BIARI at Brown 2016 - June 4-18

Humanitarian Response and Post-Conflict Reconstruction: Increasing Effectiveness and Accountability in the Age of Complex Emergencies 2016

“Natural” disasters and political unrest pose chronic threats to human security. Separately or in tandem, they turn citizens into refugees and displaced people, stretch government capacity, and, increasingly, spark chronic disorder, instability or military conflict. What are the implications of complex emergencies, where natural and man-made factors combine, for the future of humanitarian action? This institute will convene an interdisciplinary and international group of academics and practitioners to develop a better understanding of the underlying political, social, and environmental factors that affect human security before, during, and after humanitarian emergencies. Topics will include the effectiveness and sustainability of existing disaster preparedness systems in different regions; best practices in humanitarian assistance delivery, training and monitoring; and the politics of compassion in disaster and conflict zones. Discussions will focus in particular on the ethical issues that arise at the intersection of human security and humanitarian assistance; rights-based approaches to humanitarian relief; and the potential for new technologies to transform humanitarian response.
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Governance and Development in the Age of Globalization 2016

Development in the age of globalization presents new challenges and opportunities. Globalization has not only accelerated the pace of economic transformation and social change, it has also fundamentally reconfigured the nature of governance. While global and regional governance institutions (both public and private) are playing an ever more powerful role of shaping possibilities at the local and national level, national and local governments still provide the principal arenas of democratic contestation. The central axis of politics in an age of globalization is the complex interaction of governance institutions at different levels. Tackling the core problems of development, from economic growth to social provisioning and environmental sustainability, requires understanding how processes and institutions of governance operate and interact at multiple levels.

This interdisciplinary institute will bring together specialists in these different domains to focus on efforts to expand the regulatory capacity, institutional efficacy and democratic legitimacy of governance institutions that shape development. Areas of focus will include labor standards, social provisioning, democratic participation and urban transformation. The goal of the institute is to develop a critical understanding of these issues by exploring the latest theories and empirical work through comparative lenses.
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Ethnicity, Conflict, and Inequality in Global Perspective 2016

Co-convened by faculty from the Departments of Economics and Political Science, this institute offers participants a thorough exploration of the conceptual and theoretical foundations of scholarship that connects conflict, inequality, and ethnicity. Best practices in comparative and interdisciplinary research design, implementation, and exposition will be explored, with a particular focus on the dilemmas of doing justice to context-specific data while producing generalizable insights. Lectures and workshops led by distinguished guest faculty will constitute the core of this institute, to be supplemented by participants' individual research presentations, and panel discussions on pressing contemporary cases in line with participants' expertise and interests. Applications are especially welcome from scholars interested in evidence-based policy-making.
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Climate Change and Its Impacts: Connecting Local Variability and Knowledge in a Global System 2016

The knowledge of global scale climate change science is rich and well established, but understanding the variability in climate encountered at the local level is critical to sustaining human development. How do we best predict regional to local scale changes in future climate? How does this knowledge feed into local practices for ecosystem-based management, sustainable agriculture, and maintaining air, soil and water quality? How can local knowledge systems contribute to best practices? How do historical legacies influence our ability to adapt and transform?  What can be learned and transferred between societies to inform tractable strategies and policies? “Climate Change and Its Impacts 2016” will draw on theoretical and practical insights from environmental sciences and management, atmospheric sciences, sociology, hydrology, climate modeling, geography, and social and environmental justice. This Institute will provide opportunities to develop research projects with scholars across disciplines, and advance oral and written communication skills for publications, presentations and grant applications.
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