Purpose

Today, America faces security challenges unlike any it has faced before. Threats come from violent extremist organizations, ongoing operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the global financial crisis, and weak and failing states. These challenges are uniquely dynamic and complex because of the ever-changing mix of actors and the rapidity with which the strategic and operational environments change. No single actor or agency and no single strategy will suffice to develop and implement enduring and sustainable solutions to these challenges. Effective conflict prevention and transformation require greater coherence among security, governance, and development policies and enhanced coordination among governmental agencies and between those agencies and local, regional, and international partners. With its

civil-military, whole-of-government approach to stability operations, the U.S. government has recognized the benefits of employing a holistic approach to each conflict or situation.

The KSU-SSI Symposium, to be held February 24-25, 2011, will bring together civilian and military experts to evaluate the benefits and shortcomings of the whole-of-government approach in response to increasingly dynamic and complex security challenges. The Symposium is intended to facilitate dialogue among academic experts, military leaders, policy makers and civilian practitioners and provide an opportunity for a state of the art analysis of current whole-of-government approaches and their effectiveness for coordinating stabilization and peace-building efforts.


Symposium Details

Keynote Reception Speaker

Topic: Conflict Management: A Key to U.S. National Security Strategy


  • The Honorable Sean O'Keefe
    - CEO, EADS North America
    - NASA Administrator (2001-2005)
    - United States Secretary of the Navy (1992-1993)

Symposium Panels

The Symposium will host three panels, each focusing on a distinct conceptual area relevant to evaluating conflict management as a tool in the development and implementationof U.S. national security strategy:


For more details on panelists presentations click on the names listed below.

Panel 1: Responding to New Foreign Policy and National Security Threats
Time/Location:

Friday, 10:00 - 11:30am
KSU Social Sciences Bldg, Room 1021 Auditorium

Description:

Failing and post-conflict states are among the greatest national and international security challenges of our day, threatening vulnerable populations, their neighbors, and American interests at home and abroad. Managing conflict, particularly internal conflict, has become a central factor for ensuring that countries are set on a sustainable path towards peace, democracy and economic prosperity. The panel will assess the conceptual merits and limitations of conflict management strategies for effective conflict transformation in post-conflict contexts.

Moderator:
Dr. Robin Dorff, General Douglas MacArthur Chair of Research and Professor of National Security Affairs, U.S. Army War College
Panelists:
  • Dr. Michael Ashkenazi, Senior Researcher, Bonn International Center for Conversion
  • Dr. Mary Habeck, Associate Professor of Strategic Studies, The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University
  • Dr. Robert Kennedy, Professor of International Affairs, Georgia Institute of Technology
  • Mr. Michael Miklaucic, Research Director & USAID Liaison, Center for Complex Operations, National Defense University

Panel 2: Whole-of-Government Prospects and Challenges
Time/Location:

Friday, 2:00 - 3:30pm
KSU Social Sciences Bldg, Room 1021 Auditorium

Description:

Conflict management strategies and whole-of-government approaches are closely connected. In failing states and post-conflict societies, security, governance, and development are challenges that need to be addressed simultaneously and in a coordinated fashion. The panel will examine the requirements for effective civil-military and interagency coordination from different policy perspectives and analyze challenges to whole-of- government approaches in fragile states.

Moderator:
Dr. Jack Moran, Associate Professor of Political Science, Kennesaw State University
Panelists:

Panel 3: Whole-of-Government Lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan
Time/Location:

Friday, 4:00 - 5:30pm
KSU Social Sciences Bldg, Room 1021 Auditorium

Description:

Both the Iraq and Afghanistan operations have proven resource and manpower intensive for the U.S. military. The various approaches taken in both conflicts have had successes and failures. The panel will analyze those successes and failures of civil-military cooperation and the effectiveness of the whole-of-government approach in both theaters of operation. The panel will attempt to draw lessons with direct relevance to professional military education and pre-deployment training, comparing both strategic and operational environments.

Moderator:
Dr. Richard Vengroff, Dean, College of Humanities and Social Sciences and Professor of Political Science, Kennesaw State University
Panelists:

Visitors and Guests

Symposium Schedule

Download the full symposium schedule using the link below.

Download Schedule as Word Doc

Registration

Please complete the registration below. Attending the symposium is free with the exception of the Working Lunch.

Name:  
Organization:
Title:
Phone:   Email:

Please indicate the Symposium events you plan to attend:

Symposium (free)
Working Lunch ($10, pay on site)

Symposium Location

Kennesaw State University
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
1000 Chastain Road, Bldg 22 Rooms 1019 and 1021
Kennesaw, GA 30144
Telephone: (770) 423-6127
Fax: (770) 423-6705
Email: phdhss@kennesaw.edu

Accomodations

Exterior photo of SpringHill Suites Kennesaw SpringHill Suites Atlanta/Kennesaw
3399 Town Point Drive
Kennesaw, Georgia 30144 USA
Phone: 1-770-218-5550

SpringHill Suites by Marriott

Exterior photo of Embassy Suites Kennesaw Embassy Suites Atlanta/Kennesaw
620 Chastain Road
Kennesaw, Georgia 30144 USA
Online: Reservations
Phone: 1-770-420-2505

Embassy Suites

*KSU University rates are less than government rates at either hotel. Please let them know when you make your reservation that you are with the KSU-SSI Symposium. If you need further information on government rates, please contact the hotel directly.

Dining