Organization: US Institute of Peace
Registration deadline: 02 Aug 2015
Starting date: 03 Aug 2015
Ending date: 30 Aug 2015
The United States Institute of Peace is launching their new Global Campus this fall offering a new suite of instructor-led online courses that feature real-time interaction with your instructor, presentations by international experts and webinars, forums and interactive exercises involving other students around the world.
Civil Resistance Two: External Actors
Instructors:Maria Stephan & Daryn Cambridge
This course equips a range of external actors, governmental and non-governmental, to more effectively support nonviolent civic campaigns and movements, notably in restrictive environments.
This course equips a range of external actors, governmental and non-governmental, to more effectively support nonviolent civic campaigns and movements, notably in restrictive environments. With space for civil society closing around the world, due to government repression and extremist violence, the course examines how external support can help create opportunities for nonviolent conflict transformation. External actors are never in a position to determine outcomes, but they can influence an environment in which civic mobilization can take root and thrive. This course specifically focuses on the following categories of external actors: diplomats and policymakers, military and security forces, foreign aid agencies, foundations and (I)NGOs, the media and journalists, and private sector actors.
Each session of the course will focus on a specific external actor tool that can potentially influence the environment in which nonviolent campaigns and movements take place: foreign development aid, sanctions, diplomatic engagement, military-to-military relations, media coverage, private sector investment/divestment, third-party nonviolent intervention, cultural events, and educational trainings and workshops. Each of the sessions will feature first-hand accounts from a diverse group of external actors, who describe the challenges and opportunities associated with particular forms of external assistance. What principles should guide external actors seeking to support local nonviolent activists and movements? Which criteria should be used when choosing groups to support? What can be done to prevent external aid from de-legitimizing local movements? What are the comparative advantages and disadvantages of various external actors and the tools they have at their disposal? Where have we seen effective support? Ineffective support?
Week 1: Diplomats, Policymakers, and Security Forces
Government officials, including members of the diplomatic corps and military officers, have multiple ways to shape the enabling environment for local nonviolent campaigns and movements through their bilateral interactions with governments and citizen groups. This week will explore the toolkit available to diplomats and foreign embassies to engage with a broad range of civil society actors and support nonviolent transitions, particularly in light of the troubling global trend of closing space for civil society. The "Diplomats Handbook for Democracy Development Support" will be a key reference text. A companion handbook for militaries, called "Military Engagement: Influencing Armed Forces Worldwide to Support Democratic Transitions" will guide the discussion about the role of military-to-military relations in influencing nonviolent change processes. Recent literature on the pros and cons of political, economic and military sanctions vis-à-vis governments will be analyzed in light of their role in supporting local nonviolent campaigns and movements.
Week 2: Media, Culture and Tech
"If it bleeds, it leads." This oft-heard claim about media coverage of conflicts is a challenge to nonviolent actors and civic movements seeking to influence domestic and international audiences. This week incorporates a new media training video for civil society, called "Pressing your Case," to explore how nonviolent campaigns and movements can successfully communicate to different audiences using traditional and social media. It covers dynamics that media actors should understand when covering popular movements. The use of social media and new technologies by nonviolent activists in the MENA region, Brazil, Turkey and beyond has attracted significant attention. This week will critically examine the roles of various technologies, digital and non-digital, in supporting nonviolent civic mobilization. It will delve into the tactical and strategic importance of combining on-line and off-line mobilization methods and tools.
Week 3: Development Agencies
Foreign aid for civil society in the form of grants, technical support and capacity building – like all forms of external support - can be a double-edged sword for local nonviolent campaigns and movements. This week will explore the challenges and opportunities for U.S. and other foreign development agencies involved in providing money and training to local civic entities. It will examine examples of successful and failed efforts to support locally-grounded movements vice NGOs that struggle to achieve accountability and efficacy vis-à-vis domestic constituencies. Given the difficulties of measuring the impact of external support to nonviolent mobilization efforts the week will hone in on realistic measures that could assist aid practitioners going forward.
Week 4: (I)NGOS, Foundations, Private Sector
The private sector has unique capabilities that can be leveraged to create space for nonviolent change agents. Foundations and small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs), in particular, have historically played positive roles in providing catalytic and local support for nonviolent campaigns and movements – most recently as part of the Maidan movement in Ukraine. This week will examine the mixed record of private sector engagement with repressive governments and highlight how businesses and private sector actors can influence the space for nonviolent mobilization through investment and direct support options.
Details and More Information
- Price: $395 (4 week duration)
- Contact Leah Cullins: lcullins@usip.org
- Call us: (202) 429-7178
How to register: