Guest Experts Course 2012

Laurence McKeown is a writer, playwright, and researcher though sees those roles within the broader context of political activism, academia, and the role that the arts can play in both. His involvement in creative works, political education, and academia began during his period of incarceration as an Irish republican political prisoner (1976-1992). Following his release from prison Laurence completed a doctoral thesis at Queen’s University, Belfast which examined the development of Irish republican prisoners’ politics and methods of organisation. His thesis was published in 2001 entitled Out of Time. From 1998-2007 he was co-ordinator with Coiste na-nIarchimí, the umbrella organisation for former republican prisoners throughout Ireland. During this time Laurence was also becoming more involved in the arts and was co-writer of a feature film, H3, (2001) based on the 1981 hunger strike within the prison which he participated in and during which 10 prisoners died. In more recent years Laurence has used full-length plays and bespoke theatre to explore issues concerning the legacy of the conflict in the North of Ireland particularly with Healing Through Remembering (www.healingthroughremembering.org) of which he is a member. Laurence is also a regular commentator in the press and media and continues with political activism.

Albrecht Schnabel is a Senior Fellow at the Research Division of the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF), where he is engaged in research, policy advice and training with a focus on armed nonstate actors, human security, peace processes and non-traditional roles of armed forces, primarily in the context of security sector reform and governance. He has held research and teaching positions at universities, research institutions and the UN, participated in OSCE election monitoring missions, served as a trainer in conflict prevention for the UN System Staff College and, in 2001-02, as President of the International Association of Peacekeeping Training Centres. He was educated at the University of Munich, the University of Nevada and Queen’s University (Canada), where he received his PhD in 1995. His publications have focussed on ethnic conflict, refugees, armed nonstate actors, human security, security sector reform, early warning, conflict prevention and management, peacekeeping, and post-conflict peacebuilding, including a co-edited volume on After Mass Crime: Rebuilding States and Communities (2007).