June 2011
13 posts
Revealing optimism →
Syrian protests
Yesterday afternoon, on a walk across Layfayette Park facing the White House, I found myself in the middle of a “volatile” protest - as informed by a Washington, DC Police Officer. Looking up, I realized that while fiddling with my phone, I had walked right down the middle of two huge groups, cordoned off from each other and waving Syrian flags - screaming and cheering. Uh oh. ...
Conflict Escalation in the Democratic Republic of...
A lull before the storm: Kabila in power
Kabila’s assumption of power marked the end of the civil war, but only a pause in conflict escalation between surrounding African states and Congolese leadership. The open sore in the east continued to fester and would again become host to a destructive escalatory cycle. Neither Kabila nor his allies had strong political bases that only grew smaller under...
Commentary on DRC history piece
If you have not heard of the Peace and Collaborative Development Network (PCDN), I encourage you to take a look. PCDN is a professional networking site for the peace and development community — there are over 20,000 registered users. Craig Zelizer, PhD., Associate Director at Georgetown University’s Conflict Resolution MA program, created PCDN a few years back and has done an excellent...
Spotlight on Democratic Republic of Congo
Over the next several weeks, I will chronicle the rise of the conflict system in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and implications for the upcoming election. The blog entries are lengthy, but condense an immense amount of information. Interspersed, contemporary analysis and news articles will broaden the perspective to include American and non-Western press.
Many Americans, and people in...
Conflict Escalation in Democratic Republic of...
The media has recently highlighted the violence plaguing the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) eastern region. Less is known of the complex domestic and regional forces that escalated long standing tensions in the Great Lakes region into a continent-wide conflict system that has left over 5.4 million dead in its wake. Historians break the conflict into two wars from 1996 to 1997 and 1998 to...
“I have always thought that one man of tolerable abilities may work great...”
– The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, 1706 -1757
Reinvention
Hello to all,
It has been nearly six months since my time in Cameroon. It feels as if I am a whirlwind touching down to catch my breath only momentarily. I’ve finished my first semester of an M.S. in Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University and will transfer to an M.S. in Global Affairs at New York University in the fall. Graduate school — and specifically...
