2020 promises to be a watershed year for American foreign policy. In February, the United States struck a deal with the Taliban that would withdraw troops from Afghanistan, ending America's longest and most expensive war. A month earlier, the Iraqi parliament voted to expel American soldiers from the country. With the potential departure of U.S.…

This field note contributes to understanding of the challenges in and opportunities for supporting social and emotional learning (SEL) in the education in emergencies context, with a particular focus on embedding social and emotional skills into literacy learning in the early grades of primary school. In Afghanistan, the current reality is that…

The authors suggest the possibility of using concepts and practices drawn from peace education to assist in the treatment and education of refugees suffering from post-traumatic stress. They introduce four basic principles of peace education, which permit students/clients to work through memory and present conflicts, and calls on…

Today's military personnel fight against and work with a diverse variety of nonstate actors, from al-Qaeda terrorists to major nongovernmental organizations who provide vital humanitarian assistance. Furthermore, the nontraditional battle spaces where America and its allies have recently deployed (Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq) include a wide range of…

In the summer of 2003, the "Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists" published an essay warning that the United States was on the verge of losing the peace. Dozens of similar arguments appeared that year, but this one, written by Michael V. Bhatia, a 26-year-old graduate student, was as devastating as any of them. In 2007, to the surprise of…

This article examines both the largely negative role that education has played historically in contributing to conflict in Afghanistan and the ways that education has been purposefully employed as a post-conflict strategy aimed at building peace and social cohesion. The growing attention among academics and policy makers to the role of youth in…

In conflict-torn Afghanistan, international nongovernmental organizations are attempting to build indigenous capacity for development. Strategies include support for women, involvement of local elders, and integration of internal and external value systems. (SK)

In this article I explore some of the limitations of violence, in particular focusing on how it can possibly be undermined by dialogical action. Firstly, I argue that, although violence is at times justified by some people, its disrespectful use against innocent others, makes it illegitimate and therefore un-dialogical. Secondly, the use of…

This brief article reports on selective presentations from the January, 2004, conference, "Poverty, Partnerships and Peace: The Role of Educators in the 21st Century," sponsored by the Committee on Teaching about the United Nations. Topics covered include the importance of teaching girls in Afghanistan and the connection between poverty…