Peace & Conflict Studies Revisited: From Academic Tribalism to Convergence

Presented By: Carter School Sustainable Peace Lab

Peace and conflict studies are often conceptualized and promoted as a highly interdisciplinary field. And yet, scholars still find themselves defending specific sets of methods or theories as morally or scientifically superior. This leads to the persistence of separate clusters within the field that sometimes go as far as rejecting each other’s legitimacy. Is this fragmentation inevitable and useful, or is it impeding the development of the field? To what extent are we willing to overcome our theoretical and methodological biases? This roundtable discussion, featuring graduate students of the Carter and Schar Schools, is a critical examination of the field and possible ways forward more integrated Peace and Conflict studies.

Speakers: 

• Margarita Tadevosyan: Research Assistant Professor, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Executive Director of the Center of Peacemaking Practice (GMU)
• Ksenia Bakhtiarova: PhD Student, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Manager of the Sustainable Peace Lab (GMU)
• Prerna Barua: PhD Student, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution (GMU)
• Laura Isabella Cuevas: Master's Student, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution (GMU)
• Conner William Moses: Master's Student, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution (GMU)
• Mossharaf Hossain: PhD Student, Schar School of Policy and Government (GMU)
• Rafiki Ubald: PhD Student, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution (GMU)