PrintLinda Bishai
Senior Program Officer, Academy for International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding
Contact
Phone: (202) 429-4712
E-mail: lbishai@usip.org
Linda Bishai is a senior program officer in the Academy for International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding, where she focuses on secondary and university education in international relations, conflict resolution, human rights and peace studies. She is responsible for curriculum development and developing faculty and teacher workshops throughout the United States and in conflict zones, especially the Sudan.
Before coming to USIP, Bishai was an assistant professor of political science at Towson University, where she taught courses in international relations, international law, the use of force and human rights. Her research interests include identity politics, international human rights law in domestic courts and the development of international law after the Nuremberg trials. During 2003-2004, Bishai served as a Supreme Court Fellow at the Federal Judicial Center, where she worked on an introduction to international human rights law for the federal judiciary. She has also taught at Brunel University, the London School of Economics and the University of Stockholm.
Bishai holds a B.A. in history and literature from Harvard University, a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and a Ph.D. in international relations from the London School of Economics.
Publications:
- "Will Truth Bring Peace or Justice?," The Reckoning: Perspectives on International Human Rights. POV, July, 2009
- "Leaving Nuremberg: America's love/hate relationship with international law," Review of International Studies (Vol. 34, 2008).
- Sudanese Universities as Sites of Social Transformation
Special Report, February 2008 - Public Health and Conflict in Iraq: Rebuilding a Nation's Health
USIPeace Briefing, July 2007 - Armed Conflict as a Public Health Problem: Current Realities and Future Directions
USIPeace Briefing, May 2007 - "Forgetting Ourselves: Secession and the (Im)possibility of Territory Identity" (2004).
- "Liberal Empire," Journal of International Relations and Development (Vol. 7, No. 1, 2004).
- "Intervention in Law & Politics," Cooperation and Conflict (Vol. 36, No. 4, 2001).
- "Secession and Security: The Politics of Ethno-Cultural Identity," Security and Identity in Europe: Exploring the New Agenda (2000).
- "Sovereignty and Minority Rights," Global Governance; A Review of Multilateralism and International Organizations (1998).
- "Altered States: Secession and the Problems of Liberal Theory," Theories of Secession (1998).
Publications & Tools
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Experts from USIP are monitoring developments in the two Sudans following South Sudan's declaration of independence on July 9. |
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With the overwhelming vote in favor of separation, a new nation will be born on Saturday, July 9: the Republic of South Sudan. Countries: Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, The Two Sudans
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Mediation and Facilitation, Political Reform, Post-Conflict and Peacekeeping Activities, Rule of Law
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In the past year, Sudan has successfully passed two milestones established by its Comprehensive Peace Agreement: national elections in April 2010 and a referendum this January on independence for the country’s south. Many analysts and commentators feared, in both cases, that an eruption of violence could block the path to a peaceful resolution of the north-south conflict laid out in the historic 2005 accord. |
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U.S. Institute of Peace scholars, fellows and staff will attend this month’s International Studies Association (ISA) Convention in Montreal, reflecting USIP’s central role in this field. The convention runs from March 16-19, 2011. Countries: Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, The Two Sudans
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Rule of Law
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The referendum in Sudan took place from January 9-15, 2011, to decide on whether the Southern region should remain a part of Sudan or be independent. The referendum is one of the consequences of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the Khartoum central government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M). Countries: Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, The Two Sudans
| Issue Areas: Economics and Conflict, Education, Negotiation and Diplomacy, Post-Conflict and Peacekeeping Activities, Rule of Law
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Between 2006 and 2010, the United States Institute of Peace developed several civic education programs for Iraq and Sudan as part of broader efforts to promote postconflict stability and development and help prevent a return to violence. This report describes those programs after first examining the conceptual bases for civic education and how they differ from and overlap with human rights. |
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USIP has supported over 300 products, projects, and activities related to human rights and peacebuilding. From grants to fellowships, from training to education, from working groups to publications, the Institute strives to encourage more practice and scholarly work on the issue of human rights, and seeks to deepen understanding of the role human rights play in conflict and in peace. Issue Areas: Human Rights
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Sudan’s upcoming elections in 2009 raise hopes and concerns for the country’s future. According to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed in 2005 between the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), Sudan is scheduled to hold national and state level elections in 2009. Countries: South Sudan, Sudan, The Two Sudans
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Economics and Conflict, Training
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In Sudanese universities, students and faculty have historically served as vital voices for political change and community and international engagement, but recent educational policies have severely limited their voices. |
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On March 22, 2007, the U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH) Task Force on Public Health and Conflict held its third symposium, Iraq: Rebuilding a Nation’s Health. The Task Force is committed to raising the profile of conflict analysis and resolution in the field of public health education. Countries: Iraq
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Health and Peacebuilding, Post-Conflict and Peacekeeping Activities
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Events
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February 2, 2011
With preliminary results on Sudan's January referendum expected in early February, and final results coming soon thereafter USIP held a public event, "Perspectives on Sudan's Referendum." Panelists at this event reflected on their experiences in Sudan during the referendum, and then looked forward to the challenges ahead for both northern and southern Sudan. |
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April 2, 2010
This April Sudan held long-anticipated elections for almost every level of government. USIP held a public event to examine some of the uncertainties around the upcoming elections and to place the elections into Sudan's larger political context. Countries: Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, The Two Sudans
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Post-Conflict and Peacekeeping Activities, Training
| Programs: Workshops and Training in Zones of Conflict
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