ICAR In The News
CTV News Interviews ICAR Professor Solon Simmons
By Jennifer Ward
(CTV News, February 24, 2008)
Ralph Nader is unlikely to be a spoiler in this year's U.S. presidential race, according to a political analyst. Ralph Nader, still seen as a spoiler by some Democrats for his bid for the Oval Office in 2000, announced a fourth run for president on Sunday. But Solon Simmons, an assistant professor at George Mason University in Virginia, told CTV Newsnet that it likely won't affect the outcome. "Last time when Nader ran, he got less than half than a percentage point of the vote," Simmons said. "So the idea that in a vote total he's going to spoil seems unlikely." WATCH BROADCAST
MSNBC's Meet the Press Features ICAR Professor Solon Simmons
By Tim Russert
(MSNBC, February 24, 2008)
Our issues this Sunday: Many Democrats accuse this man of draining votes from Al Gore, which helped elect George W. Bush in 2000. Will he run again as an independent candidate for president in 2008? We will find out this morning. Our guest, Mr. Ralph Nader. Then, The New York Times vs. John McCain. READ MORE
Bali Confirmed the Shift: Nation Is On Board Now
By Michael Shank, ICAR Ph.D. Student, and US Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD)
(Richmond Times-Dispatch, February 22, 2008)
It's missing the point to think about the United Nations climate change conference in Bali last December based upon on whether specific targets were agreed upon or not. This point ignores dramatic historical changes in the world concerning climate change-related attitudes and approaches. Bali is not Kyoto. The new consensus among the U.S. Congress, President George Bush, and leaders of formerly recalcitrant countries such as India, China, and Australia is this: The international community recognizes climate change, recognizes our shared contribution to it and its impact on all of us, and recognizes our shared responsibility in tackling it. READ MORE
CTV News Interviews ICAR Professor Dennis Sandole
By Dan Matheson
(CTV News, February 21, 2008)
Dennis Sandole, Professor at the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University is interviewed on CTV following the demonstrations against the U.S. sparked by its recognition of Kosovo's independence. Sandole highlights the importance of identity and history and discusses prospects for Conflict Resolution in the short term and long term. Interview conducted with Dan Matheson on February 21, 2008. Video courtesy of CTV.ca. WATCH BROADCAST
Chronicle of Higher Education Features ICAR Professor Solon Simmons
By Robin Wilson
(Chronicle of Higher Education, February 20, 2008)
On Thursday mornings, a half-dozen faculty members from Pennsylvania State University's campus here gather at Kuppy's Diner to talk politics. Like most professors, all of those in the Kuppy's gang are Democrats — all except Matthew Woessner, an assistant professor of public policy. During a recent Thursday-morning get-together over scrambled eggs and toast, the conversation at Kuppy's focused on the U.S. presidential election. As usual, Mr. Woessner's colleagues were taking shots at him. Why did he originally favor Rudy Giuliani? one of his colleagues wanted to know. READ MORE
Tycoon's Death Raises Issues of Rebuilding Trust in Georgia
By Susan Allen Nan, ICAR Professor
(Financial Times, February 18, 2008)
Sir, Your report of Badri Patarkatsishvili’s death on Tuesday at the age of 52 (“Police probe sudden death of Georgian exiled tycoon”, February 14) raises indirectly an important issue for Georgia’s long-term stability – the rebuilding of trust. The Georgian tendency to suspect foul play will not dissipate until Georgians find more reason for trust in authorities and the rule of law. That trust must be built by consistently enacting democratic values. While British police may look carefully at Mr Patarkatsishvili’s death in light of the 2006 murder of Alexander Litvinenko in London, Georgians have other historical events in mind. READ MORE
GMU's Broadside Features ICAR's Role in Forum on Climate Change
By Dan Abernathy
(Broadside, February 18, 2008)
George Mason University is no stranger to the color green. Anyone looking at the university colors - which happen to be green and gold - or the lush forestry surrounding our campuses can see the evidence. So it is no surprise that one of Mason's recent policy events, presented by the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, addressed one of the many issues related to the world-wide effort to "go green" on sustainability. READ MORE
To An Aspiring President
By Dennis Sandole, ICAR Professor
(Washington Post, February 17, 2008)
James Mann's review of Samantha Power's Chasing the Flame: Sergio Vieira de Mello and the Fight to Save the World (Book World, Feb. 10) suggests to me three reasons to recommend the book to, among others, the first post-Bush president of the United States. The first is that the United Nations can only be as effective as its members allow it to be. Thus, vociferous critics of the global organization would do well to reframe their "dissing" of the UN to, say, critiquing the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- i.e., China, France, the Russian federation, the United Kingdom and the United States. READ MORE
The Star-Spangled Delusion
By David Young, ICAR M.S. Student
(Asia Times Online, February 16, 2008)
Since the end of World War II, no US administration has indulged American idealism to the degree - and with the recklessness - that President George W Bush has. Previous presidents were better able to balance our raw idealism with our realist objectives, even though they often spoke the language of morality to the American people - telling us that we were the planet's moral beacon - while quietly ensuring that our impulses be checked by a cold dose of caution and realism. For better or worse, it was inevitable that our own idealism (or more cynically, our self-righteousness) would lead us to overreach. READ MORE
Afghan Domestic Opinion Neglected in Ashdown Plan
By Michael Shank, ICAR Ph.D. Student
(Financial Times, February 15, 2008)
Sir, Paddy Ashdown still does not get it. His three-pronged policy prescription for Afghanistan ("A strategy to save Afghanistan", February 13), while meritorious on many levels, nowhere implies consultation with Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai.
This approach, unfortunately, is consistent with years of interventionist neglect of local opinion by the US, UK and Nato. READ MORE
Gilchrest's Defeat a Loss for Congress
By Michael Shank, ICAR Ph.D. Student
(Baltimore Sun, February 15, 2008)
Not only did the 1st District lose a congressman our Founding Fathers would have been proud of, but Congress lost a representative any democracy would be proud of ( "Change-minded electorate ousts Wynn, Gilchrest," Feb. 13). Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest was a rare breed on Capitol Hill who chose principles over partisanship, diplomacy over demagoguery and the contemplative over the caustic. READ MORE
They Have No Honor
By David Young, ICAR M.S. Student
(Asia Times Online, February 15, 2008)
There is a robust dialogue in the West concerning just causes for declaring war (such as pre-emption and self-defense,among others), but very little discussion about the methods of warfare that we (and other Westernized countries) have come to regard as either justifiable or unconscionable. Americans, in particular, have developed a keen sense of what constitutes fair and unfair behavior in conflict and war, but much like members of any culture, Westerners seldom question their unequivocal abhorrence for certain behavior, such as terrorism and hostage-taking. READ MORE
Kosovo: A Real Geopolitical Precedent
By David Young, ICAR M.S. Student
(European Affairs Journal, February 14, 2008)
At the time of the NATO intervention in Kosovo in 1999, the premise of Western governments was that confronting ethnic cleansing was more important than respecting the international borders. The message was that would-be tyrants in future needed to know – and be deterred by – the cost that would be imposed on them by the international community if they sought to inflict such atrocities. The U.S. decision to throw its full political-military weight into Kosovo reflected eagerness to make up for perceived moral failures in the 1990s (notably Somalia, Rwanda, and Bosnia). READ MORE
Transparency Good, Accountability Better
By Matt Shugert, ICAR M.S. Student
(The Hill, February 13, 2008)
I applaud Defense Secretary Robert Gates’s openness and transparency in providing the “price tag” for our continued involvement in Iraq to the Senate Armed Services Committee (“$170B more for Iraq war,” Feb. 6). Although he argues that the figure isn’t precise, it’s a good first step that one day may lead to the current administration announcing in detail how the U.S. will work toward decreasing the brutal violence in Iraq, and begin the pulling down of our troop strength in Iraq. READ MORE
CTV News Interviews ICAR Ph.D. Student Sam Rizk
By Canada AM
(CTV News, February 12, 2008)
Samuel Rizk, a conflict analyst at the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University, analyzes the assassination of senior Hezbollah commander Imad Mughniyeh in Damascus. Rizk evaluates the significance of this event, the impact upon Hezbollah, consequences for Lebanon, Israel and concerns for retaliation and escalation. Video courtesy of CTV. WATCH BROADCAST
Dartmouth Independent Features ICAR Professor Solon Simmons
By Emily R. Mirengoff and Alessandra V. Necamp
(Dartmouth Independent, February 11, 2008)
Why we need to show Christianity more respect in the classroom. Secular, prestigious academic institutions like Dartmouth pride themselves on their diversity, even using it as a selling point to prospective students. This valuable trait, diversity, means that the colleges are attended by students of different backgrounds, as well as students with different belief systems. READ MORE
