Interview with Arthur L. Demchuk
IPMS 2000
Associate Professor
Moscow State University,
Department of Political Science
Faculty of Philosophy
RUSSIA
(This interview was conducted in 2002. Professor Arthur Demchuk is currently Deputy Head of the Environmental Policies Program at Moscow State University.)
Current Activities
Artour teaches courses on conflict management and resolution, and comparative politics at Moscow State University. He also lectures on conflict management and negotiation at the regional Leadership for the Environment and Development Program for the Commonwealth of Independent States, a program from which he graduated in 1997.
Most Important IPMS Lessons
Artour found IPMS to be an important program in that the practical conflict management and consensus-building skills that it fosters, were key to improving his effectiveness as an instructor in the same field. He also asserts that the network of sustainable development professionals created by IPMS has allowed him to establish contacts critical to the development of future projects.
Applying IPMS Lessons
Artour has taken the initiative in incorporating the IPMS conflict management and resolution training model into the curriculum development for regional universities throughout Russia. This important step toward building the mutual gains approach to negotiation into the professional education system was facilitated by his and Ms. Natalia Tarasova’s translation of IPMS materials, many of which were already substantively applicable to the sustainable development challenges facing Eastern Europe. Artour indicates that there is a significant need for stakeholders at various levels of government and in other sectors to receive training on consensus-building, given Russia’s diversity of ethnic groups, economic interests, and urban and rural populations.
Suggestions for Improving IPMS
In general, Artour found the programme to maintain a very sound balance between theory and simulation. He also encourages the Sustainability Challenge Foundation to continue strengthening the network of past participants through the creation of a database that can facilitate ongoing contact.
Suggestions for Other SCF Activities
Artour feels that SCF should continue to gather information to build new case studies for use in similar training courses that can be adapted to a regional context. He also believes that a newsletter would be helpful in sharing the experiences of colleagues working in different regions with respect to the type of consensus-building tools that have proven effective. This need to share experiences could also be facilitated by the establishment of an IPMS alumni association.
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