REU Site: Civil Conflict Management and Peace Science

鉴于世界上国内冲突日益频繁，以及这些冲突给21世纪的美国带来的安全担忧，发展应对这些挑战的人力资本对美国的国家安全至关重要。北德克萨斯大学（UNT）政治科学系寻求启动一项独特的计划，为10名本科生（从全国各地招募）提供参与冲突管理与和平研究的研究生水平研究的机会，在高级教师指导下，为期八周的住校暑期研究经验（SRE）中，将国内冲突管理的培训与主张微积分和计算机模拟技能的培训相结合。参与者将使用命题演算和模拟来发展理论命题，并将进行经验检验。参与者将收集和分析实证数据，并在全国专业政治科学会议上报告他们的发现。活动将包括关于计算机模拟、研究方法和研究生院申请程序的讲习班。还将举办旨在在学生、教师和研究生导师之间建立研究共同体意识的活动。我们之前由美国国家科学基金会授权的一个为期一年的试点项目（2010年夏天为8名参与者提供服务）的经验证明了我们计划的项目的有效性。UNT的政治科学系是提供这样一个项目的理想场所。北卡罗来纳大学政治科学系拥有31名全职教师，是维维安卡斯尔贝里和平研究所的所在地，是美国西南部唯一一个授予和平科学学位的项目，拥有国际和国内冲突领域一些最著名的学者（以及拥有管理本科生研究项目的丰富经验的教师），非常有能力提供冲突管理与和平科学的REU。智力优势：该计划的智力重点是国内冲突管理和促进和平。事实上，自1945年内战以来？革命、分离主义战争、种族和宗派暴力？已经取代了国家间战争成为世界上最频繁和最致命的武装冲突形式。我们提出的计划旨在重点了解国内冲突发生（或再次发生）的原因，并调查可能的制度配置和其他类型的行动，可能有助于改善国内冲突（如维和任务）。特别是，我们力求培养学生的形式和逻辑推理能力，这将促进创新思维和解决问题的能力。发展经验技能来检验从使用计算机模拟中得出的理论命题，也将磨练学生参与者的科学技能。更广泛的影响：在冲突管理方面的培训，包括历史上在高等教育中代表性不足的人群（但这一群体在美国本科学生中所占的比例正在上升），是一项全国性的当务之急。该计划旨在通过为来自这些人群的学生提供参与先进实证研究的机会，从而解决在冲突管理和和平科学方面进一步发展专业知识的需求，否则这些学生就不会有这样的机会。UNT在体制上和地理上都处于有利地位，可以提供这种机会。为此，他们已经获得了西班牙裔和美洲原住民服务机构、德克萨斯州和俄克拉荷马州的传统黑人学院/大学（HBCU）以及UNT的罗纳德·e·麦克奈尔项目的正式承诺，以帮助扩大该项目的申请者范围。然而，pi也在全国范围内征求申请。

Given the growing frequency of civil conflicts in the world, and the security concerns these conflicts engender for the United States in the 21st century, the development of human capital that is equipped to deal with these challenges is critical for the national security of the country. The Department of Political Science at the University of North Texas (UNT) seeks to initiate a unique program to provide 10 undergraduate students (recruited from across the country) the opportunity to engage in graduate-level research in conflict management and peace studies, in a senior faculty-mentored, in-residence, eight-week, Summer Research Experience (SRE) that integrates training in civil conflict management with training in propositional calculus and computer simulation skills. Participants will use propositional calculus and simulations to develop theoretical propositions that will be tested empirically. Participants will collect and analyze empirical data and report their findings in a national professional political science conference. Activities will include workshops on computer simulations, research methodology, and the graduate school application process. There will also be activities designed to build a sense of research community among students, faculty and graduate student mentors. Our previous experience with a one-year pilot program that was authorized by the NSF (serving eight participants in the summer of 2010) has demonstrated the effectiveness of our planned program.The political science department at UNT is ideally positioned to offer such a program. With 31 full time faculty members, home to the Vivian Castleberry Peace Institute, and the only degree granting program in peace science in the Southwestern United States, and with some of the most noteworthy scholars in the field of international and civil conflict (as well as having faculty with substantial experience in managing undergraduate research programs) the UNT Department of Political Science is very well equipped to offer an REU on conflict management and peace science.Intellectual Merit: The intellectual focus of the program is on civil conflict management and the enhancement of peace. Indeed since 1945 civil war ? revolution, secessionist war, and ethnic and sectarian violence ? has replaced interstate war as the most frequent and deadly form of armed conflict in the world. Our proposed program seeks to focus on understanding the causes of civil conflict occurrence (or reoccurrence) and investigating possible institutional configurations and other types of actions that may assist in ameliorating civil conflict (such as peacekeeping missions). In particular, we seek to train students in formal and logical reasoning, which will promote innovative thinking and problem solving skills. Developing empirical skills to test the theoretical propositions derived from the use of computer simulations will also hone the scientific skills of the student participants.Broader Impacts: Training in conflict management that includes populations historically underrepresented in higher education (but which are growing as a proportion of the undergraduate student population in the United States) is a national imperative. This program seeks to address the need to develop further expertise in conflict management and peace science by providing opportunities to engage in advanced empirical research to students from such populations, students who would not otherwise have such opportunities. UNT is well positioned, both institutionally and geographically, to provide such access. To that end, they have secured formal commitments from Hispanic and Native American Serving Institutions and from Historically Black Colleges/ Universities (HBCU) in Texas and Oklahoma, and the Ronald E. McNair Program at UNT to assist in broadening the pool of applicants to the program. However, the PIs solicit applications from across the country as well.