Posts by Sarah Jefferson

From the field Lebanon: cultural heritage as a tool for peace

One result of Lebanon’s civil war was an undermining of sectarian diversity among the country. Violence forced people to be confined to their villages, with few opportunities for interaction with other communities of varying religious sects. As borders and checkpoints were dismantled, psychological barriers remained and people stayed confined to their small towns. As a result, generations have grown up self-identifying solely with their town, village or tribe and countless young have never set foot among Lebanese communities with different backgrounds from their own. Read more >>>

Commentary Peacebuilding in an interconnected world

While other fields of study, such as biology, computer science, physics and engineering, have used systems theory as a conceptual lens for decades, this type of holistic framework is now increasingly being used by NGOs, academia and policymakers to analyze conflict around the world. Historically, a separatist worldview has dominated U.S. foreign policy (take for instance the “us-versus-them” thinking advocated by past U.S. administrations). In contrast, a worldview based upon systems theory accepts the premise that we are living in a truly interconnected system. (This type of thinking is supported in part by the current administration’s efforts towards multilateral diplomacy. Read more >>>