Oxford Research Group

Oxford Research Group (ORG) is a London-based charity and think tank working on peace, security and justice issues. Its research and dialogue activities are mainly focused on the Middle East, North and West Africa, as well as influencing UK and international security policy.[1]

History

ORG was founded in 1982 by a group of academics and activists with an interest in the psychological dimensions of international security decision-making. While established in sympathy with Quaker values of peace and social justice, ORG is an independent, secular group without affiliation to any religious or political group. It was registered as a charity in England and Wales in 1988.

Initially, the Group focused on dialogue between British nuclear decision-makers and nuclear disarmament activists, widening its activities to incorporate the other P5 nuclear weapons states. In the 1990s, ORG fostered security dialogue between the UK and China on a broader range of issues.

In 2006 ORG relocated from Oxfordshire to London. Since then, it has focused particularly on analysing the causes, consequences and character of the War on Terror, promoting more sustainable approaches to international security policy, mediating track II dialogues around conflicts in the Middle East, and recording the casualties of armed conflict.

Work

ORG has two thematic programmes and serves as host or incubator for several other projects.

Programmes

Sustainable Security is ORG’s core thematic programme. It aims to highlight the limitations of orthodox security policy that seeks to contain the symptoms of deeper conflict and to develop policy alternatives that address such underlying drivers as marginalisation, militarisation, climate change and resource scarcity.[2]

The Middle East Programme is ORG’s conflict resolution programme, mediating a series of track II and track 1.5 dialogues in Israel, Palestine and Egypt and between Iran, Syria and other states. The programme uses ‘radical disagreement’ theory[3] to develop strategies for alternative routes to peaceful co-existence.[4]

Incubation

Every Casualty Worldwide was developed as a programme of ORG between 2007 and 2014. It aimed to enhance the technical, legal and institutional capacity, as well as the political will, for every single casualty of armed conflict throughout the world to be recorded. It became a separate NGO in October 2014.[5]

Remote Control is a project of the Network for Social Change,[6] hosted by ORG since 2013. It analyses current developments in military technology and doctrine such as cyber-warfare, unmanned weapons systems (such as unmanned aerial vehicles), private military and security contractors, and special operations forces.[7]

Reconciliation through Film explores the potential for film and digital media to connect communities and promote reconciliation, starting with Sri Lanka in 2015.[8]

Honours and Awards

ORG’s founder, Scilla Elworthy, was awarded the Niwano Peace Prize in 2003 for ORG's work on the promotion of disarmament and non-violent methods for resolving conflict.[9]

Notable Current and Former Staff and Associates

Patrons

References

  1. ↑ Oxford Research Group website
  2. ↑ Oxford Research Group's Sustainable Security Programme
  3. ↑ Ramsbotham, Oliver. Transforming Violent Conflict: Radical Disagreement, Dialogue and Survival, Routledge (2010)
  4. ↑ Oxford Research Group's Middle East Programme
  5. ↑ Every Casualty page on Oxford Research Group's website
  6. ↑ Network for Social Change website
  7. ↑ Remote Control Project on Oxford Research Group's website
  8. ↑ Reconciliation Through Film on Oxford Research Group's website
  9. ↑ "Why Dr. Priscilla Elworthy Was Selected for the 20th Niwano Peace Prize" (pdf). Niwano Peace Foundation. 2003. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  10. ↑ Prof Hugh Miall's profile on University of Kent website
  11. ↑ Dr Nick Ritchie's profile on University of York website
  12. ↑ Dr Ben Zala's profile on University of Leicester website

External links