SHSS Professor Visits Kazakhstan

Sam Baroni, Ph.D., presents Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev with the 2007 DCAR International Peace Prize for his contribution to global peace.

Sam Baroni, Ph.D., assistant professor of conflict resolution and international studies, was invited on an official visit to Kazakhstan to serve as a keynote speaker at the government’s international symposium entitled "Kazakhstan’s Way to a Nuclear Free World" on Aug. 29. Kazakhstan Secretary of State K. Saudabayev, Minister of Foreign Affairs M. Tazhin, Senior Inspector for the State Level Coordination, Division of Operations, Department of Safeguards, IAEA V. Braguine, and the UN Resident Coordinator and Permanent Representative of UNDP in Kazakhstan H. Xu, and Congressman Eni Faleomavaiega and Congressman Chris Cannon all spoke at the government symposium.

During her visit, the government of Kazakhstan also prepared a program for Baroni that included meetings with Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, officials of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, the Committee of Atomic Energy and the national company Kazatomprom.

Baroni also visited the Eurasian National University where she met with the Chair, L. Gumillev, and the Department of International Relations Head, Medeubaeva Shanar. Eurasian National University officials expressed a desire to enter into a cooperative agreement with the Department of Conflict Analysis and Resolution (DCAR) at SHSS. They provided Baroni with a draft agreement to consider.

Baroni also met with the Kazakhstan Secretary of State K. Saudabayev, who expressed his gratitude to DCAR and its efforts on recognizing unilateral peace initiatives. Baroni presented President Nursultan Nazarbayev with the 2007 DCAR International Peace Prize for his contribution to global peace through disarmament.

President Nazarbayev expressed his gratitude for the recognition and honor. He noted that he has lived his life with the belief that one of the most important ambitions a leader can possess is to struggle for national and global peace.

President Nazarbayev noted that he was very interested in working with DCAR as he believed that conflict resolution was a critical area of study in today's world.