Cultural Awareness for Peace Operations Personnel

About the Course: This course is designed to provide peace operations personnel with a foundational understanding of culture and the multifaceted role of cultural awareness in peace operations. A deep understanding of local culture is critical in peace operations. Understanding the “why" of culture that leads people to act as they do opens doors to trust and fosters collaboration with local communities. This course examines how culture influences peace operations, both within a mission and between mission organizations. This course also examines cyber and digital impacts on peacekeeping missions. Peacekeepers face a complex array of challenges stemming from evolving conflicts, potential geopolitical shifts, and operational constraints. This course offers peace operations personnel a valuable understanding of how cultural competence enables effective operations in the complex, hybrid realities of modern conflict. Five Lessons. .

About the Authors:
Dr. Robert A. Rubinstein (Ph.D., State University of New York at Binghamton) is an anthropologist with expertise in political and medical anthropology and in social science history and research methods. Rubinstein 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. He has conducted empirical research and policy studies in this field. Rubinstein has collaborated on policy applications of his work with the International Peace Academy, the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations, the United Nation Office of Internal Oversight Services, and the United States Army Peacekeeping Institute. He has conducted overseas research in urban and rural Egypt, Belize and Mexico, and in the United States. Rubinstein has published more than 100 articles in journals and books. He is the author or editor of nine books and research monographs, including Peacekeeping Under Fire: Culture and Intervention, Building Peace: Practical Reflections from the Field, Dangerous Liaisons: Anthropologists and the National Security State, and Practicing Military Anthropology: Beyond Traditional Boundaries and Expectations.