Leonard Suransky is a South African doctor of International Relations and Education and is the former Head of the Department of International Relations at Webster University in Leiden, Netherlands.
Early life and education
Suransky was born and raised in South Africa. He has a BA from Hebrew University Jerusalem, an MSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics and a PhD from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He specializes in designing and administering International Relations games and simulations, in the academic, public and corporate sectors. His son, Shael Polakow-Suransky, is the president of Bank Street College of Education.
His current research interests include transitions to democracy in Africa, development issues and poverty alleviation, identity politics, and conflict and crisis management in the Greater Middle East and Southern Africa.
He received the Des Lee Visiting Lectureship in Global Awareness at Webster University. Upon winning the Des Lee Visiting Lectureship in Global Awareness Suransky stated, "When I first saw the words ‘global awareness’ in the title of the award, I immediately thought ‘that’s not enough.’ After finding out about a problem intellectually, how does one get to feel something about it? That involves empathy and compassion. This could involve taking some personal risk, perhaps even exposing oneself to some danger. So, in a nutshell, how do we move from understanding (becoming globally aware,) to compassion for others in our global village, to action to transform the often inequitable realities of a dramatically skewed world."
"The Global Economy and the Subversion of Indigenous Local Cultures" - Given at the 22nd annual Scientific Meeting of the International Society of Political Psychology in July 1999.[1]
"Globalization: Scourge of the South", Given at the 21st annual Scientific Meeting of the International Society of Political Psychology in July 1998, as part of the 2nd panel on Globalization and Gender Identities.[2]
Training the warrior diplomat: enhancing negotiation and conflict management skills through experiential learning. Journal of International Negotiation, Vol. 15, No. 2, Special Issue on Simulation Games
Baby-sitting or Bird watching? The Role of Supervision in IR Simulation Exercises. In Organizing and Learning through Gaming and Simulation, Mayer, I & Mastik H. (eds.) 2008.
How to InterACT in conflict settings – The Role of Supervision in IR Simulation Exercises. Organizing and Learning through Gaming and Simulation, Proceeding of ISAGA 2007, Eburon, Delft
Globalisation: Scourge of Africa? Occasional Paper -Foundation for Global Dialogue, Johannesburg, 2000
South Africa in the Chair: Lifting SADC to viability as a regional platform, African Security Review, 2000
Democracy and Governance, part of a volume on DEMOCRACY for an INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL STUDIES, with Lynnaia Main, Juta and Company, Kenwyn, 1997
Member of the National Education Policy Investigation (NEPI) Post-secondary Education Research and Co-ordinatingGroup, Post-secondary Education, Oxford University Press/NECC, Cape Town, 1992
What are We Educating For? The Psychological Cultural Dimension, with Ward, A., and Beaumont K.
NEPI working paper for the Post-Secondary Education report, NECC, Johannesburg, 1992.
Rationalisation at Michigan University -a case of 'smaller but better': lessons for South African Universities, in RESTRUCTURING SOUTH AFRICAN TERTIARY EDUCATION, eds. Hartman N., and Scott Ian, Udusa, Jhb., 1990.
New Places, New Faces, and New Tastes: The Foreign Policy of a Liberated South Africa, INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS BULLETIN, Vol. 13,3,1989.
"International Relations Games and Simulations." In The Guide to Simulations/Games for Education and Training, edited by Robert Horn and Anne Cleaves. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Neve ShalomlWahat al-Salaam: Disseminating Images of Hope, MIDDLEEAST PEACE NOTES, American Friends Service, Ann Arbor, July, 1987.
Towards the Dissemination of the Michigan International Conflict Simulation Game, Suransky, L. SIMAGES, Vol. 4, No.1. Fall 1982
"International Relations Games and Simulations." In The Guide to Simulations/Games for Education and Training, edited by Robert Horn and Anne Cleaves. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.1983
