The HDIAC Podcast - Rethinking Culture in the Context of Civil-Military Relations – Part 1 of 3

Robert Rubinstein is an anthropologist with expertise in political and medical anthropology and in social science history and research methods. In political anthropology, Rubinstein’s work focuses on cross-cultural aspects of conflict and dispute resolution, including negotiation, mediation and consensus building. He is an originator of the field of the anthropology of peacekeeping. Since 1985, he has conducted empirical research and policy studies in this field. He examines the ways that the success of peace operations depend upon cultural considerations, and how organizational and institutional cultures can facilitate or frustrate coordination in peace operations. Rubinstein has collaborated on policy applications of his work with the International Peace Academy, the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations, and the United States Army Peacekeeping Institute. As a medical anthropologist, Rubinstein focuses on conflict and health, disparities in access to health care and the implications of those disparities for the health of populations, and on the integration of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. He has developed community-based health interventions in Egypt and Atlanta. Rubinstein has collaborated on health policy issues with the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Carter Center, the Georgia Department of Physical Health, and the Onondaga County Health Department.
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Corri Zoli's research focuses on contemporary problems of warfare from an interdisciplinary social science, public policy, and law perspective, with attention to the culture and governance of contemporary conflict dynamics, changing patterns of global conflict, and the role of international humanitarian law in contemporary conflict dynamics. One track of Zoli’s research investigates the changing nature of the US military force structure, the challenges of asymmetric warfare for military personnel, and data-driven inquiry into servicemembers’ and veterans’ service and post-service experiences, including post-9/11 veterans’ reintegration and subsequent pathway in higher education, civic engagement, and employment. On another track, Zoli analyzes the role of technology, culture, and religion in contemporary security dynamics and in postconflict transition. This includes the role of Islamic law in mitigating conflict and postconflict dynamics; Muslim-majority states’ international law conflict and compliance behavior; problems of law and governance in Afghanistan and Pakistan; and the importance of Islamic and international norms for transitioning post-Arab Spring states. Zoli’s research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Social Science Research Council, the Andrew Mellon Foundation, and Google. Her work has been published in Foreign Policy, Harvard National Security Journal, and the Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, among other venues.
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