Maintaining Global Dialogue
Newsletter of UCF Global Perspectives and International Initiatives

Issue 29 - Summer 2024
 

Message from David Dumke, GPII Executive Director

Northern Ireland Offers a Great Example of Success: Let's Learn From It

In July, a GPII team visited Belfast and Dublin, where they were joined by partners from Belfast-based Rethinking Conflict, Cambridge University’s Kings College, and the University of Manchester. The delegation was hosted by Rev. Dr. Gary Mason, who is a noted global expert in conflict resolution and transformation. This was the second such GPII visit to Belfast and was more targeted towards implementing a plan to build a conflict transformation center which will feature academic, informational, research, and outreach components. The American University in Cairo’s School of Global Affairs and Public Policy is also supporting the project.

Why launch a conflict transformation program, which will lean heavily on the success of the Good Friday Agreement? Because this agreement, which ended at long last the Northern Ireland’s Troubles, is a rare example of successfully ending what was once thought of as an intractable problem which centered, at its core, on land, identity, and religion. Many recent conflicts have similar origins. The Good Friday process also highlights what is needed to create an atmosphere in which a peace agreement can succeed.

First, there needs to be work undertaken at all levels of society to reach agreement that violence and further warfare will not resolve the underlying problems – all parties must commit to a future in which the ballot box, or at least politics, is the tool used to resolve disputes rather than the gun. In Northern Ireland, the parties were all exhausted after 30 years and 50,000 casualties – Republican, Loyalists, and British armed forces and police were ready to move on.

Second, the parties must agree to disagree. As one can quickly detect by talking to former militants and political leaders from either the Republican and Loyalist side, people tend to stick to their narratives about identity, facts, and their own victimization. This does not mean they lack empathy for others, but they see the world as it has been explained to them. But what all see is that a future without violence is preferable to continual armed conflict.

When Jimmy Carter brokered the Camp David Accords, there was a moment when negotiations in rural Maryland looked like they had failed. President Carter invited Israeli Prime Minister Begin into his cabin for one final talk. Carter began signing a picture to the Begin’s grandchildren, personalizing each autograph. Begin, considered a hard liner, suddenly began to weep thinking of their future. And with that, peace negotiations resumed and were ultimately successful. Sadat of course ultimately paid with his life for his courageous support of peace, but Egypt and Israel have not been to war since – even if relations are cool.

Third, as Rethinking Conflict’s Emerging Young Leaders program demonstrates, while those who grew up in conflict are inevitably scarred by it, future generations offer hope that the narrative can change. Talking to young leaders from Mason’s first and second cohorts, all of whom are in their 30’s, they see a much different world than that of their parents, and even older siblings. The UCF conflict transformation initiative will include a young leaders program – involving UCF and other students.

Another important lesson which can be gleaned is the proper use of American power and influence. Former President Bill Clinton was dedicated to peace in Northern Ireland, and dispatched former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell to help negotiate the Good Friday Agreement. President George W. Bush, who succeeded Clinton, also supported the process – making it a non-partisan issue. The United States helped draw investment to the war-torn area and offered some financial support. But mostly the U.S. utilized soft power to cinch a deal. This is in stark contrast to some conflicts underway today.

Washington worked closely with the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland to make the deal work. This is a great example of how allies can work together and support a common objective, even if on occasion they disagree on tactics. Solving global problems takes a global village.

No two conflicts are alike, so it would be a mistake to conclude the Northern Ireland model offers a blueprint for resolving all conflicts. But it is an example of what a successful process looks like. And the key word is process. It takes time. Everyone loses a little, but wins a great deal by committing and recommitting to the process – even when rejectionists and bitter enders – and they exist in every conflict – try to exercise a veto power by carrying out a terrorist attack or other action which risks peace.

The Center for Conflict Transformation and Peace, when it comes online, will serve as a dynamic agent in creating conditions for peace and understanding the nature of conflict and conflict resolution. Academically, we will offer curriculum, classes, scholar exchanges, and a young leaders program. We will organize events, speaker series, seminars, and policymaker briefings. We will facilitate research, publications, and broadcasts dedicated to conflict transformation. And we will utilize our broad network of like-minded organizations and individuals to get the word out about this important initiative, and the need to focus on resolving rather than escalating conflict.

UCF offers the United States a model of how to build a world-class university in just a few short decades. GPII hopes the conflict transformation initiative, with the support of our faculty and partners, can create a unique center that offers successful alternative solutions to conflict resolution rather than endless military action and smoldering hatreds that continually threaten to morph into war.
 

GPII's Dr. Mirvate El Jerdi and UCF Global were honored to welcome a delegation of Hungarian higher education leaders to UCF as part of the Hungarian Summit 2024 that was held in Daytona Beach, Florida, from May 23rd to the 24th. This visit offered an exciting opportunity to showcase UCF and introduce the various departments and colleges. Among the distinguished guests were Dr. Tibor Bial, former Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Hungary, and Dr. Laszlo Szabo, former Ambassador of Hungary to the United States.
 

GPII Executive Director David Dumke participated in a symposium, “US Elections 2024: Implications for the Middle East,” which was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates in June. The symposium was co-sponsored by the Dubai-based Fiker Institute and the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for American Studies and Research at the American University in Cairo. Like most of the world, the Middle East region anxiously awaits how the American election will play out, the result of which will likely lead to significant changes in American foreign, economic, and security policy. Because Washington is so closely tied to nations throughout the region, its global posture will help determine how the region will respond and react.


The symposium featured academic and policy experts from throughout the Middle East, with a special focus on Egypt and the Gulf Cooperation Council. Special attention was paid to the ongoing conflict in Gaza, and its possible spillover to Lebanon, Iran, and throughout the Arab world. The experts discussed scenarios if Republicans returned to power under Donald Trump, or if Democrats retained control. The group explored the possibility of President Joe Biden stepping aside, a development which has since reshaped the trajectory of the presidential race.


The Fiker Institute was founded in 2021 by UAE author Dubai Abulhoul. The institute is both a think tank and library, and explores issues and topics of keen interest to the Middle East region. CASAR is AUC’s American studies center. It hosts events, offers classes, and sponsor activities aimed at increasing understanding of the United States and America’s ties to the Middle East. Dumke was a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at CASAR in the Fall 2023 Semester, teaching American foreign policy. CASAR and GPII regularly partner with each other thanks to the generous contributions of Jonathan and Nancy Wolf.
 

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David Dumke discusses U.S.-India relations and economy with Richard Rossow who is the senior adviser and holds the Chair in U.S.-India Policy Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). In this role, Rossow helps frame and shape policies to promote greater business and economic engagement between the two countries, with a unique focus on tracking and engaging Indian states. 
 

David Dumke sits with Meredith Rothbart, the Co-Founder and CEO of Amal-Tikva which aims to build capacity for sustainable and scalable peacebuilding between Israelis and Palestinians. Rothbart brings almost 15 years of leadership experience with Israeli and Palestinian NGOs, including as director of Kids4Peace Jerusalem. She lives in Jerusalem and holds an MA from Hebrew University in Community Development. She has addressed Congress, the White House and the UN Security Council on grassroots peacebuilding efforts. 
 

Our latest "Popular Discussions" podcast was hosted by GPII interns Raphael Merritt and Diana Tristan and featured an exclusive interview with the talented author Nisreen Alghawi, discussing her compelling novel "Edge of Heaven." Set in a multi-sectarian town in 1970s Lebanon, this captivating novel follows Misha, Wael, and Jana as they navigate through the joys of childhood and the harsh realities of conflict, discovering the true meaning of survival and sacrifice along the way. The book is a powerful tale of love, loss, and the enduring strength of the human spirit. 
 

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