Dipali Mukhopadhyay

Mukhopadhyay’s research explores the possibility of warlords (as non-state armed actors) as state-builders in a modern post-conflict environment, specifically focusing on how this role has evolved in Afghanistan. Her hypothesis is that warlord actors may have opportunities to contribute to the government of a post-conflict state. She will identify and analyze state-building processes that have included constructive warlord involvement. Mukhopadhyay interned in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, where she prepared a major policy brief on the reconstruction process in Afghanistan. She was also a researcher at the Aga Khan Development Network in Afghanistan.

Andrea L. Strimling

Strimling’s dissertation focuses on inter-organizational coordination in social change, and the key role of negotiation in this process. She argues that the complexity of global problems and the associated need for inter-organizational and interdisciplinary coordination requires new approaches to theory and practice. Strimling is a co-founder of the Alliance for Peacebuilding (AfP), as well as a current member and former chair of its board of directors. She has also extensively published and taught on the role of negotiation in inter-organizational coordination.