The 2010s are coming to end with a coda of protest. It is perhaps appropriate that a decade that began with the Arab Spring ends this way – what began as hope morphed into tragedy and betrayal only to end in renewed promise. Be it Chile, Bolivia, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, or Hong Kong, those […]
Peace, Not War, Will Solve the “Kurdish Question”
Turkey’s incursion into Northeastern Syria, officially dubbed “Operation Peace Spring”, represents the lowest point so far in the already much-troubled saga of Turkish-Kurdish relations. While President Erdoğan has reasoned his military operation as a means to fight terrorism, the true intentions behind the operation are barely veiled – to divide Turks and Kurds and to […]
Conflict and Peace in Jammu and Kashmir
My topic, Conflict and Peace in Jammu and Kashmir looks at political developments, youth stone-pelting incidents, militancy, regional divide, and recommendations for peace. This project is particularly close to my heart as I am originally from Jammu city in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. I relied on interviews, books, newspaper, and scholarly articles for […]
Hate Speech and Polarization on the Internet
Hate speech is defined as an “abusive or threatening speech or writing that expresses prejudice against a particular group, especially on the basis of race, religion, or sexual orientation.” In recent years, the widespread access to the internet and the proliferation of social media websites have provided new platforms for people to express their views […]
Conversation with Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Nadia Murad at the United States Institute of Peace
On June 28, 2019, United States Institute of Peace (USIP), in partnership with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office, hosted Nobel Peace Prize laureate Nadia Murad, a leading advocate for survivors of genocide and sexual violence. At this event, Nadia Murad discussed the condition of Yazidi people and the reconstruction efforts in Sinjar, Iraq. […]
The struggle for LGBTQ rights in Turkey
During Pride month this year, the governorates of Izmir and Antalya banned all Pride-related events citing public safety and security concerns. One month earlier, the Pride march organized by the students of Middle East Technical University in Ankara was violently broken up by the police. Pride marches have been organized in Istanbul since 1993, but […]
Peace Education in Turkey: A Practitioner’s Perspective
Özge Sönmez Vardar is Program Director at YUVA Association, an Istanbul-based NGO that tackles issues relating to ecology, human rights, and poverty eradication simultaneously. In 2019, Özge was selected by the Malala Fund to be a Gulmakai Champion from the Syria region, for her work supporting girls’ education, especially refugee girls’ access to education and […]
US Institute of Peace’s event on How to Advance Inclusive Peace Processes
On May 30, 2019, US Institute of Peace organized an event, How to Advance Inclusive Peace Processes: Mobilizing Men as Partners for Women, Peace, and Security. The speakers at the event talked about how men in positions of authority could help ensure that women are included in peace processes and decision-making. Sanam Naraghi-Anderlini from the […]
Is there a correlation between peace and economic development?
Is there a correlation between peace and economic development? The answer is important because, in today’s world, societies mired in violent conflict are also characterized by lack of development and shortage of economic opportunities. Global Peace Index (GPI), produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) is the world’s leading measure of global peacefulness. […]
Ayogya: Nepal’s Disenfranchised Ex-Combatants
In March 2019, Rukmini Banerjee (President of HasNa) traveled to Nepal to attend the South Asian Regional Institute for the Study and Practice of Strategic Nonviolent Action organized by the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict, Center for Social Change, National Network for the Families of the Disappeared, and Department of Conflict, Peace, and Development Studies, […]