Center for American Politics and Citizenship
The Center for American Politics and Citizenship (CAPC) was established for
the purpose of using social science research to improve democracy in the United
States. It brings together faculty, researchers, political practitioners and
students who study political institutions, processes, behavior, and public policy.
One of the center's guiding principles is that academic research should be
devoted to public purposes, including helping government officials and citizens
understand complex policy concerns. A second principle is that academic research
should be used to help citizens participate more effectively in politics. CAPC's
research focuses on campaigns and elections; voting systems; American national,
state, and local government, and public policy. CAPC faculty supervise internships
and teach graduate and undergraduate classes in political science, research methodology,
and political leadership.
CAPC is the home of the Maryland Elections Center,
which provides citizens with information about their voter registration, polling
place locations, and the financing of Maryland elections.
CAPC is directed by Professor
Paul S. Herrnson. It draws personnel from the Department of Government and
Politics, the Joint Program in Survey Methodology, the Department of Sociology,
the School of Public Affairs, and other departments at the University of Maryland.
Faculty from other Washington, D.C.-area universities, elected officials, political
appointees, civil servants, party officials, interest group leaders, think tank
researchers, journalists, and political practitioners also participate in various
CAPC activities.
The Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace and Development
The Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace and Development was established in the fall
of 1997 in memory of the late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. The Chair, under
the leadership of the Sadat Professor Shibley Telhami, is housed in the Center
for International Development and Conflict Management (CIDCM) and makes its academic
home in the Department of Government and Politics.
The Chair was made possible
by the commitment of Anwar Sadat's widow, Dr. Jehan Sadat, to her husband's legacy
of leadership for peace. With support from all levels of the University, Dr.
Sadat created an endowment for the Chair from the generous support of many individual
contributors from around the world.
The Bahá’í Chair for World Peace
The Bahá’í Chair for World Peace at the University of Maryland is an academic
institution dedicated to developing and applying material and spiritual knowledge
in cooperative pursuits of global peace, social and economic justice, and human
security. This is accomplished through a disciplined program focused on a limited
number of compelling concerns with strategic objectives applied in an operational
forum.
The Chair is located at the Center
for International Development and Conflict Management under the auspices
of the College of Behavorial and Social Sciences, and is supported by both public
and private funds including the Muhammad Ali Faizi Memorial Fund.
Committee
on Politics, Philosophy, and Public Policy
The Committee on Politics, Philosophy, and Public Policy (CP4), which began
in 1998, is an interdisciplinary graduate specialization and research consortium
that is a joint venture of the Department of Government and Politics, the Department
of Philosophy, the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy, and the School
of Public Affairs. The Committee is open to graduate students pursuing the Ph.D.
in Government and Politics, Philosophy, or the School of Public Affairs. The
College Park campus possesses special strengths in political theory, moral philosophy,
and public policy, and the Committee offers graduate students from various departments
the opportunity to take advantage of these strengths. For more information contact
the Director, Committee on Politics, Philosophy, and Public Policy, Karol Soltan.
Center for International Development and
Conflict Management
Overview
The University of Maryland's Center for International Development and Conflict
Management (CIDCM) is strategically located at the nexus of theory and practice,
academics and activism, economic development and civil society, technology and
human needs. The projects of CIDCM have been dedicated to pursuing new and better
understanding about the dynamics of conflict and conflict resolution, with a
special emphasis on the role of economic development and information technology
in conflict-prone societies. CIDCM's accomplished scholars, its expertise in
data collection and analysis, and its direct involvement in regional conflict
management efforts make the Center a unique resource for discovering enduring
solutions to the world's most intractable conflicts.
Mission
For more than 20 years, scholars and practitioners at the Center for
International Development and Conflict Management (CIDCM) have sought ways to
understand and address conflicts over security, identity, and distributive justice.
CIDCM programs are based on the belief that "peace building and development-with-justice are
two sides of the same coin." (Edward Azar, 1987). With this philosophy at its
core, the Center has acted as a forum for the expression of a broad range of
views about the transition from war to peace. CIDCM has grown into a major research
enterprise attracting leading scholars in the conflict resolution field.
Members
of CIDCM have become well-known in both academia and in policy communities for
their efforts related to conflict resolution and conflict transformation. CIDCM
also hosts several major international databases on societal conflict, including
Minorities at Risk, POLITY, State Failure, and International Crisis Behavior
(ICB).
CIDCM has been involved in conflict management programs in the Middle East,
South and East Asia, Latin America, Africa, the former Yugoslavia and the former
Soviet Union. A special focus of the Center's work is linkage of information
technology, development and conflict management, particularly in sub-Saharan
Africa. In 2002, CIDCM joined forces with the University's Project on International
Communication and Negotiation Simulations (ICONS) to offer internet-based training
in negotiation and crisis management to students and practitioners in international,
government and non-governmental organizations.
Center for International
Security Studies at Maryland
The Center for International Security Studies at Maryland, established in
1987, provides university-wide opportunities for research, training, and publication
in the field of international security studies. The Center works with many colleges
and departments throughout the University to provide conferences, guest lectures,
and special seminars on topics that relate to the complex challenges of achieving
peace and security in the 1990s.
Each year, CISSM invites a multinational group of junior and senior scholars
to College Park to work with the Center's faculty, staff and students on a variety
of individual and collaborative projects. The Center maintains an archive of
selected historical materials in international security affairs.
CISSM is a non-degree granting program. It is in a position, however, to advise
students on how to develop a balanced and comprehensive program in international
security studies. Professor John
Steinbruner is director of the program.
Center for the Study
of Post-Communist Societies
The Center for the Study of Post-Communist Societies (CSPCS) was established
in 1990. The CSPCS' mission is to develop and foster collaborative interdisciplinary
research and public policy activities between American and East Central European
educational institutions. The Center's aim is to advance and cultivate cooperation
between scholars and policy makers working on issues of consolidation of democracy,
market oriented economic transition, institutional development in post-communist
countries, political culture, and the emergence of nationalism in the region
of East Central Europe.
Committee on the Political Economy
of the Good Society
The national offices of the Committee on the Political Economy of the Good
Society ("PEGS") is located in the Department and Professor Stephen
Elkin is Chair of the Executive Board. The two other members of the Executive
Board also have Department appointments. PEGS is an ideologically diverse non-profit
organization that seeks to promote discussion regarding alternative political-economic
theories and new institutional designs.
By encouraging the development of practical
visions of the good society, PEGS is attempting to create the theoretical foundations
necessary for the restructuring of political-economic systems and the institutions
to promote the values of liberty, democracy, equality and environmental sustainability.
The PEGS journal, The Good Society, is published with the assistance of graduate
students interested in political economy. In addition, PEGS conducts colloquia
on relevant topics for faculty and students on the campus.
Democracy Collaborative
Engaged
Scholarship & Informed Practice for a More Democratic World
The Democracy Collaborative is an international consortium of leading academic
centers, civil society organizations, distinguished scholars and seasoned practitioners.
It was created in 2000 as a response to the “democratic deficit” that imperils
the world and to the unprecedented opportunities for building democracy in the
post-Cold War era.
The Collaborative’s founding premise is that while democracy
as theory has triumphed over its adversaries, democracy as practice faces daunting
challenges in the US and in every region of the world. The global network created
by the Collaborative works together to strengthen democracy, employing innovative
cross-disciplinary approaches to theoretical and practical research, curricular
enhancement, policy development, teaching, training, and community action.
ICONS Project
The International Communication and Negotiation Simulations (ICONS) Project
is an interdisciplinary effort that uses computer simulation techniques to teach
international negotiation. ICONS focuses on the ways foreign policies are developed
and negotiated, and its aim is to help students better understand the interdependence
of international issues and the complexities of intercultural communication.
Professor Jonathan Wilkenfeld is the Director of Project ICONS.
Participants assume the roles of foreign policy makers and negotiate through
teleconferencing on behalf of the nations they represent, grappling with such
problems as the international debt crisis, human rights violations, north-south
relations and development issues, arms control, the balance of trade, and global
environmental concerns.
ICONS was begun as a tool to enable students to grasp the complexities of
international relations. ICONS has now grown to include nearly 2,000 students
each year at universities and high schools throughout the United States, and
in Canada, Latin America, Europe and Asia.
Maryland Collective Choice Center
The Maryland Collective Choice Center coordinates and sponsors both educational
and research efforts in the field of collective choice. These efforts include
seminars, conferences, workshops and courses at the Ph.D. level. The field of
collective choice, also called formal theory and public choice, uses theories
of individual rational choice behavior to study non-market phenomena. Professor
Joe Oppenheimer is the Director of the Center.
Program on Global Security and Disarmament
The Program on Global Security and Disarmament (PGSD) is based in the Department
of Government and Politics, at the University of Maryland. PGSD is an integrated
program of research, analysis, international networking, training and public
education. The program focuses on increasing the understanding of issues in global
security, including the concept of general disarmament, both in the academic
community and the general public.
Public Service Fellowship Program
The Public Service Fellowship Program combines academic studies with work
experiences in the public sector. Most Fellows spend the Fall semester on campus
in course work and undertake the work experience off campus in the Spring semester.
In some cases the work experience can be spread over the Fall and Spring semesters.
Most Fellows will be placed with agencies of the Maryland State government.
Others may be assigned to local of regional organizations, including governmental
agencies, interest groups, and political parties, as opportunities arise. Fellows
receive the same stipend and tuition remission as graduate teaching assistants.
Students interested in
applying for the Public Service Fellowship Program should complete the regular
application form as well as a special application. Applications must be received
by February 1. For application materials or for additional information, please
contact the Director
of Graduate Studies.
