Diplomacy has never been more essential, and yet never more sidelined. The frameworks of international cooperation developed after 1945 have faltered in the face of complex, interdependent global challenges, including climate change, economic instability, technological disruption and humanitarian crises.
The Buffett Institute for Global Affairs has launched a yearlong initiative that invites students and scholars to reflect on the future of diplomacy. How can we transform the logic of confrontation into the logic of cooperation? How might new diplomatic approaches foster positive peace, addressing not only the cessation of violence but the underlying social conditions that perpetuate conflict? This series examines lessons to be learned from the high-profile peace processes of the last few decades to reflect on the potential for peace-making in ongoing conflicts around the world. We will explore how diplomacy can help to shape a more resilient, equitable and peaceful world.
Monday, November 11 from 4:00–5:15 p.m. at 720 University Place, Second Floor
The event series opened with a discussion on the future of diplomacy and preparing the next generation of diplomats between Nicholas Kralev, Executive Director of the Washington International Diplomatic Academy, and Northwestern’s Ambassador in Residence Ian C. Kelly, who served as U.S. Ambassador to Georgia from 2015 to 2018, among other roles.
Monday, January 13 from 4:00–6:00 p.m. at 720 University Place, Second Floor
A conflict resolution workshop led by Professor Nour Kteily, Co-Director of the Center for Enlightened Disagreement at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, guided students through exercises designed to bridge divides.
Buffett Lectures on Landmark Peace Processes
The series will explore key moments in recent diplomacy with winter lectures on landmark peace processes of the last few decades including:
Wednesday, January 22 from 12:30–1:45 p.m. at 720 University Place, Second Floor
Lina Britto, Associate Professor of History at Northwestern’s Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences, gave a lecture on the Colombian peace process. In November 2016, the longest internal armed conflict in the Western hemisphere came to an official end. Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos (2010–2018) shook hands with Timochenko, the commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the oldest and largest guerrilla army in the Americas. Although the ceremony ratified the peace accords that the parties had negotiated for four years in Cuba, the treaty has not brought peace. This talk explored the factors of persistence of Colombia's armed conflict in the context of an apparent paradox between the formalities of a strong constitutional order and the realities of political domination.
Tuesday, February 18 from 12:30–1:45 p.m.at 720 University Place, Second Floor
Henri Lauzière, Associate Professor of History at Northwestern’s Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences, gave a lecture on the Oslo Accords. In the mid-1990s, the world witnessed something that many of us never imagined would occur in our lifetime: Israelis and Palestinians had managed to come to an agreement to solve the so-called conflict that opposed them. The much-touted Oslo Accords, however, did not usher in an era of peace. This talk provided a historical overview of the context in which the Oslo solution emerged, so as to shed light on the diverse—and sometimes incompatible—logics that compelled the Israeli government and the Palestinian Liberation Organization to reach a diplomatic breakthrough in the first half of the 1990s.
Wednesday, February 26 from 12:30–1:45 p.m. at 720 University Place, Second Floor
Edin Hajdarpasic, Associate Professor of History at Loyola University Chicago, gave a lecture on the Dayton Agreement. Amidst Communism's collapse in the late 1980s, nationalist forces in Yugoslavia targeted the multiethnic state of Bosnia-Herzegovina to violently “unmix” diverse communities. The resulting war and genocide ended with American-led intervention, culminating in the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement based on complex mechanisms of ethnic power-sharing. Many foreign observers have touted Dayton as a “success story” of peace-building while downplaying the problems Bosnians continue to face. This talk reflected on broader insights into international affairs offered by post-Dayton Bosnia.
Wednesday, March 5 from 12:30–1:45 p.m. at 720 University Place, Second Floor
Mary McCain, Director of the Irish Studies PhD program at DePaul University, gave a lecture on the Good Friday Agreement made in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, which has remained part of the U.K. even as the rest of island became the Republic of Ireland. The region was a site of conflict between Unionists, who were largely Protestants, and nationalists, who were largely Catholics. The period from the late 1960s through 1990s known as The Troubles was an era of political paralysis and often shocking violence. Political and paramilitary representatives, among others, negotiated to produce the Good Friday, or Belfast, Agreement in 1998. This talk explained its background, main elements, contemporary context and ongoing implementation challenges.
Culminating Events
Thursday, April 3 through Friday, April 4 at 720 University Place, Second Floor
The Buffett Institute's international diplomacy series will culminate in our spring quarter symposium on peace-making organized with Fundación Acordemos. This two-day event will bring together diplomats, negotiators and academics to discuss the high-profile peace processes of recent decades. Our aim is to draw lessons for future negotiations in a world confronting a crisis of multilateralism.
Although peace negotiations are often greeted with relief, they are also filled with peril. A badly-crafted agreement may be worse than no agreement at all. Rushed peace deals store up trouble for the future, fueling more intense and widening conflicts.
This symposium will examine the successes and failures of past processes, analyze key principles and strategies and discuss the roles of various actors in achieving lasting and implementable peace agreements.
Confirmed speakers include Barney Afako, Ravi Agrawal, Betty Bigombe, Kate Fearon, Claire Hajaj, Christopher Hill, Sergio Jaramillo, Pavlo Klimkin, Carlos Prieto, Shoaib Rahim, William Taylor, Tor Wennesland and Abiodun Williams.
Register to attend online via Zoom, or click the button below to register to attend in person.
Friday, May 9 from 2:00–6:00 p.m. at 720 University Place, Second Floor
In May, the Buffett Institute will host an interactive peace conference simulation for undergraduate students designed by Professor Danielle Gilbert. This simulation will give students the chance to take on the roles of negotiators in a fictionalized peace process, complete with the pressures and constraints faced by real-world diplomats. The exercise will challenge students to bridge divides and come to an agreement, offering them hands-on experience with the nuances of international negotiation. Undergraduates may request to register by emailing the Buffett Undergraduate Programs team.