NYU Wagner

Dirk Salomons is Director of the Humanitarian Affairs Program at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. Concurrently, he serves as Managing Partner of the Praxis Group, Ltd., an international management consulting firm based in the USA and Switzerland. Praxis works mainly with public service entities, applying its expertise in humanitarian assistance, peacekeeping, and post-conflict recovery as well as in human resources management.

Earlier in his career, he served in a wide range of management, peace-building and policy advisory functions in several organizations of the United Nations system, including FAO, UNDP, UNAIDS, UNOPS and the UN Secretariat. His most cherished assignment was that of Executive Director for the United Nations peacekeeping operation in Mozambique. Mr. Salomons holds a "kandidaats" degree and a "doctoraal" in comparative literature and sociology from the University of Amsterdam.
 

Recent publications include “The Canary That Lived: The Coordination of United Nations Humanitarian Mine Action in Kosovo”, in Dennis Dijkzeul (ed.), Between Force and Mercy, Military Action and Humanitarian Aid,, Berlin, Berliner Wissenschafts-Verlag, 2005;  “Security: An Absolute Prerequisite”, in Gerd Junne and Willemijn Verkoren (eds.), Postconflict Development: Meeting New Challenges, Boulder, Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2005;  “Probing the Successful Application of Leverage in Support of Mozambique’s Quest for Peace”, in Jean Krasno, Donald Daniel and Bradd Hayes (eds.), Leveraging for Success in United Nations Peace Operations”, Westport, Praeger, 2003; and “Good Intentions to Naught: The Pathology of Human Resources Management at the United Nations”, in Dennis Dijkzeul and Yves Beigbeder (eds.), Rethinking International Organizations: Pathology and Promise, New York, Berghahn Books, 2003.

Together with Shepard Forman and Stewart Patrick, Dirk Salomons wrote Recovering from Conflict: Strategy for An International Response, Center on International Cooperation, New York University (2000). His latest book is The Conjurers' Hat: Financing United Nations Peace-building in Operations Directed by Special Representatives of the Secretary-General, Fafo Institute for Applied Social Science, Oslo, and Center on International Cooperation, New York (2001).