Tobias Berkman

Master in Public Policy candidate
John F. Kennedy School of Government

Prior Education

Harvard Law School, J.D. candidate
Harvard College, A.B., cum laude

Professional Experience

The Special Court for Sierra Leone: Legal Assistant
Henry L. Stimson Center, Future of Peace Operations Program: Research Associate and Herbert Scoville, Jr. Peace Fellow
The Carter Center, Conflict Resolution Program
Seeds of Peace International Camp: Program
Coordinator and Counselor (Jerusalem and Maine)
Casablanca American School: 5th Grade Teacher

Biography

I developed a passion for conflict resolution through working with young people from the Middle East, the Balkans, and South Asia at a summer camp in Maine. I witnessed how young people from opposite sides of conflicts could, when provided with the right environment, quickly grow to trust and care for each other. Later, when I worked for the same organization in Israel and Palestine, I came to appreciate how fear and hopelessness drive people apart in areas of conflict.

Today, I’m primarily interested in using the law as a means to help states avoid or recover from armed conflict, through the promotion of international human rights and post-conflict legal and police reform. I firmly believe that helping states recover from conflict requires more than just deploying peacekeeping forces and organizing elections. Over the long term, ensuring the end to armed conflict requires a focus on the rule of law and good governance. I hope to use the skills I gain from law school and the Zuckerman Fellowship to address the often-neglected but vitally important nexus between law and conflict, and to help promote the long-term recovery of states emerging from civil war.