Engaging Extremists

Many conflicts on the international scene today involve extremist groups that employ violence to achieve their goals. But should states and international bodies engage entities such as the Taliban, Hamas, and Hezbollah, and if so, which ones, when, and how? These questions are among the most politically fraught and vexing challenges facing international negotiators and mediators.

This event featured a discussion of two recent USIP Press publications, "Engaging Extremists: Trade-offs, Timing, and Diplomacy," edited by I. William Zartman and Guy Olivier Faure (USIP Press, 2011), and "Talking to Groups That Use Terror," by Nigel Quinney and A. Heather Coyne-the latest publication in the Institute's Peacemaker's Toolkit series. The Institute also be acknowledeged Professor Zartman's extraordinary contributions to building the conflict resolution field.

Speakers

I. William Zartman
Professor Emeritus, The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, John Hopkins University
Teresa Whitfield
Senior Advisor, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, and Senior Fellow, Center for International Cooperation, New York University
Ambassador Luigi R. Einaudi
Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Institute for National Strategic Studies, National Defense University
Virginia Bouvier, Moderator
Senior Program Officer, Centers of Innovation, U.S. Institute of Peace
Steve Riskin, Introductions
Senior Program Officer, Grant Program, U.S. Institute of Peace
Chester A. Crocker, Special Presentation
James R. Schlesinger Professor of Strategic Studies, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University and U.S. Institute of Peace board member