Bio
Elizabeth A. ""Lili"" Cole is a visiting fellow at the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University, now based in the San Francisco area. Until December 2017, she directed the Fellowship Programs at the U.S. Institute of Peace and led the research stream on reconciliation, developing methods to evaluate the impact of reconciliation projects in post-conflict contexts.
Previously she was assistant director of TeachAsia in the Education Division of Asia Society in New York City.
Cole served as senior program officer at the Carnegie Council from 2000 to 2005. She developed the History and the Politics of Reconciliation Program, focusing in particular on educational efforts to promote reconciliation. Before joining the Council she worked at the Center for the Study of Human Rights at Columbia University where she was coordinator of its program on religion, human rights, and religious freedom. Prior to that she was director of internships at the National Forum Foundation and assistant program officer at the National Endowment for Democracy. Cole holds a PhD in Slavic languages and literatures from Yale University and lived and worked in China from 1981-1984.
Featured Work
JUN 3, 2009 • Article
On the 20th Anniversary of the Tiananmen Demonstrations: Human Rights Needs for a New China
What has changed in China since 1989, and what are Chinese looking for from their government today? Health and safety issues are paramount for many, especially ...
JUN 27, 2005 • Transcript
Ten Years after Srebrenica: Conversation with Haris Hromic
On June 27, 2005, almost exactly ten years after the Srebrenica massacres, CarnegieCouncil.org spoke to Haris Hromic about his pioneering work for the Academy of Bosnia ...
JAN 21, 2005 • Article
"Ghost Detainees," Blank Spots, and Torture
"Ghost town, ghost train, ghost writer, and now "ghost detainees"--one of the most chilling phrases to enter our language emerged from revelations about torture ...
APR 29, 2004 • Transcript
Preserving the Past, the Impossible and Necessary Task
Alexander Stille discusses our complex relations to the past in today's age of rapid technological advances.
APR 5, 2004 • Article
The Uses of History: Reflections on the Fall of Yugoslavia
Distinguished sociologist Kai Erikson described his many journeys to the town of Pakrac, in the former Yugoslavia, beginning during the war in 1992, and the interviews ...
FEB 17, 2004 • Article
Historical Memory and the Building of Democracy in Iraq
Report of an 2/17/04 "Beyond History and Memory" seminar, a series cosponsored by the Council's History and the Politics of Reconciliation Program and Columbia University.
FEB 2, 2004 • Article
Desolation and Enlightenment--History or Memory?
The "desolation" of the 20th century--the total war of the two World Wars, the totalitarian regimes of both the right and left, and the Holocaust--has ...
OCT 23, 2003 • Article
Feature Articles from Inprint Newsletter (2001–2004): Searching for a New Iraqi Identity
In the early days of reconstruction, might Iraq in fact be better off focusing on its distant rather than recent past? An effort to restore ...
JUN 25, 2003 • Article
Democratic Development and Reckoning with the Past: The Case of Spain in Comparative Context
Boyd and Crocker discuss Spain as a case study of the problems raised by the process of development and democratization in a country that must ...
MAY 6, 2003 • Transcript
The Work of an International Negotiator in Restitution Cases and the Legacy of World War II
H. E. Stuart Eizenstat argues that WWII restitution cases faciliate reconciliation and advance the cause of human rights.