GSUM
The Global South Unit for Mediation (GSUM)
The Global South Unit for Mediation (GSUM) is a research, teaching and learning platform devoted to the production, debate and diffusion of knowledge and expertise on the broad spectrum of peace-related activities and conflict transformation mechanisms, including international peace negotiations, mediation and peace operations. Our research, international seminars, workshops, publications and training materials share a focus on the Global South.
Launched in 2013, GSUM is an initiative of the Institute of International Relations of the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio) through the BRICS Policy Center. Underpinned by the last five years of innovative experiences and positive results, the Unit is now recognized as a relevant institutional space for fostering the interaction among scholars, diplomats, governmental officials and non-governmental actors interested in peacemaking, peacekeeping and peacebuilding processes.
Partners
African Centre for Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Centre for Mediation in Africa University of Pretoria (CMA)
Centre for Resolution of International Conflicts (CRIC)
Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO) – Sede Equador
The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO)
Contact
Global South Unit for Mediation – GSUM
Casas Casadas, 3º andar, Rua das Laranjeiras 307, Laranjeiras, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
CEP 22240-004
Email: bpc@bricspolicycenter.org
Research Areas
Peace processes, international mediation, peacebuilding and conflict transformation
Research associated with this thematic area investigate different processes of conflict transformation, such as international negotiation and mediation practices, with a special attention to contexts of the Global South in...
Violence, disarmament and arms control in Latin America
Research associated with this thematic area investigates the role of weapons, their flows and the practices aimed at their control in the constitution of violence patterns, peace processes and the...
Peacekeeping, stabilization and counterinsurgency
Research associated with this area will analyze discourses and practices of intervention and peace production in the context of armed conflicts and political crises in the Global South.
Gender, peace and security
Research associated with this area are situated in contemporary debates on gender and sustainable peace, advancing an investigation of the construction and implementation of the “Women, Peace and Security” (WPS)...
Youth, peace and security
The studies proposed here approach issues related to the rights of children and their limits, the militarization of childhood and youth, and the participation of children and youth in peace...
Training courses
Winter School on International Mediation
The GSUM Winter School is a two-week intensive academic and training program on international mediation organized by the Global South Unit for Mediation (GSUM) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The School offers an intensive and substantial learning and training experience in the theory and practice of international mediation and conflict resolution, with a particular focus on issues and questions concerning or related to the Global South. Three editions of the Winter School have been offered, in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Course on “Conflict Resolution and International Mediation” at the Rio Branco Institute
The Global South Unit for Mediation (GSUM), through the International Relations Institute (IRI/PUC-Rio), has offered two editions of a course on “Conflict Resolution and International Mediation” at the Rio Branco Institute, a graduate school and diplomatic academy invested in the professional training of Brazilian diplomats. The course, offered in 2015 and 2017, covered essential themes related to the field of conflict transformation and resolution, peacebuilding and international mediation.
Publications
Truth and justice initiatives in non-transitional contexts: experiences from Latin...
The article discusses some of the ways in which a diversity actors sought to address and transform the complex patterns of organized violence that routinely impact various Latin American societies.
International Peace Mediation and Gender: Bridging the Divide
In this policy brief, Julia Palmiano Federer and Rachel Gasser explore the nexus between international peace mediation and gender. The publication focuses on the state of play of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS)...
Gender and Mediation
The course will pay particular attention to the debate between a normative and pragmatic approach to mediation, focusing on the normative framework of gender and its relationship to mediation practice....
International Mediation: Actors and Processes
This Teaching Package will introduce the main actors and processes involved in international mediation. It will first clarify definitional aspects on what mediation entails, how it works (roles of mediators)...
Elements and Reflections on Success, Failures, and Lessons Learned in...
This Teaching Package focuses on some key issues related to the discussion of mediation success. Some of the issues that will be covered are: success criteria used by scholars to...
Conflict Resolution and Mediation as a Field of Study and...
The Teaching Package seeks to find a balance, and develop synergy, between theory, knowledge and skills. It will highlight the fundamental terms and concepts related to international mediation and conflict...
Mediation and The Global South
This Teaching Package focuses on some key issues related to the discussion of mediation and Global South; some of them: the principle of inclusivity, participatory processes in mediation, local ownership...
Mediation and the UN System
This Teaching Package aims to explore the dynamics outlined in the title through presentations by the Convenor, class debates, simulation exercises and critical analysis of case studies of UN mediation....
Regional Organizations and Internal Conflict: The Arab League and the...
This paper, written by Raslan Ibrahim, aims to explain the underlying and proximate causes of the policies of the Arab League towards Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Syria, Yemen and Bahrain, seeking...
Mediating International Conflicts: Challenges and opportunities
This paper, written by José Pascal da Rocha, provides a study of mediation experiences from different periodic and country contexts. It investigates elements that are key to mediation effectiveness. For the...
Mediation with Non-conventional Armed Groups? Experiences from Latin America
This Policy Brief assesses the emergence of gangs, drug trafficking organizations and small criminal groups operating in pockets of fragility in urban or rural areas of Latin American countries.
UNASUR’s Role as a Mediator: the Venezuelan case
This Policy Brief analyzes the opportunities and challenges faced by UNASUR when it comes to conflict mediation.
Mending bridges: the Unfinished Business of the US and Cuba
This Policy Brief analyzes the transformations that allowed the resumption of relations between the United States and Cuba.
War, Peace and Mediation in the Middle East
While acknowledging the complexity of a seemingly unsolvable conflict, Eduardo Uziel faces the challenge of delineating and analyzing the major negotiation processes that have been attempted in the Middle East...
Bridging Human Rights and Conflict Resolution: Experiences from Latin America
This Policy Brief focuses on the relationship between human rights and conflict resolution, examining the ways in which Latin American states and societies during the democratization process positively complemented two...
Innovation and citizens’ participation in peacebuilding processes: necessary reconfigurations for...
In order to debunk harmful and deep-seated myths constantly reaffirmed by traditional methods of conflict resolution and give way to new, more efficient and inclusive approaches, Cecilia Milesi proposes a...
Culture, Gender and Mediation: Challenges and Lessons Learned
This BPC paper discusses the constant movement of cultural transformation by which societies pass through, and how the adaptation of cultural groups is many times dynamic and even unpredictable, and...
What is the essence of international mediation in civil wars?...
This BPC Paper discusses the place of complexity in the thinking and practice of international mediation in civil wars.
Experts
