Over the past two decades, the US government has invested significant effort in building the tools, strategies, and institutional capacity needed to prevent and respond to violent conflict and fragility overseas. Yet a persistent gap remains between this rhetoric and the realities of implementation. At the same time, a parallel challenge has emerged closer to home: rising political violence within the United States itself. As polarization deepens and incidents of violence across the US increase, policymakers and practitioners are being forced to reckon with the reality that fragility and conflict risk are not confined to distant conflict zones.
This panel brings together peacebuilders, transitional justice actors, and violence prevention experts to explore what's working, what isn't, and what can be learned by examining these challenges side by side. Panelists will discuss the barriers to effective implementation abroad, the drivers of political violence at home, the need for transitional justice in both, and whether a more integrated, evidence-based approach to prevention can help bridge the divide between policy ambition and on-the-ground impact.
Speakers:
- Wes Rist - Deputy Executive Director, Mass Atrocities Prevention Center
- Mike Brand - Director, Human Security Project and Adjunct Professor, Georgetown University
- Yasmin Chubin - International Justice Attorney
- Wai Wai Nu - Founder and Executive Director of the Women’s Peace Network
- Darin Johnson - Professor of Law, Howard University School of Law
