David R. Smock

Vice President, Center for Mediation and Conflict Resolution, Religion and Peacemaking Center of Innovation

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Contact

Phone: (202) 429-3843

E-mail: dsmock@usip.org

Resources & Tools

  • Conflict, Identity, and Reform in the Muslim World highlights the challenges that escalating identity conflicts within Muslim-majority states pose for both the Muslim world and for the West, an issue that has received scant attention in policy and academic circles.  

  • In coordination with the United Nations Mediation Support Unit and in collaboration with a number of other mediation institutes and experts, USIP is developing a series of "best practices" handbooks on key aspects of mediation and peacemaking. The series is being designed for experienced mediation practitioners and negotiators, but will be a valuable resource for students and policymakers. Future handbooks include: Assessing and Enhancing Ripeness, Negotiating with Terrorists, Dealing with the Impact of an International Tribunal on a Peace Process; Managing Public Information in a Mediation Process, Debriefing a Mediation Effort, Coordinating Track I and II Efforts, and Addressing Internally Displaced Persons in a Peace Process.

  • Muslims in general and Muslim leaders particularly have often been severely criticized for not more energetically condemning the violent acts of Muslim extremists. The uninformed often assume that extremists represent Islam’s mainstream.

David R. Smock is the vice president of the Institute's Center for Mediation and Conflict Resolution and associate vice president of the Religion and Peacemaking program, one of the Centers of Innovation. Previously he served as director of the USIP's Grant Program and coordinator of Africa activities.

He has worked on African issues for more than 30 years and lived in Africa for 11 years. As a staff member of the Ford Foundation from 1964 to 1980, he served in Ghana, Kenya, Lebanon, Nigeria and New York.

From 1980 to 1986, Smock served concurrently as director of the South African Education Program, a scholarship program that brings black South African students to U.S. universities and vice president for program development and research for the Institute of International Education. After serving as executive associate to the president of the United Church of Christ from 1986 to 1989, Smock became executive director of International Voluntary Services, supervising development projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

He received an M.Div. from New York Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. in anthropology from Cornell University.

Publications:

Available on usip.org