Oct 8 Evening at Egan: Rethinking International Political Violence -The Strategic Logic of Non-violent Conflict, Human Rights and Non-Violent Struggles
Two lectures begin at 7pm in the Egan Library as part of the annual Fall JWAC Forum, 'The Possibility of Peace: Non-violent Strategies to Resolve International Conflict', Oct. 8-10
Juneau, Alaska
Date of Press Release: October 4, 2010
The University of Alaska Southeast and the Juneau World Affairs Council are co-hosting the next Evening at Egan presentation to kick off the annual Fall JWAC Forum, 'The Possibility of Peace: Non-violent Strategies to Resolve International Conflict', Oct. 8th, 9th and 10th on the UAS Campus.
Wesleyan University Professor of Government Erica Chenoweth will present "Rethinking International Political Violence: The Strategic Logic of Non-violent Conflict" at 7 pm, followed by the Julie Mertus presentation "Human Rights and Non-Violent Struggles." Mertus is an American University Professor in the School of International Service and Co-director of Ethics, Peace and Global Affairs Program. The talks are Friday, October 8, beginning at 7 p.m. in the Egan Lecture Hall.
Erica Chenoweth is a consultant on non-violent conflict and Julie Mertus works with various countries on post war transitions. Chenoweth’s latest books include Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Non-violent Resistance and Rethinking Violence: States and Non-State Actors in Conflict. Julie Mertus’main interest is in human rights. She has worked with post-war transitions in Central and Eastern Europe, Vietnam, Brazil, China, Jordan, and South Africa.
Chenoweth’s presentation will attempt to de-bunk the myth that violent insurgency is more successful than nonviolent civil resistance. She will present statistical and anecdotal evidence demonstrating that nonviolent conflict is considerably more successful in the short run, and more beneficial for society in the long run.
"This research comes at a critical time in history when violent insurgency has increased in frequency and lethality all around the globe,” writes Chenoweth.“My talk will argue that these insurgents are seldom justified in adopting violence as their primary method of resistance, because nonviolent direct action almost always has a better chance of succeeding."
The weekend JWAC forum, Rethinking International Political Violence: The Strategic Logic of Non-violent Conflict, will examine nonviolent interventions that address threats to international peace and stability including ethnic and religious strife, civil war, failed states, colonialism and its aftermath, social and political violence, environmentally-related conflict and human rights abuses. Emerging paradigms for international conflict resolution including negotiation, meditation, reconciliation, and other forms of non-violent peace building will be discussed.
After the Evening at Egan kick-off presentations, the forum continues Saturday Oct. 9, 10:00am-5:00pm, and Sunday, October 10, 10:00am-5:00 pm. There will be a reconciliation workshop Saturday, October 9, 7:00pm-8:30 pm. Most forum events will take place in the Egan Lecture Hall near the library on the UAS Auke Lake Campus.
Additional speaker bios and forum information at: www.jwac.org