Abdul Aziz Said (September 1, 1930 – January 22, 2021)[1] was
Professor Emeritus of
International Relations in the
School of International Service at
American University, Washington, D.C., and founding Director of the university's International Peace and Conflict Resolution Division.[2] Said was well known for helping shift the focus of International Relations theory from
real politic-based on the concept that the law of power governs states, to
new world order-based on cooperation and common security.[3] Starting in the 1990s Said focused his work on peace and conflict resolution and later explored the relationship between spirituality and religion in international politics.[4]
Said was the first occupant of the Mohamed Said Farsi Chair of Islamic Peace and Director Emeritus and Founder of the Center for Global Peace. He was called by the university AU's “Living Legend of Peace”[5] and a singular institution promoting peace by the Washington Post Magazine.[6] He actively engaged in many conflict resolution projects, including the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and the Iraq conflict.[7][8] Dr. Said holds the distinction of the longest teaching tenure at AU having started teaching in 1956 until retiring in 2015. He is the author and editor of 25 books and over 100 papers.[9] He developed over a dozen educational and research programs.[10] Said has served as an advisor to numerous US and international agencies, including the Carter and Bush administrations, the United Nations, the US Department of State, and UNESCO. He has also served on numerous Boards, including Human Rights International and The Center for Religion and Diplomacy.[11] He was the recipient of numerous awards, including The International Studies Association's “Distinguished Scholar in Peace Studies and the El-Hibri Peace Education Prize[12]
US Marine Corps and Command Academy and Staff College
US Air Force Academy
US Coast Guard Academy
US Naval War College
West Point Military Academy
US Information Agency (USIA), “Speaker and Specialist Program,” Lecturer throughout the Middle East and Persian Gulf, Europe, Latin and South America, North, East, and Sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia (1964-1999)
White House
“Committee on the Islamic World,” Member, President Jimmy Carter Administration
Executive Office of the President, National Security Council, “Islam and US Foreign Policy,” Presenter, President Bill Clinton Administration
White House Annual Conference on Children and Youth, “Youth and Bureaucracy,” Presenter, President Richard Nixon Administration
Said, Abdul Aziz; "Localizing Peace: An Agenda for Sustainable Peacemaking," (co-authored with Nathan Funk), Peace and Conflict Studies, Spring 2010, 17.1.
Said, Abdul Aziz; Peace as a Human Right: Towards an Integrated Understanding, (co-authored with Charles Lerche) in Human Rights and Conflict: Exploring the Links Between Rights, Law, and Peacebuilding (Eds.) Julie Mertus and Jeffrey W. Helsing, United States Institute of Peace, December 2006.
Nachmanovitch, Stephen; Said, Abdul Aziz (1987). "Global Thinking: A call for reinvestment in sacred values". ACORN, A Gandhian Review. 2 (1). Eastern Illinois University.
^"Prof Emeritus". American University. Retrieved January 24, 2021.
^forthcoming book "Abdul Aziz Said Pioneer in Peace Paradigms, Cooperative Global Politics and International Engagement" edited by Dr. Meena Sharify-Funk and Dr. Nathan Funk.