S-CAR Professor Meets US Congressman

It was a merging of two worlds, with my boss sitting to the left and my professor to the right. As they talked shop - with US Congressman Michael Honda reflecting on his required reading (Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of theOppressed) and his Japanese American internment experience in Camp Amache, Colorado, and Dr. Dennis Sandole expounding on "smart security" and root causes of conflict - there was a clear synergy of thought.

This was not your usual lobby visit. This was a collegial confab between two septuagenarians who had spent their lives building peace in this troubled world.

Needless to say, it was a treat for me to watch two men whom I admire, espousing the virtues and veracity of peacebuilding – from Congressman Honda’s Peace Corps experience in El Salvador to Professor Sandole’s recently published work on Peacebuilding, a book which explores the complexities of violent conflict and posits ways to prevent it.

The conversation between the Congressman and the Professor crystallized the very kind of connection I wish for the conflict community – that is, to exchange “lessons learned” with policymakers who are poised to reposition the US role in global affairs.

As multiple wars continue abroad unabated and as income inequality grows exponentially here at home, there is much work to be done and there is no community that knows better the root causes of these violent conflicts than conflict practitioners. If we do not speak up in Washington for root cause, who will?
And in our stead, an alternative (albeit less optimal) solution will, no doubt, be sought. Conflict analysts arise. We need you.

Michael Shank is the Senior Policy Advisor for US Congressman Honda, a doctoral candidate at GMU’s School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, and an Associate at the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict in The Hague.