Purpose

The KSU-SSI Symposium, a joint effort between Kennesaw State University’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the U.S. Army War College (USAWC) Strategic Studies Institute (SSI), will be held at Kennesaw State University on February 23rd and 24th, 2012. The event will bring together civilian and military experts to examine the usefulness and practicality of conflict management and peacebuilding to the development of a new American grand strategy. The 2012 Symposium builds on the results of the 2011 symposium that examined the utility of the U.S. government’s whole-of-government approach for responding to the challenging security demands of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan (click here for details of the earlier Symposium).

The KSU-SSI Symposia are intended to facilitate dialogue among the academic, policy and military communities and provide an opportunity for state-of-the-art analysis of current national security strategies and policy approaches to respond to emerging threats.

For the 2012 Symposium, we are specifically interested in examining innovative proposals discussing strategic choices for effectively addressing emerging security threats, integrating conflict management approaches into strategic decision-making, sharing the burden of peacebuilding and stability operations between military and civilian actors, strengthening civil-military cooperation in complex operations, and enabling the timely scaling-down of military deployments.
Moreover, the conference theme connects the 2012 KSU-SSI Symposium conceptually to the XXIII U.S. Army War College Annual Strategy Conference on “The Future of U.S. Grand Strategy in an Age of Austerity: Challenges and Opportunities” to be held in Carlisle, PA April 10-12, 2012. By connecting both events, we believe we can more effectively help facilitate the debate surrounding the integration of civilian and military, government and non-government, national and international efforts to address the growing range of global security challenges among a wider audience of national and international security experts.


Symposium Details

Keynote Reception Speaker

Public Lecture Keynote Address

Topic: The Transatlantic Relationship: A breaking or restorable Pillar of a New American Grand Strategy?



Karl Theodor zu Guttenberg
- Distinguished Statesman at the Center for Strategic and International Studies
- German Federal Minister of Defense (2009-2011)
- German Federal Minister of Economics & Technology (2009)


Keynote Speakers

Topic: New Threats, New Thinking



Prof. F. William Smullen, III
- Director of National Security Studies at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
- Professor of Public Relations at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications
- Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Colin L. Powell (2001-2003)

Symposium Panels

The Symposium will host four 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: The role of peacebuilding and conflict management in a future American Grand Strategy
Time/Location:

Friday Morning
KSU Social Sciences Bldg, Room 1021 Auditorium

Moderator:
Dr. Jeffrey D. McCausland, Distinguished Visiting Professor of Research and Minerva Chair at Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College
Panelists:

Panel 2: More than a Military Tool: Strengthening civil-military cooperation in peacebuilding
Time/Location:

Friday Morning
KSU Social Sciences Bldg, Room 1021 Auditorium

 

Moderator:

Mr. Doug Brooks, President, International Stability Operations Association

Panelists:

Panel 3: Peace and Development: Key Elements of a new Grand Strategy
Time/Location:

Friday Afternoon
KSU Social Sciences Bldg, Room 1021 Auditorium

Moderator:

Dr. Akanmu Adebayo, Professor of History and Interim Director of the Center for Conflict Management, Kennesaw State University

Panelists:


Panel 4: Conflict Management, Peacebuilding and a New American Grand Strategy: Views from Abroad
Time/Location:

Friday Afternoon
KSU Social Sciences Bldg, Room 1021 Auditorium

Moderator:

Dr. Volker Franke, Director of PhD Program in International Conflict Management at Kennesaw State University

Panelists:
  • Dr. Kwesi Aning, Director, Graduate Studies and Research Department, Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre
  • Dr. Tobias Debiel, Director, Institute for Development and Peace (INEF), University of Duisburg-Essen
  • Dr. Abel Esterhuyse, Associate Professor of Strategy at Stellenbosch University & Editor of Scientia Militaria, South African Journal of Military Studies
  • Dr. Liselotte Odgaard, Associate Professor at the Institute for Strategy, Royal Danish Defence College


Visitors and Guests

Symposium Schedule

Download the symposium schedule using the link below. A more detailed schedule will be available soon.

Download Schedule as a PDF 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:


Feb. 23rd Public Lecture (free)
Feb. 24th Symposium (free)
Feb. 24th Working Lunch ($20, 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