From May 30-June 3, the Mediation Program of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, together with the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) Research School on Peace and Conflict, hosted doctoral candidates for a Ph.D.-level course on international mediation at the PRIO campus in Oslo. The course, "International Mediation: Theory, Cases and Skills," covered academic, policy and practitioner perspectives on international mediation.
Through reviewing scholarly literature, exploring relevant theories, and learning from senior mediation practitioners, students engaged in an intense five-day program. Participants developed skills in conflict analysis, strategic planning for peacemaking, and mediating agreements between conflict parties. The course also offered participants the opportunity to engage in discussions with both scholars and Norwegian diplomats working directly with issues related to peace and conflict, and included multiple mediation simulations.
The course was led by Laurie Nathan, Kroc Institute Mediation Program director and PRIO visiting researcher, and included contributions from Jørgen Jensehaugen, senior researcher at PRIO, Torunn L. Tryggestad, deputy director of PRIO, Kristian Berg Harpviken, PRIO research professor, Kristoffer Lidén, PRIO senior researcher, Henrik Syse, research professor at PRIO, and seasoned Norwegian mediators Dag Nylander and Hilde Frafjord Johnson.