Dr. Cheryl Benard is a senior political scientist with the RAND Corporation. Prior to that, she was research director with a European foundation. She received her B.A. in political science from the American University of Beirut and her doctorate (sub auspiciis praesidentis) as well as the postdoctoral degree granting tenure (Habilitation) from the University of Vienna, where she later taught and became an associate professor.

Benard’s career has spanned two continents. Her focus has been on published results with a high degree of accessibility for policy makers, media and the interested public. For this she has been the recipient of several awards, including the Theodor Kery Prize for Socially Relevant Research and the Donauland Prize for Nonfiction Writing, and her book publications have been translated into many languages including Turkish, French, Italian, Swedish, Spanish, Hungarian, Russian, Hebrew and Chinese. Her previous research has ranged from refugee and immigrant integration; police intervention in domestic disputes; ethnic cleansing in Bosnia; changing socialization patterns; integration of women into the European military; and problems in the delivery of humanitarian crisis relief; school reform issues; radicalization and youth; and issues of multicultural education.

Benard has been a member of numerous academic and governmental advisory commissions to evaluate reform programs in areas such as basic training in the military, rule of law issues in peacekeeper training, curriculum and school reform, teacher training, gender-unbiased development aid, and the integration of handicapped children.

Since writing her dissertation on Arab nationalism, Islam and the Middle East have been strong themes in Dr. Benard’s work. Her study of the Iranian revolution was entitled The Government of God, (Columbia U. Press). In another project, she surveyed and analyzed the social and political consequences of Muslim communities and centers in Europe and investigated links between culture centers and expatriate political organizations and known terrorist organizations.

For the U.N. Women’s Division, Dr. Benard participated in a cross-cultural survey of gender-specific human rights violations. She has published widely on women in the Muslim world and women in development. The Afghan situation has been of particular interest to her since the 1980’s. Her most recent book publications are Veiled Courage (Random House 2002) which describes various forms of civil resistance against the Taliban during the years of their rule, and Civil Democratic Islam (Rand 2003) which suggests a way to better understand Islamic groups and movements by aligning them along a differentiated ideological spectrum.

Selected Publications:

• “Toy Soldiers: The Youth Factor in the War on Terror,” Current History, 106. (January 2007): 27-30.
• Fixing What's Wrong -- and Building on What's Right -- With Middle East Education SAIS Review - Volume 26, Number 2, Summer-Fall 2006, pp. 29-45
• Building Moderate Muslim Networks, the RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA, August 2006.
• Securing Health: Lessons from Nation Building Missions, with Seth Jones, Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, MG-321-RC, forthcoming.
• Best Practices: Progressive family law in Muslim countries, with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Winter, 2005.
• “Strengthening the Partnership,” In Touch Magazine, V. 12 N. 12, Winter 2005
• “Die zweischneidige Verfassung,” Emma, Number 6 Nov/Dec 2005. (the Iraqi constitution and women)
• “The World Needs a Prefab Constitution”, International Herald Tribune, November 27th 2005.
• “Cybermullahs and the Jihad: Radical Websites Fostering Estrangement and Hostility Among Diaspora Muslims,” Conference Proceedings, Chapter 6, Options for Helping Middle Eastern Youth Escape the Trap of Radicalization, The Initiative on Middle Eastern Youth, Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, CF- 224, September 2005.
• “The Myth of Martyrdom: Young People and the Insurgency in Iraq,” Conference Proceedings, Chapter 7,Options for Helping Middle Eastern Youth Escape the Trap of Radicalization, with Ed O´Connell, Santa Monica, CA, RAND Corporation: CF-224, September 2005.
• Three years after: next steps in the war on terror, with James Thomson, Brian Jenkins, John Parachini, Peter Wilson, David Aaron, Bruce Hoffman, Lynmn Davis, Michael Wermuth, Kevin O´Connell, Gregory Treverton, Olga Oliker, Michael Hynes, Andrew Rathmell and Paul Wolfoitz. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, CF-212, 2004.
• “French Tussle over Muslim head scarf is a positive push for women´s rights,” Christian Science Monitor, February 4th, 2004.
• Our Country, My Role: A handbook on women and political participation in post conflict Afghanistan, Women Without Borders, December 2004.
• “Northern Exposure”(Turkey and the invasion of Iraq), The Wall Street Journal, April 7th, 2003.
• Civil Democratic Islam, Partners, Resources and Strategies, Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, MR- 1716, 2003.
• Democracy and Islam in the new constitution of Afghanistan, Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, CF- 186, 2003
• Veiled Courage, Inside the Afghan Women’s Resistance, Random House, N.Y. 2002
• “Hizbu ut Tahrir” (Bolsheviks in the Mosque), Journal of Central Asian Studies, Volume VI No. 1, Fall/Winter, 2001
• Learning by Radio in Afghanistan, Distance Learning as an Option for Societies in Crisis, The Initiative on Middle Eastern Youth, Santa Monica, Ca: RAND Corporation, DRU-2561, 2001
• Trends in Modern Political Islam, Center for Middle East Public Policy, Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, in print
• Strengthening the Partnership, Improving Military Coordination with Relief Agencies and Allies in Humanitarian Operations, with Daniel Byman, Ian Lesser, Bruce Pirnie, Matthew Waxman, Rand Project Air Force, Washington D.C.: MR-1185, 2000
• “Mediation Minus Morals,” Ethics Today, Spring 1999 “Can We Live Together?” Conflict Resolution Notes, April 1996
• “Rape as Terror: The Case of Bosnia,” Terrorism and Political Violence, Spring 1994 (used as expert testimony by the International War Crimes Tribunal)
• “Bosnia, Was it Inevitable,” Lessons from Bosnia, Conference Proceedings, RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA: CF 113-AF, 1993
• The Government of God, Iran´s Islamic Republic, Columbia U., 1984 Gott in Teheran, Suhrkamp, Frankfurt 1986 (German edition of above)
• Im Dschungel der Gefühle, Rowohlt, Hamburg 1987 (violent crimes in the family)
• “Politics and the Refugee Experience,” Political Science Quarterly, Winter 1986
• Viel erlebt und nichts begriffen, Rowohlt, Hamburg 1985 (impact of student movement on later values and life-style of its adherents)
• “Afghan Refugees in Pakistan,” Pakistan Studies, Fall 1984
• Die Grenzen des Geschlechts, Rowohlt, Hamburg 1984 (aid projects and their impact on women) Die geschlossene Gesellschaft und ihre Rebellen, Syndikat, Frankfurt 1981 (social reality construction in opposition movements)
• “Islam and Women,” Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, Winter 1980
• Notizen über Besuche auf dem Land, Jugend und Volk, Munich 1979 (sociological study of factory workers and their communities in rural areas)
• “Migrant Workers and European Democracy,” Political Science Quarterly, Summer 1978 Die ganz gewöhnliche Gewalt in der Ehe, Rowohlt, Hamburg 1978

Edward (Ed) O´Connell is a Senior Analyst in RAND’s Santa Monica headquarters. He holds two masters degrees – in national security and strategic studies, and in international relations. His main topics are intercultural and inter-religious dialogue, challenges facing Middle Eastern youth, and issues of public diplomacy and information operations.

Before coming to RAND, O´Connell served in the U.S. military. In 2001, he was a deputy for current operations under General Tommy Franks, supporting the intervention in Afghanistan. He retired from the US military as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2002.

Ed has also worked on issues related to Iraq. In 2004 he was assigned as a RAND analyst to the US Embassy in Baghdad, charged with examining the Iraqi information and media environment. In 2005, Ed returned to Iraq for RAND to study ‘terrorism and youth recruiting.’ After witnessing the Amman bombing first-hand, he wrote an acclaimed editorial for the Washington Post entitled “A Future Beyond a Funeral.”

Ed has held discussions with such prominent leaders as Grand Imam Tantawy of Al Azhar University and Mufti Rais Ceric of Bosnia on topics related to youth. Working with the Guggenheim Foundation and other cultural centers, he has explored ways to build bridges between west and east. He frequently reports on Middle Eastern issues for academic and policy audiences and on network news programs.