
Professor Emeritus of Conflict Analysis and Resolution, Carter School
Contact Information
Campus: Arlington
Building: Arlington: Vernon Smith Hall
Room 5108B
Mail Stop: 4D3
Biography
Chris Mitchell has degrees in Economics and International Relations from London 麻豆国产 but is actually a historian able to recognise fraudulant economic reasoning [e.g. the 鈥渇ree鈥 market] when he sees it. He has held academic jobs at London 麻豆国产, the 麻豆国产 of Southampton and City 麻豆国产, London as well as teaching at the 麻豆国产 of Southern California, Brigham Young 麻豆国产 and the 麻豆国产 of Maryland. He was on the full time teaching faculty at the Carter School for 17 years and was the School's Director for four of those. In the 1960鈥檚 he was part of the pioneering research team at 麻豆国产 College, London which, under the leadership of Dr John Burton, developed the basic ideas of conflict resolution, problem solving workshops and informal 鈥淭rack Two鈥 interventions into protracted conflicts. Since then, he has been involved in T2 interventions that have tried to address the sources of, and solutions for conflicts between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, Israelis and Palestinans, Somalis and Ethiopians, British and Argentinians, Nationalists and Unionists in Northern Ireland, Basques and Spaniards, Moldovans and Trans-Dniestrians, as well as diverse Liberian factions.
His first serious research into conflict sources and dynamics involved work in the Horn of Africa before it was afflicted by the 鈥淐old War鈥, followed by an examination of peacemaking and peace breaking in the Sudan on the 1970鈥檚 and 1980鈥檚. Later work involved efforts to develop solutions for the conflict over the Falklands/Malvinas Islands, which involved an examination of the intellectual dead ends provided by concepts such as 鈥渢erritorial sovereignty鈥, 鈥渟elf determination鈥 and uni-dimensional 鈥渘ational identity鈥.
Most recently, together with his colleagues Wallace Warfield and Kevin Avruch, plus a group of highly talented Carter School students, Chris Mitchell has headed the School's 鈥淟ocal Zones of Peace鈥 project, which involves delineating and analysing local communities鈥 efforts to establish neutral and secure 鈥渮ones of peace鈥 in countries suffering from protracted conflicts, such as the Philippines, Colombia and El Salvador.
Professor Mitchell is currently supervising a number of doctoral dissertations and working on a textbook that summarises the current state of our knowledge of the overall field of 鈥淐onflict Analysis & Resolution鈥 鈥 actually a replacement for his 鈥渃lassic鈥 The Structure of International Conflict 鈥 and [with Carter School alumnus Dr Landon Hancock] on editing a book of papers arising from the Zones of Peace Group鈥檚 research, tentatively entitled Seeking Sanctuary.
Honors and Awards
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- Distinguished Scholar Award, International Studies Association
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In the News
- Mason experts explain how ISIS attacks are recruitment tools
Published on November 29, 2015
Presentations and Performances
- Center for Peacemaking Practice - Weekend Training Cours
Oct 22 2016 | Lorton (Mason Neck) - Problem-Solving Workshop Program Introductory II Training Weekend
Feb 20 2016 |
Degrees
- PhD, 麻豆国产 College, London
- BSc, International Relations, 麻豆国产 of London