The Project on International Institutions and Conflict Management (formerly the Project on International Compliance and Dispute Settlement) began in 1990 with an initial focus on the issue of compliance with international agreements, a subject that was neither well understood nor fully addressed by international lawyers or the international relations community. Since that time, the Project, and its publications, including The New Sovereignty (1995) by Abram and Antonia Handler Chayes, have helped to generate an ongoing dialogue and debate among scholars and practitioners and have made a significant contribution to the literature in this area. The Project has both continued its original focus and been able to broaden it.

Law and Politics of International Conflict Management

A cornerstone of current project activities has been a course based at both the Law School and Kennedy School of Government at Harvard: Law and Politics of International Conflict Management. The course focuses on both the legal basis and the political complexities of all types of intervention: diplomatic, military, and humanitarian. The class deals with intervention to prevent and mitigate conflict and to reconstruct war-torn societies. It explores the legal basis in the UN Charter and other treaties as well as specific UN Security Council Resolutions. Early experience in the Middle East, Congo, and Cyprus are examined along with current post-Cold War efforts, including Somalia, Haiti, Cambodia, Bosnia, Kosovo, and East Timor. The course examines the roles, activities, and legal basis for intervention by international organizations, nations, and NGOs, including OSCE, the European Union, NATO, etc., and their complex interrelationships.

Initiatives in Conflict Management: Planning for Civil-Military Cooperation

Another component of the project is a ground-breaking week-long Executive Program entitled "Initiatives in Conflict Management: Planning for Civil-Military Cooperation." The program, developed by the Conflict Management Group and the Kennedy School of Government, is designed to teach the importance of joint planning among civil (both governmental and nongovernmental) agencies and military organizations.

Joint planning requires working from a common framework, which has not traditionally been the case. The Executive Program works on negotiation skills to enhance cooperation and coordination among groups with different cultures and values, and focuses on issues of transparency, consensus-building leadership, and teamwork. The centerpiece of the program is a five-day rolling scenario based on a complex real-world situation. By engaging the participants in active role playing, the scenario gives them a common experience as they explore and reflect on the process of interorganizational planning in a complex conflict intervention. Over the course of the program, the participants are able to practice skills in joint operational planning, negotiation, mediation, cooperative team building, and crisis management.

International conflict intervention, in the post-cold-war era, always involves a variety of actors: civilian and military, national governments, international agencies, and nongovernmental organizations. Cultural, ideological, and operational distinctions among these organizations can impede cooperation and reduce the effectiveness of each. It is imperative that these actors learn to plan and work together in order for any intervention to be successful. Participants in the program therefore include upper and middle-level staff involved in conflict intervention from all the relevant intervening organizations.

Managing International Business Relationships

In addition to her work with graduate students, Chayes, together with Professor Jeswald W. Salacuse of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, heads the teaching team for "Managing International Business Relationships." The two-day program is directed at corporate executives who are responsible for negotiating and managing transnational business relationships. The design of the curriculum for this project has resulted in the writing of several new cases that are available to other faculty through the PON Clearinghouse.

Among the faculty who teach or make presentations at this executive program are Professors Marjorie Corman Aaron, University of Cincinnati College of Law and former Executive Director of PON; Michael Watkins of the Harvard Business School; Jeffrey Sachs of the Kennedy School; William Alford of the Harvard Law School; Jorge Domingues, Jeffrey Freiden, and Roderick MacFarquar of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences; and other distinguished international government officials and business leaders, such as George David, CEO of United Technologies Corporation.

Effective Negotiation in an Era of Rapid Change

Global interdependence has increased the necessary transactions among governments, private enterprises, and international organizations. Negotiation, facilitation, and the ability to prevent disputes are essential skills in this rapidly changing and complex global environment. To teach these skills, Chayes and Chayes developed an executive program, "Effective Negotiation in an Era of Rapid Change," now offered in conjunction with the Kennedy School, Conflict Management Group, and the University of Singapore. Participants gain a conceptual framework to prepare for and conduct negotiations, improve their ability to prevent and resolve disputes, and increase the return on a negotiated agreement.

This intensive training workshop is designed to provide cutting-edge negotiation skills for senior officials in the public or the private sector. Participants include senior corporate executives, senior members and partners of law firms, senior government officials, members of the diplomatic corps, and senior decision makers at universities. The pilot course, held in Singapore in April 1999, was a great success, and subsequent courses continue to take place annually at the National University of Singapore and elsewhere in Asia.

Affiliated Faculty

Eileen Babbitt
Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy
Tufts University

Diana Chigas
Conflict Management Group
Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy
Tufts University

Brian Mandell
Kennedy School of Government
Harvard University

Martha Minow
Harvard Law School

Jeswald W. Salacuse
Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy
Tufts University

Sarah Sewall
Kennedy School of Government
Harvard University

Associate

Lauren E. Guth