance, legislation, equity work, and development), as well as psycho-social, religious, dialogue and mediation approaches.
  • To ensure participantsdesign strategies thatare anchored in theories of social change and other related theories (leadership, institutional cultures and dynamics, social group and human needs theories, etc.).
  • To ensure students consider the ethical issues that may arise for them in the course of their work, and increase their awareness of the various codes of ethics, which have been developed to address these issues.
  • To develop students’ networking and communication skills on coexistence issues.

Requirements

Attendance, Punctuality, and Active Participation

In order to benefit from experiential learning, you are required to attend every class, barring documented illness. Please be on time at the beginning of class and after the break. If you know you will be absent or late, for a legitimate reason, make sure you warn in advance your instructor or teaching assistant, who will not accept unexcused absences. Should you miss more than two classes, unfortunately, you will not qualify for credit and you will have to retake the class. Attendance is more than just coming to class. You are expected to do the readings and actively participate.

Assignments and Readings

In order to ensure active participation in the best possible conditions, make sure you complete the assignments listed below in advance of each class. It is highly recommended that students annotate personal copies of, or take notes from the readings.

Please check on website before each class to see if extra readings have been added – or substituted. Students will be called upon to discuss the readings in class and to participate in collective or individual presentations. They must therefore come to class prepared to allow well-informed discussions. Students enjoy complete academic freedom in the classroom, within the limits defined by mutual respect in a safe environment.

Writing Requirements

The writing requirements listed below are intended to encourage students to approach reading materials critically, to foster improved research and writing skills, and to serve as a basis for contributing to class discussion and a diversity of opinions. Students are expected to devote careful attention to the technical quality of their written work, as well as its substance. They must be honest in all academic work.

(See:

All written work for this course must include appropriate citation of the sources used.

  • See section 56c (“Avoid Plagiarism”) of the Concise English Handbook.
  • See - on academic integrity and - in particular the section dealing with citations

The university policy on academic honesty is distributed annually, as section 5 of the Rights and Responsibilities handbook. Academic integrity is critical in all that you write and say, and transgressions are treated severely. Instances of alleged dishonesty will be forwarded to the Office of Campus Life for possible referral to the Student Judicial System. Potential sanctions include failure in the course and suspension from the university. If you have any questions about this, please ask.

Safety, Confidentiality and Anonymity

During their work, in class and outside class, in team or individually, each student will be particularly attentive to the safety of all students, group members and the class. They will carefully ensure the confidentiality and anonymity of everyone’s work.

Graded Assignments

Grading

The final grade in this course will consist of the following components:

  • 10%: Team Short Paper: CoexistenceProgram Design
  • 10%: In-Class Project Team Presentation of Program Design
  • 5%: Feedback on the Other Teams’ Program Designs
  • 20%: Social Media Tool
  • 10%: Presentation of Social Media Tool
  • 5%: Feedback on the Other Teams’ Social Media Tools
  • 20%: Project TeamFinal Paper on Social Media Tool
  • 20%: Individual Short Paper on Social Media as a Conflict Intervention Tool

Team Short Paper on Conflict Intervention Design (10% of grade)

This group assignment will include the choice of project team members and a short description of program design for a specific coexistence intervention.Participants will work in diverse groups of five students on a design, which responsibly leverages social media in a context of extreme violence. Their intervention, which can be People-To-People (P2P),should challenge extremism through the responsible use of the Internet (Websites, Webpages, etc.), and more particularly social media (Facebook, YouTube, Tweeter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Vine, Tumblr, etc.).

  • For the choice of project team members, please make sure that the composition of your team is best designed to accomplish the exact objectives and target audience you select. Please note that you will be expected to work with the same team members during the whole semester for this class.
  • By session 5, not later than February 13th, group members must submit together on Latte in maximum five pages the following “10P” elements:
  1. Purpose of conflict intervention (3 lines maximum)
  2. Problem definition, including analysis of the mindset behind the extremist message your project team intends to counter.
  3. People, parties to be influenced and engaged
  4. Place of conflict intervention
  5. Principles (ethical, operational, organizational, theory of change)
  6. Process moves and the social media the project team plans to leverage
  7. Planning (steps)
  8. Partners to support the conflict intervention
  9. Products and outcomes to be expected, including responses (after analysis) to the mindset of targeted audience
  10. Project team with students’ names, justified expertise and roles

In-Class Project Team Presentation of Conflict Intervention Design (10% of grade)

In preparation of their class presentation on March 6th, project team members will work together on the design of a social media intervention in the specificcontext they chose. They should determine the purpose and content of conflict intervention, how the kind of social media they plan to use will serve their purpose, and the kind of product they will deliver together. The instructors will communicate thepresentation orderto the class byFebruary27th. Students should present thedesign of theirconflict intervention to the class, through a PPT presentation. The latter should not exceedten minutes and fourslides (including title slide) to address the problems, the people and the process of conflict intervention. They should also explain the reasons why they chose specific social media tools, the outcomes they expect to achieve and the products they plan to deliver.PPT Presentations should be submitted electronically on Latte.

Feedback on the Other Teams’ Conflict Intervention Design (5% of grade)

Each team will provide constructive feedback to the other teamsimmediately after they have presented their conflict intervention design. Each team should submit a collective email that captures three strengths and three suggestions of each other team’s presentation. Instructors should be copied on this email.

Social Media Tool (20% of grade)

Following up on their design presentation, each project team will deliver on their conflict intervention by producing a social media tool that responsibly challenges extremism. Each group’s social media tool will be due on Mar. 18th or Mar. 25th.You should provide easy private access to your work to all instructors and students of the class, so that it can be consulted before and after your presentation. The web link or other materials should be submitted electronically on Latte.

Presentation of Social Media Tool(10% of grade)

During sessions 9 (Mar. 20) and 10 (Mar. 27), each team will present their conflict intervention through the use of social media to the class, through a video simulation or demonstration of how the social media can be used. With half the teams presenting during each class session, each group should show how the social media tool,which they chose,responsibly challenges extremism. A PPT presentation can accompany the social media presentation in class. Teams will have a total of 15 minutes for both the presentation (8 minutes) and Q&A (7 minutes), and are encouraged to be as creative as possible. At the end of their presentation, participants are asked to identify a particularly good book, chapter, journal article, or web source, as to allow the class members to explore further the topic in question. The PPT presentation should be submitted electronically on Latte.

Feedback on the Other Teams’ Social Media Tool (5% of grade)

Each team will provide constructive feedback about the social media tool developed by the other teams after their presentations, between session 9 and 10. Immediately after each presentation, each team should submit a collective email that captures three strengths and three suggestions. Instructors should be copied on this email.

Project TeamFinal Paper on Social Media Tool (20% of grade)

Each team will present in a 15-page report (plus endnotes and bibliography)how the social media tool, which they chose, responsibly challenges extremism. Each team member should be clearly identified in the part of the report he or she personally wrote, and all of you should collaborate to ensure the unity and quality of the report. This report should be submitted on Latte not later than April 17th. Individual Short Paper of Social Media as a Conflict Intervention Tool (20% of grade)

Each student will present in a 5-page report (plus endnotes and bibliography) how the different conflict interventions tools that leverage social media,as presented in class,might responsibly challenge extremism or not.Submission of this final paper is April 24th.

Note about Written Assignments

As allwriting assignments are academic papers, please use the APA writing format, with appropriate references to literature, readings, and or/lectures. A bibliography of quality (more than just URLs for example) is expected, as well as explicit connections to the readings of the course.All written assignments must be typewritten, double-spaced in 12-point font (like this syllabus), and submitted electronically via LATTE through a drop box, as a Microsoft Word attachment.

Important Deadlines

Team Short Paper onConflict InterventionDesign: Friday February 13th

Team Presentation of Intervention: Friday March 6th

Team Social Media: Wed March 18th or 25th

Team Social Media Presentation: Friday March 20th or 27th

TeamFinal Paper: Friday April 17th

Individual Short Paper:Friday April24th

Field Project Draft (COEX and 2nd year SIDCO only)Friday May 1st

Core Texts

(Note: These are the Core Texts for both Coex 210 and Coex 220. Those marked with * are required texts for Coex 220)

Generally, the books are available from Amazon or other mail order bookshops, and this is often the cheapest way to buy them. You can get many of these ‘remaindered’ from Amazon, which is cheaper. However, be sure to get the most updated version as noted below. Feel free to use our department address to pre-order these books, and we will take care of them for you when they arrive. See Elizabeth Sessions () to arrange this. Some texts, as noted, are available in their totality on the web.

  • Autesserre, S., “Peaceland: Conflict Resolution and the Everyday Politics of International Intervention.” Cambridge University Press, 2014.
  • Fitzduff, Mari (2002).Beyond Violence: Conflict Resolution Processes in Northern Ireland. Tokyo: United Nations/Brookings Press. Full book available on-line for purchase:
  • Fisher, S., Ludin, J., & Williams, S., eds. (2000). Working with Conflict: Skills and Strategies for Action. New York: Zed Books. (There is a paperback version)
  • Lederach, J. P. Building Peace: Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace, 1997.
  • Miall, H., O. Ramsbotham & T. Woodhouse (2011).Contemporary Conflict Resolution. 3rd edition 2011 Blackwell Publishing.
  • Richardson, L. (2006) What Terrorists Want: Understanding the Enemy, Containing the Threat. New York: Random House.
  • Schirch, L. “Conflict Assessment & Peacebuilding Planning: Toward a Participatory Approach to Human Security.” Kumarian Press, 2013.
  • Ury, W. The Third Side: Why We Fight and How We Can Stop. New York: Penguin Books, 2000. Much of this is available on line at:

In addition to the core texts, each group of students will be required to follow some of the social network analysts known for exceptional work they have done in tracking and analyzing the social media used by extremists. Note that this is not a request to track the extremists themselves as that could potentially involve dangerous exposure.

You are expected to continually follow your selected sources throughout the duration of the course. During your search process look for any information regarding:

  1. Extremist actors, including continuity or alteration in their mindset/worldview, key current activities/developments (efforts to serve their respective constituencies and to oppose their perceived adversaries), as well as indicators of potential or probable future trends/plans. In particular, search for methods and content used to recruit people to their cause. Ask which ones seem to be most effective and why.
  2. The responses made by those who appear to be interested, though not necessarily committed to, an extremist agenda. What are their concerns, their grievances, their mindsets, their motivations for being on these websites?
  3. Parties (domestic or international, secular or religious) attempting to counter the influence of extremists by addressing the ideological, relational and structural dynamics in a given context. In particular, look for actors engaged in efforts designed to address grievances, counter-revenge mentalities, reframe fixed identity markers, bridge ideological divides, build interreligious relations/cooperation and help to provide for basic communal needs (from immediate crisis intervention to sustainable reconstruction). Collecting information about roles played, activities supported, methods used, and internal evaluations, by the actors.

Here are some social network analysts to follow, though you can select others if you wish. These analysts come highly recommended for their careful research and expertise. (Note that not all social media analysis have such good reputations). In fact, many of these analysts have been noted for discovering more information, on their own, than have government intelligence personnel.

  • J.M. Berger: IntelWire; research on extremist movements around the world)
  • Charles Lister: also a Fellow at Brookings Institution in DC] (covers research primarily on Syria)
  • Aron Lund: Syria in Crisis at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in DC - analysis of developments in the Syrian civil war)
  • Phillip Smythe: Hizballah Cavalcade: [also on Twitter; and works at University of Maryland's Laboratory for Computational Cultural Dynamics] (covers the rise and interconnections between Shia jihadi groups)
  • Aaron Zelin: Jihadology: [also on Twitter; and is a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy](reports original source material, much of it untranslated, as well as analysis of jihad propaganda and events)
  • Clint Watts - [on Twitter; and has a blog called "Selected wisdom"]See: (former FBI agent, now doing his own analysis of global jihad; follows academic experts as well as Westerners like Omar Hamami, an American who fought with Al Shabab in Somalia)
  • ThanassisCambanis - posts a blog, covering various extremist movements and those attempting to respond to them. See particularly the blog he posted on June 29, 2014, titled The Surprising Appeal of ISIS:

Rather than everyone following all sources, each group can assign certain members to follow specific analysts. Then any insights gained can be shared with the entire group throughout the entire process of designing this coexistence intervention.

All students are expected to consult copies of the above during the academic year, either in book form or on the web. There are copies of these books available in the library.

In addition, GSDRC Topic Guides are useful starting points for research on topics covered in this course. Below are relevant topics(cf. GSDRC compilation).

  1. Conflict
  2. Fragile States
  3. Climate Change
  4. Conflict Sensitivity
  5. Gender
  6. Inclusive Institutions
  7. Political Systems
  8. Sequencing reforms in fragile states
  9. Social Exclusion
  10. State-building and peacebuilding
  11. State-society relations and citizenship

Visit the GSDRC Topics Guides online to read the compilations:

Additional Topics of relevance to this class when doing research online and in academic articles/databases:

  1. Culture
  2. Religion/Sectarianism
  3. Identity formation/reformation
  4. Values difference
  5. Reconciliation/ Transformation
  6. Ideology/worldview
  7. Motivational factors
  8. Persuasion techniques
  9. Justice
  10. Militancy

Schedule, Readings and Other Assignments

To access Latte go to and sign in using your email and password.

Please remember to recheck your readings each week before you start your preparation as these may have been changed to take account of e.g. emerging knowledge, or changed world situations.

Class Session 1:Framework for Coexistence Intervention

January 16, 2015, 2:00pm–4.50pm

Themes