Sunday, July 30, 2006

News from the USA: The Fletcher Institute and Non-violence conference

First-of-its kind executive education program in the advanced, interdisciplinary study of nonviolent conflict, taught by leading scholars and practitioners of strategic nonviolent action and authorities from related fields.

Members of local and international NGOs, staff members of international institutions, scholars and staff members of think tanks and research groups, journalists, academics and teachers, and interested policy analysts and advisors.

Recent successful civilian-led uprisings (Serbia, Georgia, Ukraine, Lebanon) have intensified interest in civilian-based nonviolent conflict among policy-makers, academics, journalists, and NGOs. The so-called “colored revolutions” are only the latest wave of more than a century of political transitions driven by nonviolent movements, but they have generated extensive analysis in the media and among scholars. So a systematic program of graduate-level teaching and interactive discussion, for international practitioners and professionals, is timely.

The Institute will address these questions: Why do certain civilian-led struggles succeed while others fail? What are the most important strategic considerations in using nonviolent resistance? What roles have media and communications played in struggles? How have external actors interacted with local movements? Historical and contemporary cases of civilian-based struggles will be examined, including issues-based movements as well as popular struggles against foreign occupations and authoritarian governments.

Today, as the oldest exclusively graduate school of international affairs in the United States, The Fletcher School continues to redefine itself to meet the demands of a world of dizzying change. As both a professional and academic institution, Fletcher develops the vital link between theory and practice in international relations. The Fletcher School is pleased to offer a certificate in the Advanced Study of Nonviolent Conflict that draws upon its multi-disciplinary approach to global affairs.


I. Nonviolent Conflict: Concepts, History, and Contemporary Applications

II. Strategy, Tactics, Leadership, and Organization in Movements

III. Local Conflicts and the Global Context

IV. Lessons Learned



Additional Components of Summer Institute:

Documentary Films: A Force More Powerful; Bringing Down a Dictator
The classroom discussions will be supported and supplemented by showing both of these award-winning documentary films.

Use of A Force More Powerful: A Game of Nonviolent Strategy
A new state-of-the-art video game, “A Force More Powerful,” was released in 2006. The game is the only interactive educational tool that helps develop strategic and tactical decision-making skills in civil resistance and civilian-based movements.


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http://www.nonviolent-conflict.org

News from the USA: The Fletcher Institute and