Democracy

Melinda Burrell

Paul Snodgrass — Mon, 11 Jul 2022 15:35:28 +0000

Melinda Burrell Paul Snodgrass Mon, 07/11/2022 - 11:35

Biography

Melinda Burrell is a democracy and peacebuilding specialist who has spent 25 years living and working in conflict zones, from helping oversee the first post-war elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina to leading a humanitarian mission into Lebanon during the 2006 Israel/Hezbollah war. Her recent research explores how Americans experience talking across political divides. She now speaks and trains on the neuroscience of communication and conflict, and is a syndicated writer for PeaceVoice. As a board member of the National Association for Community Mediation, she helped early stages of the Trust Network, a group of American organizations that came together in October 2020 to prevent election-related violence and now is supporting community-led processes to address social cohesion and justice across the country.

Degrees

BA, cum laude, Amherst College
Master's of Arts of Law and Diplomacy (MALD), The Fletcher School
PhD, Conflict Analysis and Resolution, Nova Southeastern Florida University

Publications and Awards

What Can They Be Thinking? Fostering Dialogue Across Divides”, chapter in Peacebuilding in America, Rowman & Littlefield, 2020

“Quick Neuroscience Tips for Navigating Uncertain Times”, March 30, 2022, op-ed in OR, FL, IL, MD, LA

“Lessons from a War-torn Garden: SCARF and the Magic Ratio”, Jan 20, 2022 op-ed via PeaceVoice in papers in VA, DE, CA and elsewhere

Dr. Mansoor Ehsan joins the Carter School as Scholar in Residence

Paul Snodgrass — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 19:42:24 +0000

Dr. Mansoor Ehsan joins the Carter School as Scholar in Residence Paul Snodgrass Fri, 06/24/2022 - 15:42

In This Story

Mansoor Ehsan

In partnership with the GMU Afghan Scholars Program, the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution welcomes Dr. Mansoor Ehsan. A political analyst and researcher, Dr. Ehsan joins the Carter School as Scholar in Residence for a year beginning this summer. Dr. Ehsan comes to the Carter School with a wealth of knowledge and experience on the topics of democracy, nationalism, and peace building.

Dr. Mansoor Ehsan is a seasoned political analyst who specializes in Afghanistan and Central Asia studies. He has over nine years of research experience and numerous publications. Dr. Ehsan has published extensively in credible publications on the topics of democracy, nationalism, state-building, peace-building, political Islam, and human security. In his book "Democratization Process in Afghanistan: Islam, Tradition, and Modernity", he gave a comprehensive analysis of the democratization process in Afghanistan. In addition to his research and teaching expertise, Dr. Ehsan served from 2014 to 2016 as the Head of the Center for Law and Political Science at Karwan University in Kabul. He has also taught international affairs at Kabul University and the Center for Diplomacy and International Studies (DIS) at the University of Afghanistan. To add to his many accomplishments, he is a founding member of the Kabul-based think tank, the Afghanistan Association of Political Science and International Relations (AAPSIR).”

The George Mason University Afghan Scholars Program was designed to help scholars and researchers who recently left Afghanistan apply for an academic appointment as visiting scholars. The Carter School is grateful to Edward and Nancy Rice, whose generous gift made this appointment possible. To learn more about this program or to support this endeavor, please see the announcement of the Afghan Scholars Program.

Topics

Carter School Visiting Scholars

Research

Mansoor Ehsan

Paul Snodgrass — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 16:13:35 +0000

Mansoor Ehsan Paul Snodgrass Fri, 06/24/2022 - 12:13

Scholar in Residence, 2023-2024

Biography

Dr. Mansoor Ehsan is a seasoned political analyst who specializes in Afghanistan and Central Asia studies. He has over nine years of research experience and numerous publications. Dr. Ehsan has published extensively in credible publications on the topics of democracy, nationalism, state-building, peace-building, political Islam, and human security. In his book "Democratization Process in Afghanistan: Islam, Tradition, and Modernity", he gave a comprehensive analysis of the democratization process in Afghanistan. In addition to his research and teaching expertise, Dr. Ehsan served from 2014 to 2016 as the Head of the Center for Law and Political Science at Karwan University. He has also taught international affairs at Kabul University and the Center for Diplomacy and International Studies (DIS) at the University of Afghanistan. To add to his many accomplishments, he is a founding member of the Kabul-based think tank, the Afghanistan Association of Political Science and International Relations (AAPSIR).”

Dr. Ehsan joined the Carter School as Scholar in Residence in 2022 as part of George Mason University's Afghan Scholars Program.

Study: Do George Soros and Open Society Foundations Really Make a Difference?

Andrew J Schappert — Thu, 03 Feb 2022 17:10:36 +0000

Study: Do George Soros and Open Society Foundations Really Make a Difference? Andrew J Schappert Thu, 02/03/2022 - 12:10

Just how influential is billionaire philanthropist George Soros?

Vilified by some, praised by others, the Hungarian-born investor and his Open Society Foundations (OSF)—he’s donated $32 billion since 1979—works to support liberal democratic intuitions in 37 countries around the world.

But exactly how much influence has OSF had on those countries?

A new study by Schar School researchers evaluated the global investments by the nonprofit to understand the role of private philanthropy in a range of public policy areas, including education, criminal justice reform, health care, development, civil liberties and civil rights, and democratization. Published in Global Studies Quarterly, the conclusion might surprise some. (Read it here.)

The report was written by Associate Professor Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, Assistant Professor Lucas Núñez, who led the qualitative study, and Schar School Master’s in Public Policy graduate Hayden R. Ludwig, who studies nonprofit policies at Capital Research Center, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. Research assistance was provided by Schar School Master’s in Public Policy student Hadiyyah Aida Abdul-Jalaal and Master’s in Public Administration student Lea Mann.

The self-funded study began “after a friendly and informal conversation waiting for the elevator” with Núñez, said Correa-Cabrera, an immigration and border policy expert who had been curious about OSF while researching migrant caravans and mass migrations in the Americas.

And the findings? Well…meh.

“We find that OSF funding does not have much of an impact at the country level in a select number of outcomes that we can measure,” said Núñez. “This does not mean that this funding does not do anything, but that it is at least not detectable at the country level.”

“We have found that whatever Soros’s foundations are doing, they are not having a clear significant impact; actually, they do not seem to have any impact at the macro-level at all, at least amongst the data available for this study,” Correa-Cabrera concluded. “In other words, there is no proof that OSF funding has a substantial contribution at the macro-level in the development of open societies, nor that it is having the negative impacts that some of its critics ascribe to it.”

The report has received attention in the media, including a two-part dissection by the public radio program, The World. Part 1. Part 2.

Topics

Nonprofits

Democracy

Schar School News February 2022

Recap: U.S. Backslide on Abortion Rights Is a Grave Danger to Democracy

Andrew J Schappert — Tue, 25 Jan 2022 18:55:14 +0000

Recap: U.S. Backslide on Abortion Rights Is a Grave Danger to Democracy Andrew J Schappert Tue, 01/25/2022 - 13:55

An informative, insightful, and often impassioned virtual discussion about two of the country’s hot-button topics—abortion rights and the attack on democracy—held earlier this month and co-hosted by the Schar School and Ms. Magazine has been recapped by the magazine.

See the full video of the hour-long panel discussion, as well as read the full transcript, as presented by Ms. Magazine.

Topics

Abortion

Democracy

Panel Discussion

Schar School News January 2022