The Kroc Cast: Peace Studies Conversations

Beyond the Timeline: "Slow Peace" and the Power of Civil Society

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 09:00:00 -0500

How do we measure the success of a peace process? While international observers often look to legislative milestones and disarmament data, these metrics often miss the most critical element of lasting change: the slow, relational work of the people living through the transition. At the center of this effort is civil society—the community leaders and grassroots organizers who act as the ultimate stewards of peace, transforming high-level agreements into lived realities on the ground.

In this episode of The Kroc Cast, Allison Kielhold sits down with Mariafernanda (Mafe) Burgos Ariza and Angela Lederach (Ph.D. '20) to challenge the traditional "fast-track" model of international peacebuilding. Using the ongoing implementation in Colombia as a lens, they explore how civil society movements sustain momentum during political uncertainty and delve into the concept of “slow peace”—a framework that prioritizes trust, ritual, and daily healing over bureaucratic deadlines.

Special Report: The Nuclear Threshold—Assessing Iranian Intent Amidst the February 28 Strikes

Sun, 01 Mar 2026 10:11:45 -0500

In this urgent and timely episode of the Kroc Cast, we are joined by Kelsey Davenport (MA '11), Director of Nonproliferation Policy at the Arms Control Association. This conversation was recorded as a "massive armada" gathered in the Persian Gulf, and it now serves as a hauntingly prophetic analysis of the catastrophic military escalation that unfolded on February 28, 2026.

Hours after "intense" nuclear negotiations in Geneva ended without a deal, the United States and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury (Roaring Lion), a joint military assault aimed at toppling the Iranian regime and "razing" its missile and nuclear infrastructure. With reports confirming the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and retaliatory strikes hitting U.S. bases across the Gulf, the region has entered the "devastating war" Davenport warned was nearly inevitable without a diplomatic off-ramp.

Co-Creating Peace: The Evolution of PAM-M in the Philippines

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 13:23:36 -0500

How can a global research tool become a localized "bridge" for peace? In this episode of the Kroc Cast, experts Madhav Joshi, Myla Liguoro, and Bishnu Sapkota join host Melinda Davis to discuss the evolution of PAM-Mindanao (PAM-M).

The conversation highlights how a framework originally known for its global research has become a "scientific art of accompaniment" in the Bangsamoro peace process, fostering trust through a unique co-creation model between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The guests explore how evidence-based monitoring serves as a vital bridge between high-level negotiations and grassroots realities.

The Human Network Behind the Data: Monitoring Peace in Colombia

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 10:00:00 -0500

Peace implementation is a long, nonlinear journey that requires more than just technical oversight—it requires a human network rooted in trust. In this episode of The Kroc Cast, we go behind the scenes of the Peace Accords Matrix (PAM) to explore its historic responsibility: independently monitoring the 2016 Final Peace Accord in Colombia.

Host Cristian Sáez Flórez is joined by the researchers and practitioners who bring this work to life through a unique partnership between the University of Notre Dame and the Colombian Barometer Initiative. This conversation dives into the delicate balance between measuring progress and respecting the lived realities of communities navigating the legacy of conflict. From technical innovations in transitional justice to the emotional dimensions of post-conflict work, our guests share how this binational collaboration turns high-level commitments into tangible change on the ground.

The episode features Ángela María Ramírez Rincón, Executive Director of the Barometer Initiative in Colombia; Mateo Gómez Vásquez, Technical Research Leader; Natalia Restrepo Ortiz, Research Associate; and Carolina Serrano Idrovo, Research Associate for PAM at the Kroc Institute.

The Fifty-Year Arc: A Practitioner’s Adventures with Peace Processes

Mon, 17 Nov 2025 09:00:00 -0500

Are we facing the dusk or the dawn of peace processes and global peacebuilding efforts?

In this episode of the Kroc Cast, renowned scholar-practitioner Dr. John Paul Lederach invites listeners to reflect on his half-century arc of experience in the field and challenges us to confront the core tensions of peacemaking in a time of crisis.

This episode was recorded live at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies' Strategic Peacebuilding Academy on "Peace Processes" in 2025.

You can access Dr. Lederach's full PowerPoint Presentation here.

The Kroc Cast is BACK!

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 12:48:50 -0500

We know you've been waiting—and we're thrilled to announce an all-new season of The Kroc Cast beginning November 2025.

This season we're zeroing in on the most critical element of any peace effort: the peace agreements. We'll explore how signed documents transform into real change on the ground, guided by the Institute's globally renowned tool, the Peace Accords Matrix.

Don't miss this season connecting global research with the local reality.

Preserving Voices, Confronting Violence: Insights from the Legacy Project

Mon, 08 Sep 2025 12:19:57 -0500

In this episode of The Kroc Cast, Josefina Echavarría Álvarez, director of the Peace Accords Matrix and the Legacy Project at the Kroc Institute, part of the Keough School of Global Affairs, explores the power of Colombia’s Truth Commission Transmedia Platform and its relevance for peacebuilding worldwide. The conversation highlights how this innovative, multimedia archive preserves multiple voices and lived experiences of Colombia’s armed conflict while offering insights for societies grappling with the legacies of violence.

Joining the discussion are two distinguished scholars working with the Legacy Project: Leigh Payne , Professor of Sociology and Latin America at the University of Oxford, whose extensive research on transitional justice spans Latin America and beyond, and Emma Murphy, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Keough-Naughton Institute and the Kroc Institute, whose work develops the concept of agonistic transitional justice as an alternative to liberal approaches. Together, they reflect on the possibilities and challenges of memory, contestation, and multiplicity in processes of truth-telling and reconciliation.

Peace Policy Spotlight: The Power of Art in Peacebuilding

Tue, 13 May 2025 13:30:58 -0500

Art has long been a powerful tool for fostering understanding, reconciliation, and healing in conflict-affected societies. By transforming cultural, political, and ideological boundaries, artistic expression allows individuals to communicate, reflect, and envision new possibilities for coexistence.

In this episode, Peace Policy guest editor Norbert Koppensteiner, Associate Teaching Professor of Peace Studies, joined the contributors of the issue to discuss the diverse ways that art contributes to peacebuilding, demonstrating its ability to cultivate empathy, challenge oppressive structures, and create spaces for dialogue.

Contributors to this issue of Peace Policy include Alison Ribeiro de Menezes, a Professor of Hispanic Studies at the University of Warwick, UK; Vera Brandner, head of the NGO ipsum and a freelance scientist and lecturer; Jessica (Doe) Mehta, Ph.D. (Aniyunwiya/Cherokee Nation), a 2024-2025 Visiting Research Fellow at the Kroc Institute; and Paula Ditzel Facci, a dancing peace researcher and assistant professor of peacebuilding at the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University.

Read all articles in this issue at peacepolicy.nd.edu.

SheLeads4Peace Summer School

Mon, 22 Jan 2024 11:04:26 -0500

Every year, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) hosts the SheLeads4Peace Summer School, a program dedicated to providing women peacebuilders the necessary skills to be a leader for peace as they transition from their education into their professional careers. For the past two years, the Kroc Institute has had the privilege of partnering with UNITAR to send a delegation of seven Notre Dame undergraduate women to Geneva to take part in this event.

In this episode, Anna Van Overberghe, assistant director for Academic Administration and Undergraduate Studies, is joined by Mary Kate Cashman (BA '24), Erin Tutaj (BA '24), and Ella Ermshler (BA '25), three peace studies students who participated in the 2023 SheLeads4Peace Summer School this past August.

Peace Policy Spotlight: Nuclear War and Climate Change

Wed, 06 Dec 2023 10:15:55 -0500

This episode is dedicated to our latest issue of Peace Policy, which focuses on the co-mingling of two existential crises of our time: the threat of nuclear war, and potential planetary destruction through climate change. Atalia Omer, Professor of Religion, Conflict and Peace Studies, serves as this year’s faculty editor of Peace Policy. She is joined by George A. Lopez, Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., Professor Emeritus of Peace Studies and the guest editor of this Peace Policy issue, for a conversation about essays from our expert contributors, ranging from environmental and nuclear risks in Ukraine, to Pope Francis, to climate change. Contributors to this issue of Peace Policy include Rachel Bronson, president and CEO of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists; Drew Marcantonio (Ph.D. '21), Department of Management & Organization within the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame, as well as a faculty fellow with the Kroc Institute, and Kristina Hook (Ph.D. '20), an assistant professor of Conflict Management with Kennesaw State University in Georgia; and Jerry Powers, director of Catholic Peacebuilding Studies at the Kroc Institute and coordinator of the Catholic Peacebuilding Network.
Read all articles in this issue at peacepolicy.nd.edu.

A Conversation with Cardinal John Onaiyekan on the Catholic Church as Peacebuilder in Africa

Wed, 15 Nov 2023 14:45:57 -0500

In this episode, Fr. Emmanuel Katongole, professor of theology and peace studies at the Kroc Institute, hosts a conversation with His Eminence Cardinal John Onaiyekan, Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja Archdiocese in Nigeria.

Cardinal Onaiyekan, one of Africa's most prominent religious peacebuilders, reflects on lessons learned from his decades of work for peace in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa.

Racism Roadtrip

Tue, 16 May 2023 07:00:00 -0500

Today’s episode features three current Keough School of Global Affairs students who took part in the course “Racial Justice In America,” offered through the Center for Social Concerns. The conversation is hosted by Euda Fils (MGA '23), and the guests include Bernice Antoine (B.A. '26) and Aidé Cuenca Narvaéz (MGA '23).

The course's curriculum is centered around Clint Smith's book, How the Word Is Passed, which is about Clint’s visit "to eight places in the United States as well as one abroad to understand how each reckons with its relationship to the history of American slavery.” As part of the course, students were offered the opportunity over spring break to visit some of the same sites that Clint did, as well as some other additional sites in the US that were important in both the history of slavery and the story of the struggle for civil rights.

Religion and Broken Solidarities

Fri, 05 May 2023 07:14:17 -0500

In this episode, Contending Modernities editor and writer Josh Lupo and Professor Atalia Omer, Co-Director of Contending Modernities, interview three contributors to their edited volume, Religion and Broken Solidarities: Feminism, Race, and Transnationalism. The volume explores distinct moments in time across various geopolitical settings when solidarity failed to be realized between marginalized communities because of differences of race, nationalism, religion, and/or ethnicity. These contributions are intended to open up paths for imagining new forms of solidarity now and in the future.

In conversation with Ruth Carmi (Ph.D. '23), the editors discuss the reasons why alliances between Mizrahi Jews and Palestinians have been so difficult to achieve, in spite of both groups’ marginalization by the Israeli government. With Brenna Moore, they reflect upon Black Catholic attempts to create transnational partnerships that challenged the White Protestant status quo in early twentieth-century geopolitics. Finally, with Melani McAlister, they consider the role of the literary imagination in helping us contemplate paths beyond the trappings of our current political order.

In each of these exchanges, the authors also reflect on their findings in light of the current political moment, rather it be in the recent challenges to the authority of the supreme court in Israel, the Black Lives Matter protests of Summer 2020 following the murder of George Floyd, or in the growing calls to substantively address the threat of climate change. What is revealed in these conversations is that challenging the structures that marginalize the most vulnerable in our society requires an intersectional analysis that refuses to treat any marker of identity or belonging as siloed off from others.

Las víctimas al centro: estado de la implementación del Acuerdo Final desde la perspectiva de sus derechos

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 10:56:51 -0500

El Acuerdo Final de Paz de Colombia, suscrito en 2016, estableció como uno de sus principios orientadores el de la centralidad de las víctimas. El Acuerdo Final reconoce los daños y el sufrimiento desproporcionado que el conflicto armado interno les ocasionó a las víctimas. Por ello, las partes firmantes acordaron compromisos encaminados a satisfacer sus derechos a la verdad, la justicia, la reparación y la no repetición.

En diciembre de 2022, el Instituto Kroc publicó el informe "Las víctimas al centro: estado de la implementación del Acuerdo Final desde la perspectiva de sus derechos", que analiza el estado de la implementación de aquellos compromisos relacionados con los derechos de las víctimas e identifica oportunidades para aumentar sus niveles de implementación.

Este episodio presenta un diálogo entre Josefina Echavarría Álvarez, miembros de la Iniciativa Barómetro de la Matriz de Acuerdos de Paz, y Cielo Linares, investigadora del Centro Internacional para la Justicia Transicional, en el que se destacan los principales avances y retos presentados en el informe.

Iraqi Women Speak: Promoting Women, Peace, and Security

Tue, 28 Mar 2023 07:04:50 -0500

Twenty years ago, the US invasion of Iraq unleashed a series of humanitarian tragedies that, combined with the effects of sanctions, set back women’s rights for decades. In the years since, women’s groups across the country have continued to work for progress, despite many obstacles. In this episode, Anna Romandash (MGA '22), a Brembeck Fellow at Fourth Freedom Forum, talks with Nadje Al-Ali, the Robert Family Professor of International Studies and Professor of Anthropology and Middle East Studies at Brown University, about feminist activists in the country, the role of younger generations of Iraqi, and the ways in which international allies can facilitate and provide support to Iraqi women rights groups. Learn more about the impacts of war and critiques on the strategy of using military intervention to enhance women’s rights in Romandash's report and policy brief.

A Conversation with the Honorable Juan Manuel Santos

Mon, 10 Oct 2022 12:27:52 -0500

In this episode, Josefina Echavarría, director of the Peace Accords Matrix and associate professor of the practice, hosts a conversation with the Honorable Juan Manuel Santos, Former President of Colombia and 2016 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate about the 2016 Peace Agreement between the Colombian government and the former FARC-EP that ended the country’s deadly 52-year armed conflict and its current state of implementation.

Peace Accords Matrix Policy Briefs: Author Roundtable Part 2

Mon, 12 Sep 2022 05:30:00 -0500

This is the second of two podcast conversations with authors of policy briefs in the newest collection published by the Kroc Institute's Peace Accords Matrix. The briefs address content and process-related issues in peace agreement design, especially regarding inclusion of citizens’ rights.

In this episode, Josefina Echavarría, director of the Peace Accords Matrix and associate professor of the practice, hosts a conversation with policy brief authors Cécile Mouly, research professor at the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO), Ecuador, and coordinator of the Research Group on Peace and Conflict, and Luis Peña, Visiting Research Fellow at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and Vice President of the International Association of Reconciliation Studies.

You can read all policy briefs at peaceaccords.nd.edu/policy.

Peace Accords Matrix Policy Briefs: Author Roundtable

Thu, 18 Aug 2022 13:08:59 -0500

This is the first of two podcast conversations with authors of policy briefs in the newest collection published by the Kroc Institute's Peace Accords Matrix. The briefs address content and process-related issues in peace agreement design, especially regarding inclusion of citizens’ rights.

In this episode, Josefina Echavarría, director of the Peace Accords Matrix and associate professor of the practice, hosts a conversation with policy brief authors Felipe Roa-Clavijo, assistant professor in the School of Government at the Universidad de Los Andes, Rebecca Gindele, consultant on women’s rights and local peacebuilding issues in Colombia, and Sally Sharif, a post-doctoral research associate at the Kroc Institute.

You can read all policy briefs at peaceaccords.nd.edu/policy.

Activism for LGBTQ Inclusion on the Notre Dame Campus

Wed, 27 Jul 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Marty Kennedy, a 2022 graduate of the undergraduate program in peace studies, talks with peace studies alums and current students about the history and present state of both activism and scholarship for the inclusion of LGBTQ persons on the University of Notre Dame campus.

Guests include Alex Coccia (B.A. '14), Senior Policy Analyst at the Center for the Study of Social Policy in Washington, D.C.; Connor Hayes (B.A. '16), Legal Fellow with the ACLU of Pennsylvania; and Flora Tang (B.A. '18), Ph.D. student in peace studies and theology.

Peace Policy Spotlight: Youth Peace Provokers in Colombia

Wed, 13 Jul 2022 05:00:00 -0500

This is one of three episodes dedicated to conversations with the authors of recent Peace Policy articles focusing on the importance of including youth in peacebuilding efforts throughout the U.S. and around the world. Cat Bolten, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Peace Studies at the Kroc Institute, is the guest editor for this issue of Peace Policy.

This episode features a conversation between Angie Lederach (Ph.D. '20), and Naun Alvarez Gonzalez, a leader of the Youth Peace Provokers movement in Montes de Maria, Colombia. You can also read their full article at peacepolicy.nd.edu.

Please note that a Spanish version of this episode is also available. A note from Angie and Naun: "This conversation was recorded prior to the recent presidential elections in Colombia. We write today from Camarón, where the election of Gustavo Petro and Francia Márquez, who ran on a platform committed to peace, has generated a sense of hope and opportunity for the people of Naún's community. We hope that what they have promised on paper will be put into practice as they take office in August."

A Conversation with Shaul Magid and Friends on Meir Kahane and Political Theology

Thu, 07 Jul 2022 05:05:00 -0500

In this episode, Kroc Institute faculty member Atalia Omer, Professor of Religion, Conflict, and Peace Studies, convenes a conversation with several religious studies scholars on the impact of Shaul Magid's book, Meir Kahane: The Public Life and Political Thought of an American Jewish Radical. Magid is Professor of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College. The speakers in this episode presented a similar conversation during the 2021 American Academy of Religion meeting, and their remarks will also be published in a forthcoming issue of the Journal of Religious Ethics. Discussants in this episode include Yaniv Feller, Jeremy Zwelling Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies and Assistant Professor of Religion at Wesleyan University; Emily Filler, Assistant Professor in the Study of Judaism at Washington and Lee University, and co-editor of the Journal of Jewish Ethics; Susannah Heschel, Eli M. Black Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College, where she chairs the Jewish Studies Program; and Robert A. Orsi, Professor of Religious Studies, History, and American Studies at Northwestern University, where he holds the Grace Craddock Nagle Chair in Catholic Studies.

Sexto Informe del Instituto Kroc sobre la Implementación del Acuerdo de Paz en Colombia

Wed, 08 Jun 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Cinco años después de la firma del Acuerdo Final de 2016 entre el gobierno colombiano y las ex FARC-EP, la implementación no se ha detenido, a pesar de enfrentar numerosos obstáculos. Un nuevo informe de la Iniciativa Barómetro de la Matriz de Acuerdos de Paz (PAM) del Instituto Kroc para Estudios Internacionales de la Paz presenta el estado actual de la implementación del acuerdo de paz.

Este episodio presenta una discusión entre los miembros del equipo de la Iniciativa del Barómetro de la Matriz de los Acuerdos de Paz que destaca los avances y desafíos clave presentados en este informe.

Lea el informe completo en go.nd.edu/InformesKrocCol.

The Kroc Institute’s Sixth Report on Colombian Peace Accord Implementation

Wed, 08 Jun 2022 04:55:00 -0500

Five years after the signing of the 2016 Final Agreement between the Colombian government and the former FARC-EP, implementation has not stopped, despite facing numerous obstacles. A new report from the Peace Accords Matrix (PAM) Barometer Initiative at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies presents the current status of peace accord implementation.

This episode features a discussion among members of the Peace Accords Matrix Barometer Initiative team highlighting the key advances and challenges presented in this report.

Read the full report at go.nd.edu/KrocColombiaReports.

Peace Policy Spotlight: Women and Peacebuilding

Wed, 25 May 2022 09:45:22 -0500

In this episode, Atalia Omer, Professor of Religion, Conflict and Peace Studies, and one of the guest editors of the most recent issue of Peace Policy focused on the particular role of women in global peacebuilding efforts, talks with authors of all the pieces in this issue.

Guests include Peace Policy co-editor, Ruth Carmi, current Ph.D. student in peace studies and sociology; Linda Quiquivix, a popular educator of Mayan roots who saves seeds, loves books, and makes art; Sarah Ihmoud, assistant professor of peace and conflict studies at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts; and Katherine Marshall, a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs.

Read all articles in this issue at peacepolicy.nd.edu.

A Conversation with Co-Editors of Wicked Problems: The Ethics of Action for Peace, Rights, and Justice

Mon, 23 May 2022 05:00:00 -0500

In this episode, co-editors Associate Professor Ernesto Verdeja, Douglas Irvin-Erickson, Assistant Professor at George Mason University, and Austin Choi Fitzpatrick, University Professor, at the University of San Diego discuss their new book, Wicked Problems: The Ethics of Action for Peace, Rights, and Justice.

"Wicked Problems" argues that the field of peacebuilding and conflict transformation needs a stronger and more practical sense of its ethical obligations. Contributors in this book examine the trade-offs, dilemmas, and compromises they encounter in their daily work with peacebuilding and justice.

To learn more and purchase a copy of the book, go to go.nd.edu/WickedProblemsPod and use code "ASFLYQ6" for 30% off your purchase.

Peace Policy Spotlight: Youth Leading Peacebuilding Efforts in Indianapolis

Mon, 09 May 2022 05:32:00 -0500

This is one of three episodes dedicated to conversations with the authors of recent Peace Policy articles focusing on the importance of including youth in peacebuilding efforts throughout the U.S. and around the world. Cat Bolten, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Peace Studies at the Kroc Institute, is the guest editor for this issue of Peace Policy.

This episode features a conversation between Siobhán McEvoy-Levy, Professor of Political Science and Peace and Conflict Studies at Butler University and Director of the Desmond Tutu Peace Lab, and her co-authors, Cambria C. Khayat, a senior undergraduate student at Butler University, and Julio Trujillo, a first year Children’s Law Fellow at Loyola Law School, Chicago, and a 2021 graduate of Butler University.

Read all articles at peacepolicy.nd.edu.

Peace Policy Spotlight: A Case for Focusing on Youth in Peacebuilding Efforts

Tue, 26 Apr 2022 07:43:13 -0500

In this episode, Cat Bolten interviews Prashan de Visser, author of one of this issue's articles and founder of Global Unites, an organization that aims to inspire, connect and equip youth to transform global societies through movements promoting nonviolence and reconciliation.

Read all the articles in this month's issue at peacepolicy.nd.edu.

A Conversation with Min. Wais Barmak on the Humanitarian Crisis in Afghanistan

Tue, 12 Apr 2022 05:00:00 -0500

In today's episode, Lisa Schirch, the Richard G. Starmann, Sr. Professor of the Practice in Peace Studies, and Ray Offenheiser, the Director of the Pulte Institute for Global Development, former Afghan Minister of Interior Affairs Mr. Wais Barmak. Mr. Barmak has served in multiple cabinet level roles including Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development and Minister of Disaster Management and Humanitarian Affairs in Afghanistan.

This episode is convened by the Afghan Peace and Development Research Program, a joint program of the Kroc and Pulte Institutes.

The Current Crisis Facing Afghan Women

Tue, 15 Mar 2022 11:19:40 -0500

Malalai Habibi, 2019 Peace Studies alum and Program Officer at the International Civil Society Action Network, hosts a conversation on the realities on the ground for Afghan women after the takeover by the Taliban. Guests include Wazhma Frogh, Founder of the Afghan Women and Peace Studies Organization (WPSO) and Heather Barr, Associate Director of the Women's Rights Division at Human Rights Watch.

This is the second in a series of podcasts exploring the situation in Afghanistan following the events of August 2021. For more information on the Kroc Institute's Afghan Peace and Development Research Program, visit kroc.nd.edu/afghanistan.

Nuclear Politics and Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

Thu, 03 Mar 2022 09:27:40 -0500

Erin Corcoran, executive director at the Kroc Institute and associate teaching professor at the Keough School of Global Affairs, talks with three Kroc Institute-connected analysts about an in-depth look at the nuclear concerns within the current conflict arising from the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Wednesday, February 23. Guests include George Lopez, the Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., Professor Emeritus of Peace Studies; Gerard Powers, Director of Catholic Peacebuilding Studies and Coordinator of the Catholic Peacebuilding Network and its Project on Revitalizing Catholic Engagement on Nuclear Disarmament; and Monica Montgomery, a 2019 Notre Dame peace studies alum who is now working as Research Analyst at the D.C.-based Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.

This episode was recorded at 1 p.m. EST on Monday, February 28. For more resources from the Kroc Institute on the war in Ukraine, visit kroc.nd.edu/ukraine.

Peace Policy Spotlight: Catholic Peacebuilding and Mining

Tue, 15 Feb 2022 13:08:50 -0500

David Cortright, Professor Emeritus of the Practice at the Kroc Institute and Editor of the Kroc Institute’s Peace Policy publication sits down to talk with authors from the latest issue. This issue features reflections drawn from the new book, Catholic Peacebuilding and Mining: Integral Peace, Development, and Ecology published by Routledge in January.

Guests include one of the co-editors of the book and the Assistant Director of the Catholic Peacebuilding Network, Caesar Montevecchio; Father Rigobert Minani, S.J., head of research for the Peace, Human Rights, Democracy, and Good Governance Department at the Centre d’Etude Pour l’Action Sociale in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and team leader for the Ecclesial Network of the Congo Basin Forest; and Katherine Marshall, Senior Fellow at Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs, and Executive Director of the World Faiths Development Dialogue.

You can read all articles from this issue at peacepolicy.nd.edu.

Three Kroc Institute Alums on Environmental Peacebuilding

Fri, 04 Feb 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Jen Betz, Assistant Director of the International Peace Studies Concentration, Master of Global Affairs degree program at the Kroc Institute, talks with three alumni who are working at the intersection of the environment and peace studies. Guests include Raul F. Campusano (M.A. '89) Academic Director for the Master’s in Environmental Law at the Universidad del Desarrollo in Chile; Katie Conlon (MA '14), National Geographic Explorer leading an expedition and research project on plastic reduction and plastic pollution awareness in the Himalayas; and Valerie Hickey (M.A. '00), Practice Manager for Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy at The World Bank.

Additional resources mentioned during the conversation include:

Environmental Peacebuilding Association
Waste Not, Want Not report on waste externalities in the Humanitarian sector
To follow along with Katie Conlon's work, follow her on LinkedIn and Instagram (@ecoseva1)

What’s Happening with Afghan Women: An Inside Look

Tue, 25 Jan 2022 09:07:22 -0500

Kroc Institute alumna Malalai Habibi (MGA '19), Program Officer at the International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN), talks with Mahbouba Seraj, Executive Director of Afghan Women Skills Development Center who is joining us from Kabul, Afghanistan, and Sanam Naraghi-Anderlini, Founder and Executive Director of the International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN) and director of the London School of Economics Center for Women, Peace and Security, for a conversation about the current situation on the ground in Afghanistan.

They focus in particular on the impact on Afghan women of the U.S. withdrawal and the country's subsequent return to Taliban control in summer 2021.

Reflections on Environmental Peacebuilding, COP26 and Faith-Informed Work

Thu, 06 Jan 2022 05:00:00 -0500

Emmanuel Katongole, professor of theology and peace studies, talks with recent peace studies graduate and climate activist Elsa Barron (B.A. '21) who attended the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP26) in November 2021. Here they discuss their commitments to environmental peacebuilding, Katongole's work with the Bethany Land Institute in Uganda, the ways faith informs their environmental commitments, and the future of climate change activism.

Barron also produces the Olive Shoot podcast, where this episode will also air.

Insights into The Gambia’s Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission

Thu, 16 Dec 2021 08:31:42 -0500

Today’s episode features three current Master of Global Affairs, International Peace Studies students in conversation about their work as members of The Gambia’s Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission. The conversation is hosted by Euda Fils, and the guests include Catherine Patricia Jassey, Musu Bakoto Sawo, and Safiatou Touray. All four are members of the MGA-IPS Class of 2023.

Listeners should note that this episode does include frank discussions of sexual violence and other atrocities that the TRRC encountered during their work.

Journalism and Peacebuilding: A Discussion on the Significance of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize

Fri, 10 Dec 2021 05:00:00 -0500

Anne Hayner, Associate Director for Alumni Relations here at the Kroc Institute., talks with Kroc Institute faculty, alums, and current students about the significance of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize. The 2021 Prize was awarded to Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov, journalists from the Philippines and Russia respectively.

Guests for this episode include Peter Wallensteen, the Richard G. Starmann Sr. Research Professor Emeritus of Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and Senior Professor in the Department of Peace and Conflict Research at Sweden’s Uppsala University; Obi Anyadike (M.A. '97), Senior Africa Editor for The New Humanitarian; Jason Subler (M.A. '98), General Manager for Asia with Reuters; and Sarah Nanjala, a journalist from Kenya and a current Master of Global Affairs, International Peace Studies student.

Peace Policy Spotlight: The Continuing Challenge of Sanctions Policy Reform

Wed, 01 Dec 2021 05:00:00 -0500

Professor George Lopez, the Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., Professor Emeritus of Peace Studies at the Kroc Institute, sits down with the authors of the articles appearing in the December 2021 issue of "Peace Policy" focused on sanctions policy reform in three distinct contexts: Iran, Syria, and Venezuela.

Guests include Esfandyar Batmanhelidj, Founder and CEO of the Bourse & Bazaar Foundation; Francisco Rodríguez, the 2021-22 International Affairs Fellow in International Economics at the Council for Foreign Relations and Director of Oil for Venezuela; and Annie Charif, program associate with The Carter Center’s Conflict Resolution Program and Syria project team.

On December 6, you can read all articles in this issue at peacepolicy.nd.edu. You can also attend a virtual event on Dec. 6 aimed at discussing the humanitarian impact of sanctions. Learn more and register to attend at go.nd.edu/SanctionsEvent.

You can also explore more work from the Sanctions and Security Project at sanctionsandsecurity.org.

A Conversation with Nickolas Roth of the Stimson Center

Tue, 12 Oct 2021 05:00:00 -0500

Sean Raming, current Kroc Institute Ph.D. in Peace Studies and History, talks with Nickolas Roth, director of the Stimson Center’s Nuclear Security Program and International Nuclear Security Forum, about current conversations about nuclear weapons, deterrence, disarmament, and arms control.

This episode was co-sponsored by the Catholic Peacebuilding Network and is part of their efforts as part of the Project on Revitalizing Catholic Engagement on Nuclear Disarmament. You can learn more about this work at cpn.nd.edu/nuclear-disarmament.

Reflecting on the Kroc Institute‘s Response to 9/11 Twenty Years Later

Fri, 10 Sep 2021 07:54:13 -0500

It’s hard to believe that the 20th anniversary of the tragic events of September 11, 2001, took place nearly 20 years ago. As they did for so many people and organizations around the world, the events of that day had a profound impact on the Kroc Institute and how it thought about its role as a global hub for peace studies.

In this episode, Erin Corcoran sits down with George Lopez, Rashied Omar, and Gerard Powers to discuss the ways the Kroc Institute responded to 9/11 and the ways the events of that day indelibly changed the Institute.

Peace Policy Spotlight: Global Counterterrorism Efforts on the 20th Anniversary of 9/11

Thu, 02 Sep 2021 09:03:07 -0500

The bitter irony of the Taliban taking control of Afghanistan on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks makes a re-evaluation of U.S. and global counterterrorism policy more urgent than ever. The latest issue of Peace Policy offers perspectives toward that end with essays by Alistair Millar and David Cortright on guidelines for more effective multilateral cooperation against global terrorism, by Lisa Schirch on peacebuilding principles for preventing violent extremism, and by Naureen Chowdhury Fink on the benefits and challenges of incorporating gender perspectives.

In this podcast, David Cortright moderates a lively conversation among the authors. Read the full issue at peacepolicy.nd.edu.

Introducing the Accomplice Project

Fri, 13 Aug 2021 05:00:00 -0500

Laurie Nathan, Director of the Mediation Program at the Kroc Institute talks with Notre Dame undergraduate and graduate students and alumni who have been instrumental in creating the new Accomplice project and website. This site, supported by the Mediation Program, is an effort to elevate decolonial scholarship, conversations, and activism related to the University of Notre Dame.

Panelists include Fiana Arbab, Liam Maher, Josie Flanagan, and Jack Boland. Visit the Accomplice Project website at sites.nd.edu/accomplice-project.

Book Preview: Indonesian Pluralities

Wed, 23 Jun 2021 06:00:00 -0500

Co-directors of the Contending Moderntities initiative, R. Scott Appleby, the Marilyn Keough Dean of the Keough School of Global Affairs, and Atalia Omer, Professor of Religion, Conflict, and Peace Studies at the Kroc Institute, talk with editors and authors of the new book, "Indonesian Pluralities: Islam, Citizenship, and Democracy," published by Notre Dame Press. Panelists include editors Zainal Abidin Bagir and Robert W. Hefner, and contributors Erica M. Larson and Alimatul Qibtiyah.

Decoloniality, Religion and Contending Modernities

Wed, 16 Jun 2021 09:23:50 -0500

Josh Lupo, the Content Writer and Editor for the Contending Modernities Initiative and Classroom Coordinator for Madrasa Discourses, talks with Contending Modernities co-directors Atalia Omer and Ebrahim Moosa about the Inititaive’s focus on decoloniality.

Read all blog posts and articles in the decolonial thought series at contendingmodernities.nd.edu.

Peace Policy Spotlight: Lessons from the Vietnam Antiwar Movement 50 Years Later

Fri, 11 Jun 2021 08:37:50 -0500

David Cortright, Director of the Global Policy Initiative and Special Advisor for Policy Studies at the University of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs, and Professor Emeritus of the Practice at the Kroc Institute, talks with the authors from the latest issue of "Peace Policy," a quarterly publication of the Kroc Institute that offers research-based insights, commentary, and solutions to the global challenge of violent conflict. The latest issue focuses on the legacy of the Vietnam antiwar movement, especially among service people, and its legacy for social and antiwar movements today.

Guest authors and podcast guests include Dana Moss, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Notre Dame and a Faculty Fellow at the Kroc Institute, and Chuck Searcy, an International Advisor with Project RENEW. He is also Co-Chair of the NGO Agent Orange Working Group in Vietnam.

Read the full episode of Peace Policy at peacepolicy.nd.edu.

Resistencia y protección colectiva: aprendizajes de líderes sociales en los Montes de María, Colombia

Tue, 01 Jun 2021 05:00:00 -0500

John Paul Lederach, profesor emérito de construcción de paz internacional, modera una conversación sobre el trabajo para garantizar la seguridad, los derechos y una sociedad pacífica en Montes de María, Colombia. Los panelistas incluyen a María Lucía Zapata (M.A. '07), Directora del Programa de Maestría en Estudios de Paz y Resolución de Conflictos, Universidad Javeriana; Pablo Abitbol, profesor de nueva economía política, gran historia y teorías de la democracia y el desarrollo, Universidad Tecnológica de Bolívar; Naún Álvarez González, Representante de los Jóvenes Provocadores de Paz de la Alta Montaña y del Proceso Pacífico de Reconciliación e Integración de la Alta Montaña y miembro del Espacio Regional de Construcción de Paz; y con apoyo de Angie Lederach (Ph.D. '20), profesora asistente de antropología cultural, Creighton University.

Para ver la región de Montes de María en un mapa, visite https://go.nd.edu/MontesdeMaria.

Lea algunas declaraciones de Montes de María mencionadas durante las conversaciones del podcast.

Resistance and Collective Security: A View from Montes de María

Tue, 01 Jun 2021 05:00:00 -0500

John Paul Lederach, professor emeritus of international peacebuilding, moderates a conversatoin on the work to ensure security, rights and a peaceful society in Montes de Maria, Colombia. Panelists include Maria Lucia Zapata (M.A. '07), Director of the M.A. Program in Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution, Javeriana University; Pablo Abitbol, professor of the new political economy, big history, and theories of democracy and development, Technological University of Bolivar; and Angie Lederach (Ph.D. '20), assistant professor of cultural anthropology, Creighton University.

To view the Montes de Maria region on a map, visit https://go.nd.edu/MontesdeMaria.

Read some statements from Montes de Maria that were mentioned during the podcast conversations.

The Colombian Final Agreement in the Era of COVID-19: Institutional and Citizen Ownership is Key to Implementation

Wed, 26 May 2021 10:20:55 -0500

The Barometer Initiative team, part of the Kroc Institute's Peace Accords Matrix Project, is providing real-time monitoring of the Colombian peace accord implementation process. The team just released their fifth comprehensive report on the status of implementation, and discuss the report's main findings.

Read the full report at go.nd.edu/KrocFifthReport.

El Acuerdo Final de Colombia en tiempos del COVID-19: apropiación institucional y ciudadana como clave de la implementación

Wed, 26 May 2021 05:00:00 -0500

El equipo de la Iniciativa del Barómetro, parte del Proyecto Matriz de Acuerdos de Paz del Instituto Kroc, está proporcionando monitoreo en tiempo real del proceso de implementación del acuerdo de paz colombiano. El equipo acaba de publicar su quinto informe exhaustivo sobre el estado de implementación y analizar los principales hallazgos del informe. Encuentre aquí el informe completo: go.nd.edu/QuintoInformeKroc.

Un episodio en inglés se publicará más tarde el 26 de mayo.

Peace Policy Spotlight: Migration, The Rights of the Child, and Climate Change

Thu, 01 Apr 2021 05:00:00 -0500

Erin Corcoran, executive director of the Kroc Institute and associate teaching professor at the Keough School, talks with the authors from the latest issue of "Peace Policy," a quarterly publication of the Kroc Institute that offers research-based insights, commentary, and solutions to the global challenge of violent conflict. The latest issue focuses on issues related to U.S. immigration and refugee policies, especially at the southern border.

Guest authors and podcast guests include Kristina Campbell, Professor of Law at the David A. Clarke School of Law, part of the University of the District of Columbia and a 2002 alumna of Notre Dame Law School; and Elizabeth Keyes, Associate Professor of Law at the Immigrant Rights Clinic, part of the University of Baltimore.

Read the full episode of Peace Policy at peacepolicy.nd.edu.

Peace Accords Matrix Team Releases First Report on the Status of Implementation for the Ethnic Chapter in Colombia's 2016 Final Peace Agreement

Wed, 17 Mar 2021 12:53:22 -0500

The Peace Accords Matrix Program (PAM), part of the University of Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, has released its first report monitoring the implementation of 80 stipulations within the 2016 Colombian Peace Agreement related to ethnic communities across the country. In this episode, members of the team discuss the report's findings.

Read the full report at https://go.nd.edu/EthnicReport2021.

AI, Social Media, and Mass Violence Prevention

Wed, 24 Feb 2021 14:23:01 -0500

Ernesto Verdeja, associate professor of political science and peace studies, talks with faculty fellow Walter Scheirer and postdoctoral research associate Michael Yankoski (Ph.D. '20) about their new project using new Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools for analyzing manipulated political memes on social media, an important source of disinformation and a contributor to political instability. Learn more about the project at go.nd.edu/AIandPoliticalViolence.

Where Next for Myanmar?

Wed, 24 Feb 2021 14:18:15 -0500

This episode includes audio from a February 9, 2021, event entitled “Where Next for Myanmar?” This event was presented by the Keough School, the Kroc Institute and the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies. Speakers include Caroline Hughes, the Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., Chair in Peace Studies; Ingrid Jordt, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Tharaphi Than, Associate Professor of World Languages and Cultures, Northern Illinois University; and Michel Hockx, Director, Liu Institute.

AI, Social Media, and Mass Violence Prevention

Mon, 15 Feb 2021 05:00:00 -0500

Ernesto Verdeja, associate professor of political science and peace studies, talks with faculty fellow Walter Scheirer and recent Ph.D. graduate Michael Yankoski about their new project using new Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools for analyzing manipulated political memes on social media, an important source of disinformation and a contributor to political instability. Learn more about the project at go.nd.edu/AIandPoliticalViolence.

A Conversation with Alisher Khamidov (M.A. '02)

Mon, 08 Feb 2021 05:00:00 -0500

George Lopez, the Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., Professor Emeritus of Peace Studies, talks with alum Alisher Khamidov (M.A. '02). Most recently, Alisher was at the University of Notre Dame during fall 2020 as the first alumni visiting research fellow. His career path since graduating with a Kroc master’s degree in 2002 has been wide-ranging. Alisher completed a Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins University, worked as a journalist, studied the impact of Muslim migrants in northern England as a po…

A Conversation with the Notre Dame Student Peace Conference Planners

Mon, 11 Jan 2021 08:10:47 -0500

Anna Van Overberghe, Kroc Institute Assistant Director for Academic Administration and Undergraduate Studies, sits down for a conversation with the four students taking the lead on planning for the 2021 Notre Dame Student Peace Conference, which will take place virtually from April 15-17, 2021. The planners include Oneile “Gorata” Baitlotli ('21), Grace Conroy ('22), Nicholas Clarizio ('22), and Conal Fagan ('21). Learn more about the conference at go.nd.edu/NDPeaceCon.

The Colbri Center and the Search for Missing Migrants at the U.S.-Mexico Border

Sat, 12 Dec 2020 05:00:00 -0500

Current Master of Global Affairs, International Peace Studies student Cristian Sáez Flórez interviews Mirza Monterroso and Isabella Fassi, staff members at the Colibrí Center for Human Rights, where Cristian has been completing his six-month peacebuilding internship. The Colibrí Center works to create a safe, humane, and effective process for help families of missing migrants to find answers.

Nicholas Haysom on International Mediation

Tue, 01 Dec 2020 05:00:00 -0500

Laurie Nathan, Mediation Program director and professor of the practice of mediation, talks with Nicholas Haysom about his role as a mediator and lessons he's learned from mediating an end to high profile violent conflicts. Haysom is a South African lawyer, diplomat, and has served in a variety of roles for the United Nations. He currently holds the title of United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan.

The 2020 Nobel Peace Prize and Hunger as a Barrier to Peace

Thu, 05 Nov 2020 08:46:26 -0500

Anne Hayner, Associate Director for Alumni Relations, leads a discussion on the significance of year’s Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the United Nations World Food Programme. She is joined by Peter Wallensteen, Professor Emeritus at the Kroc Institute and Senior Professor of Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University in Sweden, and Denis Okello, a 2007 alum of the Kroc Institute’s Master’s in International Peace Studies and Communications Officer at FINCA International in Washington, D.C.

Global Interreligious Peacebuilding

Fri, 30 Oct 2020 06:56:52 -0500

Professor Atalia Omer moderates a conversation highlighting the successes and challenges of interreligious peacebuilding around the world. Guests include Nell Bolton, a 2003 graduate of the Kroc Institute’s Master’s program who now works as the Senior Technical Advisor for Justice and Peacebuilding with Catholic Relief Services; Rashied Omar, a 2001 Master’s alumni and Research Scholar of Islamic Studies and Peacebuilding here at Notre Dame; and Hippolyt Pul, Executive Director at the Institute of Peace and Development in Ghana.

This episode was recorded at the November 2019 Building Sustainable Peace conference.

International Law and the Arts

Fri, 11 Sep 2020 07:00:29 -0500

Mary Ellen O'Connell, Robert and Marion Short Professor of Law and Research Professor of International Dispute Resolution, talks with Martha C. Nussbaum, Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Chicago, talk about how the arts can impact international law and efforts to reduce violence around the world.

This is the fourth and final episode in a series focused on different themes emerging in O'Connell's 2019 book, The Art of Law in the International Community.

Previous episodes focused on nonviolent resistance and international law, featuring Maria Stephan; legal arguments for prohibition of force, featuring Samuel Moyn; and peace studies and the art of law, featuring George Lopez.

A Conversation with Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum

Fri, 04 Sep 2020 05:00:00 -0500

This episode is a recording of an August 20, 2020, event hosted by the Kroc Institute. It features Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, president emerita of Spelman College, and Dr. David Anderson Hooker, associate professor of the practice of conflict transformation and peacebuilding, discussing race, higher education, and movements for justice.

Alumni Spotlight: Tona Boyd on the Justice in Policing Act

Fri, 07 Aug 2020 10:18:55 -0500

Featuring Erin Corcoran, Kroc Institute Executive Director, and Tona Boyd, a 2003 Notre Dame graduate and peace studies alum who is now working as chief counsel to Senator Cory Booker on the Senate Judiciary Committee. They talk about where studying peace can take you and Tona's work on the recent Justice in Policing Act. Tona is speaking in her capacity as a Notre Dame alum, and not in her formal role as chief counsel.

Resilience in the Face of a Global Pandemic

Mon, 20 Jul 2020 05:19:00 -0500

Associate Professor Laura Miller-Graff talks with Kroc Institute alumni and resilience experts Katie Mansfield (M.A. '08) and Lisa McKay (M.A. '03) about strategies for cultivating resilience during long-term movements for justice and in the face of a global pandemic.

The Peace Process and the Pandemic in South Sudan

Fri, 26 Jun 2020 07:24:29 -0500

This episode is part of a series examining the mutual impacts between the COVID-19 pandemic and Catholic peacebuilding, and focuses on the way the pandemic is affecting the peace process in the world’s youngest nation, South Sudan, and the role of the Catholic community in that process. A conversation between Former Ambassador Susan Page, Fr. James Oyet Latansio, and Andrea Bartoli, produced in partnership with the Catholic Peacebuilding Network.

Tres años después de la firma del Acuerdo Final en Colombia: hacia la transformación territorial

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 06:10:00 -0500

El equipo de la Iniciativa del Barómetro, parte del Proyecto Matriz de Acuerdos de Paz del Instituto Kroc, está proporcionando monitoreo en tiempo real del proceso de implementación del acuerdo de paz colombiano. El equipo acaba de publicar su cuarto informe exhaustivo sobre el estado de implementación y analizar los principales hallazgos del informe.

Encuentre aquí el informe completo: https://peaceaccords.nd.edu/cuartoinforme. El presente podcast ha sido elaborado con el apoyo financiero de la Unión Europea. Su contenido es responsabilidad exclusiva de la Iniciativa Barómetro de la Matriz de Acuerdos de Paz (PAM) y no necesariamente refleja los puntos de vista de la Unión Europea.

Three Years After the Signing of the Final Agreement in Colombia: Moving Toward Territorial Transformation

Thu, 18 Jun 2020 05:00:00 -0500

The Barometer Initiative team, part of the Kroc Institute's Peace Accords Matrix Project, is providing real-time monitoring of the Colombian peace accord implementation process. The team just released their fourth comprehensive report on the status of implementation, and discuss the report's main findings.

Read the full report at peaceaccords.nd.edu/fourthreport. This podcast was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the Barometer Initiative of the Peace Accords Matrix (PAM) Program (part of the Kroc Institute) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.

Iran and U.S. Relations Two Years after Withdrawal from the JCPOA

Fri, 08 May 2020 05:00:00 -0500

Mahan Mirza, Executive Director of the Ansari Institute for Global Engagement with Religion and Kroc Institute Teaching Faculty, talks with Professor Emeritus George Lopez and Kroc Institute Faculty Fellow Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi, about U.S. and Iran relations two years after the U.S. withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (or Iran Nuclear Deal).

The Pandemic and Peacebuilding: Lessons from Sub-Saharan Africa

Fri, 01 May 2020 10:31:49 -0500

Kroc Institute Associate Professor of the Practice of Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding David Anderson Hooker, talks with Catholic Peacebuilding Network partners Jean-Baptiste Talla, Nell Bolton, and Fr. Rigobert Minani about the current coronavirus pandemic and its impact on peacebuilding in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Ethics Debate: Is Organ Donation Permitted in Islam?

Fri, 24 Apr 2020 13:24:11 -0500

Patient advocate Najah Bazzy (Zaman International), treating clinician Hasan Shanawani (Veterans Administration National Center for Patient Safety), Aasim Padela (University of Chicago), Robert Tappan (Towson University), and Abdulaziz Sachedina (George Mason University), with moderator Ehsan Masood debate organ donation in light of Islamic tradition. A podcast from the Science and the Human Person working group.

Out of the Lab: The Place of Ethics in Gene Editing Regulation

Thu, 23 Apr 2020 14:36:23 -0500

What do religious scholars and ethicists have to say about the process of gene editing? What worries them? Listen in to the conversation with panelists Deborah Blum (MIT), Michael Fitzgerald (Boston Globe), Aline Kalbian (Florida State University), Ebrahim Moosa (University of Notre Dame), and Adil Najam (Boston University) and expert witnesses Maura Ryan (University of Notre Dame), Abdulaziz Sachedina (George Mason University), Robert Tappan (Towson University), and Andrea Vicini (Boston C…

Alumni Spotlight: Ketty Anyeko and Lindsay McClain Opiyo

Tue, 07 Apr 2020 05:00:00 -0500

Kroc Institute Associate Director for Alumni Relations, Anne Hayner, talks with 2014 Kroc Institute Master's alums Ketty Anyeko, a current Ph.D. student at the University of British Colombia, and Lindsay McClain Opiyo, the director of development and partnerships for Generations for Peace in Washington, D.C. They discuss reparations and justice for women survivors of war in Uganda, youth and peacebuilding, and how they chose to study peace and where it's taken them.

The Coronavirus Crisis through Gender, Environmental, Anthropological and Indigenous Lenses

Wed, 01 Apr 2020 11:11:00 -0500

Kroc Institute Director, Asher Kaufman, talks with Kroc Institute faculty members, researchers, and graduate students about aspects of the current Coronavirus crisis, including gender, environmental, anthropological and indigenous considerations.

Teaching Peace in Active and Post-Conflict Zones

Mon, 02 Mar 2020 07:29:39 -0500

George Lopez talks with three other scholar-practitioners about how to teach peace studies in areas where there is active conflict or where conflict has just ended. This episode’s guests include Kroc Institute Visiting Research Fellow Josefina Echavarría Alvarez, Fr. Elias Omondi Opongo, Director of the Hekima Institute of Peace Studies and International Relations, and Fr. Matthew Pagan,Vice-Chancellor of the Catholic University of South Sudan.

Understanding the Madrasa Discourses Project

Mon, 17 Feb 2020 08:23:36 -0500

Faculty members associated with the Madrasa Discourses project at the Kroc Institute discuss the program's unique efforts to engage madrasa scholars in conversations about religion, society and epistemology. Joshua Lupo, Madrasa Discourses classroom coordinator, moderates a conversation with Ebrahim Moosa, primary investigator for Madrasa Discourses, Mahan Mirza, Madrasa Discourses Advisor, Waris Mazhari, faculty member in India, and Ammar Khan Nasir, faculty member in Pakistan. The Madrasa Discourses project is part of the Contending Modernities initiative, which is a joint effort of the Kroc Institute and the Keough School of Global Affairs.

International Law, Nonviolent Resistance, Intervention, and the Right to Assist

Fri, 24 Jan 2020 10:28:27 -0500

This episode is the third in a series of four episodes hosted by Professor Mary Ellen O’Connell focusing on themes laid out in her 2019 book, "The Art of Law in the International Community." Mary Ellen is the Robert & Marion Short Professor of Law and Research Professor of International Dispute Resolution. In this episode, she talks with Maria J. Stephan, director of the Program on Nonviolent Action at the U.S. Institute of Peace.

Pop Culture, Youth, and Peacebuilding

Tue, 14 Jan 2020 08:12:13 -0500

Catherine Bolten, associate professor of anthropology and peace studies, sits down to talk with Siobhan McEvoy Levy, professor of political science and peace and conflict studies at Butler University. They discuss peace studies, pop culture, and the instrumental role of youth and young adults in building peace.

The 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, and Ethiopian Peacebuilding

Fri, 13 Dec 2019 11:02:10 -0500

Kroc Institute Communications Program Director, Hannah Heinzekehr, talks with Peter Wallensteen, the Richard G. Starmann Sr. Research Professor Emeritus of Peace Studies, and Kroc Institute Visiting fellow Abba Hagos Hayish Fessuh about the recent awarding of the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize to Ethiopian Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed. They also discuss the history and current realities of the conflict at the Ethiopian and Eritrean border and challenges and opportunities facing peacebuilders in Ethiopia.

The 25th Anniversary of the Genocide in Rwanda and Healing Traumatic Memories

Fri, 06 Dec 2019 05:00:00 -0500

Notre Dame Professor of Theology and Peace Studies Fr. Emmanuel Katongole and Fr. Jean Baptiste Mvukiyehe discuss the genocide in Rwanda on its twenty-fifth anniversary, the process of healing from traumatic memories, and more. This episode is one of many conversations recorded during the Kroc Institute’s Building Sustainable Peace Conference in November 2019.

Nuclear Disarmament and Pope Francis' Visit to Japan

Thu, 21 Nov 2019 09:25:03 -0500

Kroc Institute Director of Catholic Peacebuilding Studies Jerry Powers sits down to talk with Professor Maryann Cusimano Love and Professor Tobias Winright about nuclear disarmament, the Catholic church, and what to expect during Pope Francis’ upcoming visit to Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki in Japan from November 23 through 26.

Mary Ellen O'Connell and Samuel Moyn on Legal Arguments for Prohibition of Force

Thu, 07 Nov 2019 08:45:53 -0500

This episode is the second part of a four part conversation featuring Professor Mary Ellen O’Connell talking about themes emerging from her 2019 book, "The Art of Law in the International Community." O’Connell is the Robert and Marion Short Professor of Law and Research Professor of International Dispute at Notre Dame. O’Connell is joined by Professor Samuel Moyn, the Henry R. Luce Professor of Jurisprudence and Professor of History at Yale Law School. They discuss the history of legal movements to prohibit the use of force and military aggression.

Alumni Spotlight: Peter Quaranto on Stabilization, Global Fragility, and Peacebuilding

Tue, 29 Oct 2019 07:35:52 -0500

Peter Quaranto, a 2006 Notre Dame graduate and peace studies alum who works as a Senior Advisor for Peace and Security at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., talks with David Cortright, Director of Policy Studies and the Peace Accords Matrix project at the Kroc Institute. Peter discusses his career, the stabilization in international conflicts, global fragility, and how peace studies plays a role in his day-to-day work.

Alumni Profile: Mary Kate Battle

Mon, 07 Oct 2019 05:00:00 -0500

A conversation with Mary Kate Battle, a 2010 Notre Dame graduate and peace studies alumna who works as a Business Development Specialist with Catholic Relief Services. Mary Kate talks with Anne Hayner, Associate Director for Alumni Relations at the Kroc Institute, about her career, international development in diverse contexts, and how peace studies plays a role in her day-to-day work.

Iran, Saudia Arabia, the United States and the Way Forward

Fri, 27 Sep 2019 07:47:02 -0500

A discussion of the escalating tensions between the United States and Iran following September 14 drone strikes on Saudi Aramco oil processing facilities. George Lopez, the Rev. Theodore Hesburgh Professor Emeritus of Peace Studies sits down to talk with Susan Page, visiting professor of the practice at the Keough School of Global Affairs, Ebrahim Moosa, professor Islamic Studies, and David Cortright, Kroc Institute Director of Policy Studies and the Peace Accords Matrix Project.

The Global Forced Migration Crisis and U.S. Immigration Policy

Thu, 19 Sep 2019 11:01:55 -0500

A discussion on the unprecedented global forced migration crisis, featuring Kroc Institute Executive Director Erin Corcoran, Diane Desierto, Associate Professor of Human Rights Law and Global Affairs at Notre Dame’s Keough School, and Cory Smith, an expert on U.S. immigration policy and refugee issues.

The Past, Present, and Future of the Nuclear Disarmament Movement

Tue, 03 Sep 2019 08:45:07 -0500

In our second episode, Kroc Institute Director of Catholic Peacebuilding Studies Jerry Powers sits down to talk with Dr. James Muller, co-founder of the Nobel Peace Prize winning organization International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, and Professor Emeritus George Lopez about the history, present, and future of the movement toward nuclear disarmament.

Mary Ellen O'Connell and George Lopez on Peace Studies and the Art of Law

Fri, 16 Aug 2019 12:29:31 -0500

Kroc Institute faculty members Mary Ellen O’Connell, the Robert and Marion Short Professor of Law and Research Professor of International Dispute Resolution and George A. Lopez, Professor Emeritus of Peace Studies, discuss international law, peace studies, realism and more, referencing O'Connell's new book, "The Art of Law in the International Community."

Introducing The Kroc Cast

Fri, 16 Aug 2019 12:21:46 -0500

Peace Studies is a multidisciplinary field of study and practice in service of addressing some of the world's most pressing problems and finding strategies for building sustainable peace. Join us at The Kroc Cast for peace studies conversations convened by the University of Notre Dame's Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies.