CIPS-HSF jointly host ‘Graduate Research Symposium 2020’ on the nature of ‘CIMIC’ in the Pakistani Context

The Centre for International Peace and Stability (CIPS), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) and the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF), Pakistan Office, jointly hosted an online symposium featuring empirically grounded research conducted over the past six months on, November 4th, 2020. Funded by HSF, the grant project facilitated seven MS students from the Department of Peace & Conflict Studies (PCS), CIPS, in problematising the nature of ‘Civil-Military Cooperation’ under the guidance of their supervisors. The successful conclusion of the project was followed by an online seminar to allow four young researchers to interpret their findings for a broader audience.

As an academic think-tank, CIPS aims at promoting rigorous engagement with emergent issue areas in order to catalyse contextually grounded solutions. Interdisciplinary cross-fertilisation remains a hallmark of the centre, as evidenced by the broad-ranging themes presented during GRS 2020. Presenters included Ms Aisha Ali whose work highlighted the need for biosecurity within Pakistan’s framework, while exploring how CIMIC may help build public sector capacity. Ms Ali’s focus on improving civil-military collaboration through better institutional regimes was echoed by Ms Rabeea Jabbar, albeit in the context of health disaster management practices. Ms Jabbar explored the role of CIMIC in curbing the spread of COVID-19 while advocating for a joint civil-military co-ordination command system. She was followed by Ms Faruzan A. Butt, whose work problematised the nature of the ISPR’s ‘Glorious Resolve’ mobile game as a playable public relations product. Ms. Butt highlighted the role of game genre in bridging a civil-military epistemic ‘gap’ in the context of counterterror operations in Northwestern Pakistan. The final presenter for the day, Mr Muhammad Abdul Wassay, focused on yet another dimension in CIMIC by discussing the effectiveness of Pakistan’s peacekeeping operations using Cedric de Coning’s framework. Mr Wassay’s paper explored the impact of each framework dimension apropos civil-military activities.

The session was moderated by Brig (R) Dr Waseem Ishaque, an Assistant Professor at the Department of International Relations, at the National University of Modern Languages (NUML), Pakistan. Dr Waseem’s insight provided a valuable addition to the overall proceedings. Dr Muhammad Makki, Assistant Professor, PCS-CIPS, spearheaded the project, alongside Dr Steffen Kudella, the HSF’s resident representative in Pakistan.