The Global Peace and Security Studies Program

“Assessing the factors that affect international peace and security”

The Global Peace and Security Studies Program at the University of Central Florida – supported by the Peace and Security Studies Fund of the Global Connections Foundation – is housed jointly by the Global Perspectives Office and the Department of Political Science. Established in 2010, it sponsors or co-sponsors public discussions featuring top speakers, panels and other presentations; encourages scholarship and research; and works with partners worldwide. The program is committed to assessing the factors that affect international peace and security from an interdisciplinary perspective. It is an integral part of a broader undertaking at UCF that includes the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) in Washington, D.C. UCF and USIP joined forces in 2009 to inspire a new generation of young people to participate in the search for creative solutions to resolve and prevent conflicts. They are working toward that goal by enhancing UCF’s many classes that relate to peace and security; bringing together specialists and scholars from several disciplines; and encouraging expanded community conversations on these issues. The program also partners with the sponsors of the Sibille H. Pritchard Global Peace Fellowship, which is awarded each semester to a Central Florida college or university student.

The Global Peace and Security Studies Program Co-Directors

John C. Bersia
Global Perspectives Office
John.Bersia@ucf.edu
PH 202,407-823-0688

Roger Handberg
Department of Political Science
Roger.Handberg@ucf.edu
PH 302, 407-823-2608

The Global Peace and Security Studies Program Advisory Board

• Patricia Ambinder, Chair, Peace and Security Studies Committee, Global Connections Foundation
• Rosalind Beiler, Interim Director of Public History, Department of History, UCF
• John C. Bersia, Special Assistant to the President for Global Perspectives, UCF (Co-director)
• Roger Handberg, Department of Political Science, UCF (Co-director)
• Joan Johnson-Freese, Chair, National Security Decision Making Department, U.S. Naval War College
• Amal Khan, UCF’s first Sibille H. Pritchard Global Peace Fellow
• George Lopez, The Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., Professor of Peace Studies, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, Notre Dame University
• Jim Ludes, Executive Director, Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy, Salve Regina University
• Jack McGuire, Associate Dean, College of Sciences, UCF
• Jack Mendelsohn, former senior U.S. arms control negotiator
• Beppy Owen, Esq., Chair, Orlando Area Committee on Foreign Relations
• Sibille Pritchard, President, Global Connections Foundation

The Global Peace and Security Studies Program Events

2011-2012 Global Peace and Security Studies Events

• Anthony Shadid, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and Beirut bureau chief for The New York Times(Dispatches from the Middle East: Covering the  “Arab Spring”). A program conducted in cooperation with the Global Perspectives Office and other partners. September 1, 2011
• Ramesh Ponnuru, Senior Editor, The National Review (Grappling with Issues of the Future in Asia and Beyond). A program conducted in cooperation with the Global Perspectives Office and other partners. September 6, 2011
• Rose Mapendo, humanitarian, activist and survivor of the Congolese genocide (Surviving Political Violence in the Congo: A Personal Story). A program conducted in cooperation with the Global Perspectives Office and other partners. September 20, 2011
• James Traub, Author of The Freedom Agenda: Why America Must Spread Democracy, contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine (You Can’t Mistreat People Forever: The Revolution in the Arab World).  A program conducted in cooperation with the Global Perspectives Office and other partners. September 27, 2011
• Roya Hakakian, Author, poet, documentary filmmaker and founding member of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center  (An Insider’s Guide to Iran’s Turmoil). A program conducted in cooperation with the Global Perspectives Office and other partners. October 4, 2011
• Peter Bergen, Author of Holy War, Inc. and The Osama bin Laden I Know, CNN national security analyst, and Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation (After Osama bin Laden: Terrorism’s Future Prospects).  A program conducted in cooperation with the Global Perspectives Office and other partners. October 11, 2011.
• “People Power, Politics and Global Change.” An international global issues conference, sponsored by the UCF Global Perspectives Office in a partnership with the National Conference of Editorial Writers and other partners. October 13, 2011
• Samantha Nutt, Author of Damned Nations: Greed, Guns, Armies and Aid, medical doctor and humanitarian (Damned Nations: Greed, Guns, Armies and Aid). A program conducted in cooperation with the Global Perspectives Office and other partners. October 25, 2011
• Peter Thum, Founder, Ethos Water (Ethos Water: Realizing My Dream To Help Millions & Address the World Water Crisis). A program conducted in cooperation with the Global Perspectives Office and other partners. November 1, 2011
• Bing West, “Lessons from Iraq: Flawed Execution or is America Unwilling to Fight?” November 18, 2011
• Arun Gandhi, peace activist and grandson of Mahatma Gandhi (Lessons Learned from My Grandfather: Non-Violence in a Violent World). A program conducted in cooperation with the Global Perspectives Office and other partners. November 10, 2011
• Mariane Pearl, Author of In Search of Hope and A Mighty Heart, journalist and widow of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl  (Fighting Violence: Open Up a Dialogue).  A program conducted in cooperation with the UCF Global Perspectives Office, UCF International Services Center and other partners. November 14, 2011.
• Rachel Louise Snyder, Author of Fugitive Denim: A Moving Story of People and Pants in the Borderless World of Global Trade, radio commentator (Globalization: Manufacturing, Sweatshops, Development/aid Work, & Ethical Consumerism). A program conducted in cooperation with the Global Perspectives Office and other partners. January 19, 2012
• Tina Rosenberg, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, and author of Join the Club: How Peer Pressure Can Transform the World and The Haunted Land: Facing Europe's Ghosts After Communism (How Peer Pressure Can Transform the World). A program conducted in cooperation with the Global Perspectives Office and other partners. February 2, 2012
• Jed Horne, Author of Breach of Faith: Hurricane Katrina and the Near Death of a Great American City, former editor and reporter with The Times-Picayune (Breach of Faith: Learning from Katrina). A program conducted in cooperation with the Global Perspectives Office and other partners. February 14, 2012
• Jeremy Scahill, Author of Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army, award-winning investigative journalist  (Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army).  A program conducted in cooperation with the Global Perspectives Office and other partners. March 20, 2012

2010-2011 Selected Visitors, Speakers and Events Related to Global Peace and Security:

• Qubad Talabani, Representative to the United States, Kurdistan Regional Government (Next Steps for the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq's Political Evolution). A distinguished visitor program in cooperation with the UCF Global Perspectives Office, the Orlando Area Committee on Foreign Relations, the Global Connections Foundation and other partners. September 9, 2010.
• Luis Alberto Urrea, award-winning author of The Devil’s Highway (The Devil’s Highway: A True Story of Illegal Immigration, Desperation and Greed). A distinguished visitor program in cooperation with the UCF Global Perspectives Office, the Global Connections Foundation and other partners. September 23, 2010.
• “Climate Security Update.” A forum in cooperation with the UCF Global Perspectives Office, the American Security Project, the Global Connections Foundation and other partners. October 7, 2010.
• “Women in Leadership: A Global Perspective.” An annual forum in cooperation with the UCF Global Perspectives Office, Lt. Gen (Ret.) Jay Garner, the Global Connections Foundation and other partners. October 12, 2010.
• “America and the Rising Powers.” An annual global issues conference in cooperation with the UCF Global Perspectives Office, the National Conference of Editorial Writers, the Orlando Area Committee on Foreign Relations, the Global Connections Foundation and other partners. October 28, 2010.
• Derrick Ashong, musician and social entrepreneur (Helping the World: Our Generation Can Truly Create a More Just Planet). A distinguished visitor program in cooperation with the UCF Global Perspectives Office, UCF International Services Center, the Global Connections Foundation and other partners. November 15, 2010.
• Rami Khouri, Executive Editor of The Daily Star of Lebanon (Critical Principles for Arab-Israeli Peace). A distinguished visitor program in cooperation with the UCF Global Perspectives Office, the Orlando Area Committee on Foreign Relations, the Global Connections Foundation and other partners. December 2, 2010.
• “Are We Winning?” A forum in cooperation with the UCF Global Perspectives Office, the American Security Project, the Global Connections Foundation and other partners. January 18, 2011.
• Thomas Twetten, former senior CIA official in charge of clandestine services. A distinguished visitor program in cooperation with the UCF Global Perspectives Office, the Orlando Area Committee on Foreign Relations, the Global Connections Foundation and other partners. January 27, 2011.
• Francis Bok, abolitionist and former Sudanese child slave (Genocide, Slavery and Sudan's Future). A distinguished visitor program in cooperation with the UCF Global Perspectives Office, the Global Connections Foundation and other partners. February 1, 2011.
• Alicia Silverstone, actress and environmental activist (An Afternoon with Alicia Silverstone on the Environment). A distinguished visitor program in cooperation with the UCF Global Perspectives Office, the Global Connections Foundation and other partners. February 3, 2011.
• Paul Rusesabagina, real life hero of Hotel Rwanda (Hotel Rwanda: A Lesson Yet to Be Learned). A distinguished visitor program in cooperation with the UCF Global Perspectives Office, the Global Connections Foundation and other partners. February 15, 2011.
• Robert Maguire, Director of Programs in International Affairs, Trinity College and expert on Haiti (Hait Speakers Series). A distinguished visitor program in cooperation with the UCF Global Perspectives Office, the Global Connections Foundation and other partners. February 17, 2011.
• Sergei Khrushchev, Senior Fellow at Brown University’s Watson Institute for International Studies and son of the late Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev (Russia in the 21^st Century). A distinguished visitor program in cooperation with the UCF Global Perspectives Office, the Orlando Area Committee on Foreign Relations, the Global Connections Foundation and other partners. February 22, 2011.
• Georges Fauriol, Vice President, National Endowment for Democracy and former Director, Americas Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies (Haiti Speakers Series). A distinguished visitor program in cooperation with the UCF Global Perspectives Office, the Global Connections Foundation and other partners. March 17, 2011.
• Iraq and Afghanistan Forum. An annual program in cooperation with the UCF Global Perspectives Office, the Global Connections Foundation and other partners.  March 22, 2011.
• Parag Khanna, Geo-Strategist, Global Political Economist and author of The Second World: How Emerging Powers are Redefining Global Competition in the 21st Century (The Second World: How Emerging Powers are Redefining Global Competition in the 21st Century). A distinguished visitor program in cooperation with the UCF Global Perspectives Office, the Global Connections Foundation and other partners. April 12, 2011.