Kennesaw State University MSCM
Syllabus, Summer 2010
CM 7320: Public Policy Disputes, Cross-Cultural and International Conflict Resolution (3
Credits)
Class Meetings: May 21-22, June 4-5, June 18-19
Class hours will be Fridays 3:00pm-8:00pm, Saturdays 8:30am-3:30pm.
Dr. Susan Raines
Office: SO 5062
Office Phone: 770-423-6081
Email: sraines@kennesaw.edu
Dr. Timothy Hedeen
Office: SO 5060
Office Phone: 770-423-6879
Email: tkhedeen@kennesaw.edu
Dr. Linda M. Johnston
Office: SO 5034
Office Phone: 678-797-2233
Email: ljohnst9@kennesaw.edu
Dr. Volker Franke
Office: SO 3002
Office Phone: 678-423-2931
Email: vfranke@kennesaw.edu
Public Policy Disputes
Description: Public disputes are unique in that conflict management or resolution efforts often occur
under the glare of public scrutiny. These disputes tend to be multi-party, multi-issue, long-standing,
and particularly intractable. Therefore, managing public disputes requires greater ability to facilitate
large-group processes and deal with the media.
Texts:
 Practical Guide to Collaborative Governance
 The Collaborative Public Manager: New Ideas for the 21st Century by Rosemary O’Leary and
Lisa Blomgren Bingham
 Chapter 4 of Managing Public Disputes by Carpenter and Kennedy
Required Assignments and Grading:
Attendance and Participation: (15%) This includes your presence for all class hours as well as the
extent to which your actions promote or inhibit your own learning and the learning of others.
Conflict Assessment Project: (85%)
Attend at least one contentious public meeting and evaluate how well the public dispute is being
managed. This means you will have to learn a little bit about the particular issue at dispute (e.g. zoning,
environmental concerns, transportation conflict, etc.), but your paper will focus on the dispute
resolution process: Critique the current process of decision making and dispute resolution. Make
recommendations for improvements to the decision making (dispute resolution) process as well as the
format and presentation of the public meeting. Assume that you are a conflict management consultant
hired to critique the current process and make suggestions for process changes. Do not focus on
storytelling (meaning, do not get bogged down in the details of the particular issue in dispute). You
may wish to interview one or more people who are knowledgeable about the dispute as well as
attendees at the public meeting. You can call your local city/county/state government offices for a list
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of public meetings, or go to the City of Atlanta web pages at www.ci.atlanta.ga.us. Your paper should
be 8-10 pages in length, double-spaced (not including the bibliography). Also consider using these
resources: see p. 91 and Chapter 4 of Managing Public Disputes by Carpenter and Kennedy, The
Public Participation Handbook by Creighton, Chapter 6 in Designing Conflict Management Systems
by Costantino and Sickles-Merchant, and Getting Disputes Resolved by Ury, Brett, and Goldberg.
These recommended books are all available to check out in our Conflict Management library.
Your paper should include the following elements:
1. Very brief background about the dispute (1-2 pages).
2. Who are the parties/stakeholders? Are all relevant stakeholders at the table? What are their
positions, interests, and BATNAs (you can use bullet points if you wish).
3. Describe the current process for decision making and conflict management. How effectively
was/is the dispute being managed? How can you tell? What are the indicators of a successful
process?
4. What suggestions could you make to improve the dispute process?
Please note: number 3 and 4 are analytical in nature, whereas number 1 and 2 are more
descriptive in nature. Be sure to spend more of your paper on 3 and 4 than on 1 and 2.
Analysis is key.
Friday and Saturday, Weekend 1:_Public Disputes
Agenda: Unique characteristics of public disputes, traditional public dispute management. Innovations
in public dispute management. Improving public meetings. Pros, Cons, and Methods of
Negotiated Dispute Resolution Skeptics, Limits, and Concerns. Deciding when/ how to
participate in a consensus process. Multi-party dispute simulation.
Reading: The Public Participation Handbook, by James L. Creighton
Edwin Kiester, A Town Buries the Axe, Smithsonian, July 1999, Vol. 30, Issue 4, p.70.
Supplied in hard copy.
Cross-cultural and International Conflict Resolution
Description: This section is designed to help participants acquire substantive knowledge and develop
practical skills central to the resolution of intercultural and international conflict. It examines the
process of international conflict resolution through diplomatic negotiation and international mediation.
Theories analyzing the strategic, structural, and behavioral features of the international negotiations
and mediations are discussed in lectures and case studies. Simulation exercises will be integrated to
this class to provide students with hands-on experiences in applying theories to cases.
Section Objectives:
 To understand the uses and strategies of negotiation and mediation as methods of managing and
resolving international conflicts;
 To develop decision-making and problem-solving skills through hands-on experiences in
simulated negotiation environments;
 To consider how cultural factors complicate international negotiation and mediation and to
evaluate ways to transcend such barriers.
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Texts:
 Neuliep, James. 2006. Intercultural Communication: A Contextual Approach
 Barber, Benjamin R. 1995. Jihad v. McWorld: Terrorism’s Challenge to Democracy (selected
chapters to be handed out)
 Other readings TBA
Required Assignments and Grading:
Group Paper - 60%: This International Conflict Resolution/Peace-building Intervention research
paper should be 11-13 double-spaced pages. Due XX.
From the list below, please select one area of recent and/or ongoing conflict. Your task is to:
1. Briefly summarize the current and recent history of the conflict.
2. Summarize the peace-building and conflict resolution efforts that have already been attempted
by others. Include those undertaken by both governmental and non-governmental actors.
3. Declare your group’s identity as either a non-governmental organization (NGO) or an
International Governmental Organization (IGO), or something else entirely. Will your efforts
occur at the grassroots level? Or will they be done via international diplomacy, such as the
United Nations, or a regional governmental body?
4. Plan a culturally-appropriate intervention designed to reduce the conflict and/or increase the
chances for long-term peace. How will your proposal be different or add to what has already
been tried? Include a proposed budget and timeline (as you would if you were proposing a
grant-funded effort).
5. What will you do to ensure that your group of outsiders is both culturally sensitive and seen as
legitimate?
Please note: You will be expected to incorporate readings from both in-class and outside of class
sources and cite them appropriately.
Choose from (only one group per topic please):
Basques in Spain
Haiti
Darfur
Zimbabwe
Chiapas
Zimbabwe
Israel/Palestine
Liberia

Kashmir
Nepal
Chechnya Sri Lanka
Once you have formed your group of 3-5 students, you need to discuss the distribution of labor
and create a peer evaluation tool that you will use to evaluate your own performance and the
performance of all the other group members. You will hand in your peer assessments with the
paper. This group project is designed to provide opportunities for you to work through conflict
in a group setting. You are expected to consciously practice the skills you are learning in class
and in the readings. Do not come to me with an intra-group conflict unless you have first
discussed it with the applicable group member(s). Use the skills you learned in the “Giving and
receiving feedback” lesson and other lessons. I a.m. happy to help, but don’t forget that conflict
management practice is part of the course. Try to view it as the laboratory for the skills learned
in class.
Homework - 20%: Please complete the following self-assessments from your text and turn them in to
show you completed them (they won’t be graded for content). You can photocopy them from the
Neuliep text and complete them by hand. For each survey, write 1 paragraph to tell me what your
scores say about you in relation to the material in the chapter. Show me you understand and have read
the material. Hand in the entire assignment stapled together with your name on the top page. Due
XX .
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Self-Assessment 1.1 on p. 19
Self Assessment 1.2 on pps. 30-31
Self-Assessment 1.3 on pps. 33-34
Self-Assessment 2.1 on pps. 54-55
Self-Assessment 2.2 on pps. 62-63
Self-Assessment 4.2 on pps. 164-165
Attendance and Participation - 20%: Half of this grade will be comprised of information from the
Peer Evaluation forms related to the project above. The other half is related to in-class participation
and attendance, including your performance in role plays, class discussions, and group work.
Friday and Saturday, Weekend 2: Intercultural Communication and Conflict
Agenda: Intercultural negotiation, communication, and conflict management.
Reading: Neuliep Text, Chapters 1, 2, 4, 5, 10
Due: Homework assignment
Friday and Saturday, Weekend 3: International Conflict Resolution and Intervention
Reading: TBA
Clash of Civilizations by Samuel Huntington. Supplied in hard copy.
Due: Group Paper XXX
Overall Expectations:
One of the essential skills of the conflict resolution professional is the ability to create a safe space.
This class, and indeed all of the classes in the MSCM curriculum, is intended to be an opportunity to
explore freely and to take risks in a safe environment. Students are expected to participate in creating a
dynamic learning environment for all members of the class.
Grading:
Grades will be based on a combination of written work, attendance and participation, and
presentations (if any).
Grading:
What does an A, B, or C “look like?”
Students whose participation, papers, and exam answers exceed adequate levels will receive an A.
Students whose participation, papers, and exam answers are adequate will receive a B.
Students whose participation, papers, and exam answers are not adequate will receive a C or lower.
Late Work:
Homework and research papers must be turned in on time. Late work may receive a reduced grade. If
you are not able to turn an assignment in on time, please let us know in advance.
Written Work:
Written communication, as well as oral communication, is the hallmark of the effective conflict
manager. For this reason, writing is an important component of the MSCM program. Written work will
be evaluated primarily on the basis of content. However, originality, organization, writing style, and
research (if applicable) are important components of written assignments.
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Course Attendance:
Since class meetings are limited, it is imperative that students attend all class meetings. Individual
exceptions to this rule will be limited to cases of emergency or serious illness. If a student fails to
provide acceptable documentation that an absence is due to emergency or serious illness, the grade for
the course in question may be lowered one letter grade.
Academic Integrity Statement:
Every KSU student is responsible for upholding the provisions of the Student Code of Conduct, as
published in the Undergraduate and Graduate Catalogs. Section II of the Student Code of Conduct
addresses the University's policy on academic honesty, including provisions regarding plagiarism and
cheating, unauthorized access to University materials, misrepresentation/falsification of University
records or academic work, malicious removal, retention, or destruction of library materials,
malicious/intentional misuse of computer facilities and/or services, and misuse of student identification
cards. Incidents of alleged academic misconduct will be handled through the established procedures of
the University Judiciary Program, which includes either an "informal" resolution by a faculty member,
resulting in a grade adjustment, or a formal hearing procedure, which may subject a student to the
Code of Conduct's minimum one semester suspension requirement.
Please note: Turning in the work of others as your own, turning in papers downloaded from the
Internet as your own, using more than three substantive words in order from an uncited source, and/or
using ideas or concepts borrowed from others without adequate citation will be considered plagiarism.
We reserve the right to review any student papers and assignments through plagiarism-review services
or software.