Symposium on the Changing Nature of War and Peace

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. - March 23, 2015 - PRLog -- Adelphi University will be hosting its second full-day Symposium on the Changing Nature of War and Peace on Thursday, March 26 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Scholars and practitioners will gather to discuss how the nature of war is being transformed—from the use of private contractors to the reliance on drones—and the ethical, legal, political and social consequences of such changes. This symposium also examines the prospects and challenges of peace—reducing interstate tensions, using force for humanitarian purposes and peace brokering—in the 21st century. The symposium, free and open to the community, will take place at the Thomas Dixon Lovely Ballroom in the Ruth S. Harley University Center located at 1 South Avenue, Garden City, NY.

The symposium is a part of the University’s Changing Nature of War and Peace initiative, a year-long series of events focused on historical, present and future areas of war, conflict and peace, nationally and internationally.

The program for the day is as follows:

8:45 a.m.–9:15 a.m      Continental breakfast

9:15 a.m.– 9:25 a.m.    Opening remarks

9:25 a.m.-10:40 a.m.    “The Changing Means of Fighting War” insight from each panelist

10:50 a.m.–11: 35 a.m.          Panel discussion with three “Changing Means of Fighting War” panelists

11:40 a.m.–12:10 p.m.          Lunch Break

12:15 a.m.–1:30 p.m. “Confronting Peace” insight from each panelist

1:40 p.m.– 2:25 p.m.   Roundtable discussion with three “Confronting Peace” panelists

2:30p.m.– 3:00 p.m.      “Music of the People: Songs of Unity and Protest” Mineola High School Treble Chorus and Acappella Singers

“CHANGING MEANS OF FIGHTING WAR” PANELISTS

The two morning sessions will feature three scholars who will focus most of their discussion on the provocative topic of the use of drones in wars. Each scholar will address this novel and controversial means of fighting war from the standpoint of their own disciplines: international law, ethics and international relations. Afterward, they will engage with one another and the audience in an open roundtable discussion of the topic.

Adil Ahmad Haque

Adil Haque, J.D., is a professor of law and Judge Jon O. Newman Scholar at the Rutgers School of Law—Newark. He is an expert in the international law of war and its moral underpinnings. He has numerous publications on the justice and laws of armed conflict and is currently writing a book on the moral foundations of the law of armed conflict for Oxford University Press.

Jeff McMahan

Jeff McMahan, Ph.D., is the White’s Professor of Moral Philosophy at Corpus Christi College at the University of Oxford.  He is the leading ethicist of war and armed conflict today. Dr. McMahan has published extensively on the topic of war and has two influential books, Killing in War and The Ethics of Killing: Problems at the Margins of Life. He has also published several op-ed articles in The New York Times, The Huffington Post, and al-Jazeera America.

Daniel Brunstetter

Daniel Brunstetter, Ph.D., is an associate professor of political science at University of California, Irvine. Dr. Brunstetter has written widely on the use of drones and targeted killings. He is currently writing a book on ways in which U.S. presidents have understood and implemented the ethical principles of the just war.

“CONFRONTING PEACE” PANELISTS

The afternoon panelists will examine systemic and localized peacebuilding as well as the challenges to peace through new sources of conflict and instability. Each panelist will address the question of what sustainable peace would look like, followed by a panel discussion and a Q&A session on the topic of peace.

Joshua S. Goldstein

Joshua S. Goldstein, Ph.D., is professor emeritus of international relations in the School of International Service at American University and research scholar in the Department of Political Science in the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Dr. Goldstein is an interdisciplinary scholar of war, peace and international relations and author of Winning the War on War: The Decline of Armed Conflict Worldwide, The Real Price of War and War and Gender: How Gender Shapes the War System and Vice Versa. Dr. Goldstein has published articles in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, American Political Science Review, Journal of Conflict Resolution and International Studies Quarterly, among others, and op-ed pieces in newspapers such as the The New York Times and Washington Post.

Séverinne Autesserre

Séverinne Autesserre  Ph.D.,  is a professor of political Science at Barnard College and Columbia University. Dr. Autesserre is the author of Peaceland - Conflict Resolution and the Everyday Politics of International Intervention and The Trouble with the Congo: Local Violence and the Failure of International Peacebuilding. She has published articles in International Organization, International Peacekeeping and the Review of African Political Economy. She was awarded 2011 Chadwick Alger Prize from the International Studies Association for the best book on international organizations and multilateralism and the 2012 Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order.

Dominic Rushe

Dominic Rushe is the U.S. business editor for The Guardian newspaper. He was part of the Pulitzer Prize-winning team that first reported Edward Snowden’s revelations, for which he was also awarded the Investigative Reporters and Editors medal. Mr. Rushe first came to the United States to report on the aftermath of 9/11 for the London Sunday Times and has been with The Guardian for five years.  His current interest is the largely hidden conflicts of cyberspace.

About Adelphi University: Adelphi is a world-class, modern university with excellent and highly relevant programs where students prepare for lives of active citizenship and professional careers. Through its schools and programs—College of Arts and Sciences, Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies, Honors College, Robert B. Willumstad School of Business, Ruth S. Ammon School of Education, University College, College of Nursing and Public Health and the School of Social Work—the coeducational university offers undergraduate and graduate degrees as well as professional and educational programs for adults. As a nationally-ranked, doctoral research university, Adelphi University currently enrolls nearly 8,000 students from 43 states and 45 foreign countries. With its main campus in Garden City and its centers in Manhattan, Suffolk County, and Poughkeepsie, the University, chartered in 1896, maintains a commitment to liberal studies, in tandem with rigorous professional preparation and active citizenship.