Exploring Possibilities for Peace in the Twenty-first Century

 

Challenge

How does the international legal system respond to war and conflict?

The international community has seen threats to interstate peace on a scale unthinkable for decades.  Exploring Possibilities for Peace brings an interdisciplinary lens to the rise of interstate war in the twenty-first century to examine: Why has international law failed to secure the peace it promised? Why have states turned to international law at the same moment as peace seems under the greatest strain in decades? And crucially, how can international law and the international community adapt to better secure peace today?

Aim

Led by Ryan Liss, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Law at Western University, the team engaged an interdisciplinary approach to explore the distinct challenges, and possibilities that exist for interstate peace in the twenty-first century. The project involved a diverse team including junior and senior scholars spanning law, political science and international relations, philosophy, literature, women’s and gender studies, peace and conflict studies, and beyond, working alongside former diplomats in the Canadian foreign service. Our aim was to break down silos between academic disciplines in their discussion of the causes and potential responses to conflict, as well as to break down the silo between the academy and popular conceptions of conflict. Team activities included an international conference drawing together scholars, diplomats, policymakers, and artists from around the world, an interdisciplinary workshop series, graduate seminars, podcasts, and public lectures. Scholar outputs ranged from policy commentary on the current governmental responses to ongoing conflict, to exploration of the role of narrative in memorializing conflict past and present, to theoretical engagement with the longstanding root causes of conflict in colonialism.

Impact

Highlights include:

    • Building an international network of academic, government, and community partners
    • International conference on contemporary causes of and solutions to conflict
    • Public education efforts on ongoing conflicts and potential responses, including podcast commentary, news features, public-facing publications, and public lectures

Learn more:  https://possibilitiesforpeace.ca/