ICEUR School of Political Forecasting under the auspices of

The Federal Ministry European and International Affairs Republic of Austria

Orientation:
A vast arena of international work in difficult environments

Dr. Doris Vogl & Prof. Hans-Georg Heinrich.

This introductory lecture opens the course “Critical Skills for International Work in Crisis Environments” and sets out its core purpose: preparing participants for professional work in international field missions, where uncertainty, political pressure, and operational risk are everyday realities. Drawing on extensive experience from OSCE, EU CSDP, and UN-related missions — including the South Caucasus, Eastern Ukraine, Afghanistan, and West Africa — the lecture explains how fieldwork differs fundamentally from academic analysis. Participants are introduced to the logic of professional mission reporting, risk awareness, and decision-making under incomplete and often unreliable information. A central theme of the lecture is the idea that effective mission work is not about prediction, but about learning under uncertainty. The session introduces Bayesian reasoning as a practical analytical framework that helps professionals structure judgment, avoid false certainty, and become less wrong when stakes are high. Using concrete examples — including human rights reporting, asylum procedures, and persecution probability models — the lecture demonstrates how analytical tools such as GeNIe 5.0 can support real-world decisions without replacing professional responsibility or judgment. The lecture also outlines the structure of the course, its target audience, and possible career paths in international organizations, including OSCE, EU missions, UN Volunteers, and related entry routes.

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Topics covered:

• International field missions and professional realities
• Mission reporting and field observation
• Working with uncertainty and messy data
• Limits of traditional statistics in field environments
• Bayesian reasoning as a learning tool
• Introduction to GeNIe 5.0 for mission analysis
• Human rights reporting and asylum decision-making
• Stress, resilience, and professional self-assessment
• Career paths in EU, OSCE, and UN missions

Evolution of international organizations.
Their role in an increasingly complex global environment.

MA BA Christoph Bilban,
The Institute for Peace Support and Conflict Management

This lecture sets the conceptual foundation for the course. It examines why IOs have proven resilient despite repeated crises, criticism, and reform attempts—and why their survival is not accidental but structurally driven. We will trace the transformation of IOs from post-war bureaucratic institutions to today’s hybrid actors operating alongside states, markets, and international non-governmental organizations (INGOs).

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Topics covered:

• The enduring necessity of IOs and the limits of state-based alternatives
• Institutional adaptation under pressure for efficiency, accountability, and impact
• The shift from permanent field presences to mission-based, time-bound interventions
• The growing role of data, auditing, and AI-supported decision-making in mission work

The lecture also introduces the core logic of the Mission Ready course: preparing participants to operate in environments defined by uncertainty, limited resources, and political constraints. It outlines why analytical and probabilistic modeling tools will be essential for future mission design, assessment, and adaptation.

This session is intended for all course participants and requires no prior technical knowledge. It provides the strategic and institutional context upon which later, more applied modules will build.

Modelling Uncertainty (Genie 5.0)

Prof. Hans-Georg Heinrich.

This workshop introduces GeNIe 5.0 as a practical tool for forecasting and decision-making in international field missions, where uncertainty, incomplete data, and time pressure are the norm rather than the exception. The session begins by addressing common misunderstandings about modeling — the idea that it is either purely mathematical or a form of technological hype. Instead, the lecture argues that modeling is fundamentally about structured thinking, not prediction, and that the real challenge lies in asking the right questions rather than producing precise numbers. A central theme of the workshop is the distinction between forecasting, prediction, and prophecy, and why many mission failures stem from narrative thinking, bias, and false assumptions about normality. Drawing on real-world field mission examples, the lecture shows how nonlinear events, deviations, and rare signals are systematically underestimated. The second part of the workshop introduces Bayesian reasoning as a framework for working with uncertainty, updating beliefs, and avoiding false positives. Participants learn why Bayesian logic is particularly well suited to field missions, where data is scarce, noisy, and often politically constrained. The workshop then connects these ideas directly to GeNIe 5.0, outlining its key advantages and demonstrating how probabilistic models can be built step by step — from defining the analytical question to verification and revision. Rather than offering mechanical answers, GeNIe is presented as a decision-support tool that helps analysts and mission staff become less wrong in complex environments.

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Topics covered:

• Why modeling is inevitable in field missions
• Forecasting vs prediction vs prophecy
• Bias, narratives, and mission failure
• Uncertainty, noise, and false positives
• Bayesian reasoning for real-world decisions
• Bayesian vs frequentist approaches
• GeNIe 5.0: key features and advantages
• From analytical questions to verified models

Mission-typical Case Studie (QGeNIe)

Prof. Hans-Georg Heinrich.

This lecture continues the Mission Ready series and focuses on the practical use of GeNIe 5.0 and QGeNIe for analytical work in international field missions, where uncertainty, incomplete data, and operational pressure are the norm. Building on the conceptual foundations introduced earlier, the session moves decisively from theory to hands-on modeling. Participants learn how to construct and expand Bayesian models step by step, starting with simple structures and gradually introducing complexity through additional variables, noise, and causal dependencies.

A key part of the lecture is devoted to qualitative modeling with QGeNIe, showing how analysts can work effectively even when reliable numerical data is unavailable. Using real mission-relevant examples — such as compliance in post-conflict disarmament, corruption risks, demining operations, and conflict escalation — the lecture demonstrates how causes, barriers, and requirements can be translated into structured analytical models.

The session also introduces dynamic Bayesian networks, explaining how time, feedback loops, and trajectories can be incorporated into forecasting and scenario analysis. Rather than aiming at precise prediction, the focus remains on decision support, scenario testing, and becoming less wrong in complex environments.

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Topics covered:

• Practical model building in GeNIe 5.0
• Chance nodes, CPTs, and managing uncertainty
• Decision and utility nodes for choice analysis
• Qualitative modeling with QGeNIe
• Corruption, compliance, and demining case studies
• Handling noise and complexity in real-world models
• Dynamic Bayesian networks and temporal effects
• Scenario testing and interpretation of results

No Mission Without Reporting

Dr. Doris Vogl

This lecture focuses on one of the most critical professional skills in international field missions: mission reporting. Drawing on extensive field experience, Dr. Doris Vogl explains why reporting is not a bureaucratic obligation but a core operational function that enables timely decision-making under uncertainty.

The lecture introduces reporting as part of a larger organizational system, where different report types serve different purposes — from managing sudden disturbances to maintaining institutional continuity. The session concentrates on spot reports and incident reports, which are used in situations of escalation, security risks, or unexpected developments. Participants learn why speed, precision, and restraint are essential, and why reporting in such contexts must prioritize facts over interpretation.

A central part of the lecture is devoted to practical reporting discipline: how to structure information using the five W’s, why sequence matters under pressure, how to avoid common traps related to time, location, and verification, and how to clearly flag unverified or preliminary information without undermining professional credibility. Using real-life mission examples — including an OSCE incident report from Ukraine — the lecture demonstrates best practices and highlights the dangers of false certainty, emotional language, and impression-driven reporting.

The lecture concludes with a practical assignment, inviting participants to draft their own spot and incident reports based on hypothetical emergency scenarios, with feedback provided as part of the course.

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Topics covered:

• Why reporting is central to mission effectiveness
• Missions as systems: disturbance vs routine
• Spot reports vs incident reports
• Speed reporting and operational urgency
• The five W’s in field reporting
• Time and location traps in crisis environments
• Telegram style and concise writing
• Handling uncertainty and unverified information
• Reporting integrity under pressure
• Real-life OSCE reporting example

Genie 5.0. Workshop

Practical Bayesian Modeling and Decision Analysis

This workshop provides a hands-on introduction to GeNIe 5.0, a software environment for building Bayesian networks and decision-theoretic models used to analyze uncertainty, risk, and strategic choices.

In the first part of the session, Ilia Vorontsov walks participants through the practical foundations of working with GeNIe 5.0:

• how to install the academic version of GeNIe 5.0
• where to find official documentation and example models
• how to navigate the interface and basic workflow
• core building blocks of Bayesian networks.

Using concrete examples, the workshop explains:

• chance nodes, decision nodes, and utility nodes
• conditional probabilities and belief updating
• prior and posterior probabilities
• interpretation of probabilistic outcomes
• diagnostic modeling using symptoms, tests, and evidence
• reversing arcs and correct probabilistic recalculation.

A key focus is placed on decision-theoretic modeling, including:

• modeling decisions under uncertainty
• assigning utilities and costs to outcomes
• comparing decision alternatives based on expected utility
• analyzing false positives, false negatives, and their real-world costs
• combining different value dimensions into a common utility scale.

The workshop also addresses common modeling challenges:

• exponential growth of conditional probability tables (CPT explosion)
• the use of noisy adder and noisy max nodes to simplify complex models
• helper nodes as a structural solution to model complexity.

In the second part of the session, more advanced modeling principles are discussed:

• bottom-up vs. top-down approaches to model design
• the importance of conceptual planning before building networks
• defining node states correctly (categorical vs. ordered nodes)
• why point probabilities can create false precision
• using probability intervals instead of fixed values
• managing and interpreting noise in Bayesian models
• deterministic nodes and their impact on uncertainty
• modeling feedback loops and dynamic processes over time.

Several applied examples demonstrate how the same Bayesian framework can be used across domains, including:

• healthcare and diagnostics
• governance and public policy
• risk assessment and humanitarian operations
• political analysis and conflict scenarios
• strategic and economic decision-making.

The workshop concludes with practical guidance on how to start building your own models, emphasizing that effective Bayesian modeling requires both technical skill and careful conceptual reasoning.

Marek Druzdzel - GeNie 5.0 Workshop

How Causal Models Work — Professor Marek Druzdzel explains with GeNIe 5.0.
Dr. Marek Druzdzel, co-founder of BayesFusion and lead developer of GeNIe, demonstrates how structural equations and Bayesian networks uncover causal mechanisms across economics, medicine, and politics.
From simple models of rain and harvests to dynamic systems, chaos, and stock-market forecasting.

This lecture continues the introduction to Bayesian networks, focusing on qualitative and dynamic modeling as tools for reasoning about complex systems under uncertainty. Building on the previous session, the lecture explains how qualitative Bayesian networks allow analysts to model causal relationships even when precise numerical data is unavailable. Using concepts such as causes, barriers, requirements, and inhibitors, the lecture demonstrates how complex systems can be represented logically and explored through what-if reasoning.

A central part of the session is devoted to dynamic Bayesian networks, which extend static models by incorporating time, memory, and delayed effects. The lecture shows how trajectories, feedback loops, and system behavior over time can be analyzed using probabilistic models, offering insights that are difficult to obtain through linear or static approaches.

Practical examples illustrate how qualitative and dynamic Bayesian models can be applied to policy analysis, organizational stability, business processes, and decision support, highlighting their relevance for real-world strategic thinking rather than abstract prediction.

Gender Sensitivity in Mission Life

This lecture focuses on the practical relevance of gender sensitivity in international mission work, particularly in complex and high-risk environments. Rather than revisiting gender theory, it draws on first-hand field experience from missions in Afghanistan, West Africa, and Eastern Ukraine, showing how gender awareness directly affects communication, safety, decision-making, and mission effectiveness.

The lecture examines gender sensitivity across the full spectrum of mission life: internal teamwork within international organizations, interaction with local staff and counterparts, and the integration of gender perspectives into mission reporting and security assessments. Particular attention is paid to cultural context, power asymmetries, and the ethical risks faced by local partners.

Through concrete examples, the lecture demonstrates how gender roles shape security risks, access to information, and community engagement, and why ignoring these factors can endanger both mission staff and local colleagues.

The session also situates gender sensitivity within international frameworks such as UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and EU CSDP mission requirements, highlighting how policy translates into daily operational practice. This lecture is intended for students, analysts, and practitioners preparing for work in international missions, peace operations, and humanitarian or security environments where cultural awareness, trust, and risk management are essential.

Periodic Mission Reporting: Internal and External Reports in High-Risk Environments

This lecture focuses on periodic mission reporting as a core element of institutional continuity, decision-making, and accountability in international missions and NGOs operating in complex and high-risk environments.

Building on the basics of incident and spot reporting, the lecture explains how regular internal and external reports differ in purpose, structure, audience, and level of sensitivity. Particular attention is paid to reporting cycles (weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual), the strategic role of internal reporting for senior management, and the use of external reports as public communication and donor-facing instruments.

The lecture covers:

• Differences between internal and external periodic reporting
• Standard elements of professional mission reports
• Risks of incomplete or overly diplomatic internal reporting
• How reporting failures can lead to strategic blind spots
• Reporting formats used by international organizations (EU CSDP, OSCE, UN)
• Matrix-based and software-driven reporting systems
• Human rights reporting within periodic reports
• Gender sensitivity and vulnerable groups in reporting

The session concludes with a practical assignment, guiding participants through the drafting of a quarterly internal mission report, including situational analysis, lessons learned, and recommendations for senior management.

Q&A Sessions

This session combines practical reflection and course guidance, focusing on two core themes of the ICEUR program: field mission professionalism and analytical training through modeling.

In the first part, the lecture addresses the persistence of codes of conduct in international field missions. Drawing on extensive mission experience, the speaker explains why reporting standards, professional behavior, and gender-related norms remain remarkably stable across organizations and time. Rather than being ideological artifacts, these rules are presented as functional tools for coordination, risk management, and operational protection in volatile and legally exposed environments.

The session then turns to course assignments and methodological expectations. Participants receive guidance on developing their own analytical models using Bayesian reasoning, GeNIe, or qualitative modeling (QGeNIe). Special emphasis is placed on avoiding false precision, understanding the limits of AI-assisted analysis, and maintaining a balance between analytical power and intellectual modesty. The discussion concludes by outlining deadlines, feedback procedures, and the broader educational philosophy of ICEUR: building judgment under uncertainty rather than producing mechanical predictions.

Topics covered:

• Codes of conduct in international field missions
• Reporting standards as risk-management tools
• Gender-related norms and compliance frameworks
• Why rules persist despite institutional crises
• Course assignments and modeling expectations
• Bayesian vs qualitative models
• GeNIe and QGeNIe as analytical tools
• AI, limits of automation, and analytical responsibility
• Feedback, deadlines, and course organization

Training assignments: Students are requested