The Kroc Cast: Peace Studies Conversations

Reflections on Environmental Peacebuilding, COP26 and Faith-Informed Work

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.