In Factis Pax: Journal of Peace Education and Social Justice

A Critical Peacebuilding Guide for Educators and Leaders

Ed Brantmeier — 2026-01-21

In this article we elaborate on an existing critical peacebuilding approach to provide educators, leaders, and practitioners with a practical guide for examining and changing socio-cultural practices, institutional policies, and/or structural realities that promote violence. We begin with an overview of what peace education is and then describe a critical peacebuilding approach that can be used in different contexts such as schools, universities, communities, and businesses. We explain the five stages of our approach, which are fluid and adaptive, with guiding questions that: help identify structures and systems of violence; envision peaceful alternatives; foster empowerment; encourage action; and invite individuals and groups to reflect and reengage in change processes. Finally, we provide concrete examples of the critical peacebuilding approach and offer reflections on the future.

The prominent role of the Hadhramout Foundation - Human Development in Yemen in promoting peace education and sustainable development through its educational programs

HAMAD EDHAH YASLAM ALDHLEA — 2026-01-21

This study examines the prominent role of the Hadhramout Foundation - Human Development (HFHD) in promoting peace education and sustainable development in Yemen. Through local and international scholarships, technical and vocational training, and youth empowerment programs, HFHD has addressed critical educational gaps caused by conflict and state fragility. The research highlights how HFHD integrates peace pedagogy into its initiatives, fosters civic engagement, and contributes to workforce development. Despite challenges related to funding, Yemen’s instability, and limited partnerships, the Foundation offers a replicable model for community-driven development in conflict-affected settings. The findings underscore the transformative potential of education as a sustainable development and peacebuilding tool.

Conflict Transformation Mechanisms in Dassanech, Hamer, and Nyangatom Agro-pastoralist and Pastoralist Community of Ethiopia

Asmare Shetahun — 2026-01-21

The purpose of the study is to investigate conflict transformation mechanisms to secure pastoralism and agro-pastoralism in Dassanech, Hamer, and Nyangatom rural community of south Omo Ethiopia, east Africa. To achieve the stated purpose, qualitative research approach is used with case study research design. The results of the study reveals that various conflict transformation mechanisms are taken for peace initiatives to transform the existing conflict and primarily focused on agricultural development projects, conflict management through the government peace and security apparatus, conflict prevention through the government conflict early warning and response system, and resolution. Sources of conflict identified include grievances, animal raiding, land disputes, fishing rights, and competition over water and pasture resources. Efforts aimed at conflict transformation encompass resilience-building, rangeland management, NGOs interventions in peace dialogues, integration of pastoralism and agro-pastoralism with commercial agriculture, implementation of drought and conflict early warning systems, water resource management and development, range land rehabilitation, and provision of education to affected communities. While these activities have played a significant role in addressing conflicts and transforming relationships, they are deemed insufficient and inadequately executed for comprehensive conflict transformation. To conclude, the conflict transformation mechanisms used in the study area are taken as substantial for sustainable peace and promoting social cohesion among the communities. Using the various identified mechanisms of conflict transformation would fits to the conflict context of the area but the emphasis given by the government is very limited because of lack of inclusive strategic planning for conflict transformation. The study also suggested further investigation on the role of the realization of the right to adequate food in pastoralist and agro-pastoralist communities of the study area for conflict transformation. Keywords: Conflict transformation; Agro-pastoralism; Pastoralism; Natural resources; Peace; Agro- pastoralism; South Omo

Blue Maize Pollinates IIPE’s Network by Feeling and Thinking: The 2022 Excursion to San Mateo Tlaltenango, Mexico

Alejandra Barrera — 2026-01-21

We seek to articulate aspects of the emerging ecological relational paradigm for peace through recounting an excursion day spent at pueblo originario San Mateo Tlatenango, Mexico with international peace educators attending in a week-long International Institute on Peace Education (IIPE) Mexico 2022. This immersive experience aimed to generate new learning through cross-pollinating ancient wisdom and modern knowledge embodied in the mixture of participants.

Alejandra Barrera’s family lives San Mateo Tlatenango where generations have farmed, continuing communal traditions that carry forward ancient wisdom. Blue maize refers to her grandfather’s corn seeds and plants used by community women to make tortillas at the center of our shared feast. The IIPE excursion was organized in part as Alejandra’s doctoral research in ecological/political economy at the University of Vienna. Alejandra Barrera and Janet Gerson found fertile epistemological ground in bringing together academic scholarship, peace pedagogy, and indigenous community life. IIPE participants and two communities of pueblo originario all contributed to the cross-pollination that took place that day.

Two concepts, sentipensar and mycelium network, inform our reflection: Sentipensar is the Latin American concept of feeling-thinking (Escobar, Borda) at the heart of IIPE Mexico. Sentipensar invites an opening of capacities and sensibilities, informing not only human-to-human relations, but importantly expanding human relations’ potential for recognizing and valuing the well-being of all Earth’s living systems.

Mycelium network is what fungi biologist Merlin Sheldrake calls “entangled life”. Mycelium networks are made of webs of stretching, growing root fibers, each reaching toward resources and relationships they need. This metaphor reflect IIPE peace pedagogy that aims to generate dynamic global relational network of individuals engaged in peace practices that simultaneously preserves individuality while forming non-hierarchical, flexible .and transforming interconnections.

AN APPROACH TO JUSTICE FROM SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE

Carlos Avila-Pizzuto — 2026-01-21

If we observe what is happening rather than what ought to happen, we will see that justice exercised from within patriarchy has served as the violent arm of supremacies. We could even argue that the most common historical method for addressing conflict has been imposition—whether from traditional supremacy (classes, groups, nations, races historically considered superior), by force (weapons, military or police dominance, economic superiority), or by the rational power of argument. Rarely do we find a form of justice that truly serves those who suffer and are in need, regardless of their position in the social hierarchy.

It is important to recognize that, at times, groups that uphold universal human rights have themselves acted as rational supremacists, accusing others—those who defend racial or other forms of supremacy—of being intellectually, culturally, ethically, or morally inferior. These certainties of superiority may, in turn, fuel expressions of hatred.

This paper proposes that by drawing upon epistemic virtues, phenomenology, restorative justice, and existential expression, it is possible to escape the supremacist game and move toward a form of justice aligned with peace. This involves freeing ourselves from the historical pattern of violent imposition and colonization as primary tools for resolving disputes, and focusing instead on responding to human suffering.

In a historical moment where much of the supremacist imposition comes from groups that deny the inherent dignity of each human being, a peaceful response must become an alternative to hatred—an evolution of solidarity that prevents us from falling into anomie.

Healing Harmonies: Grassroots Music as a Tool for Peace Education and Reconciliation in Nigeria

Titilayo Lydia Bamidele — 2026-01-21

This article investigates the role of music in fostering peace education and reconciliation in conflict-affected communities in Nigeria. Concentrating on grassroots musical practices in regions impacted by ethno-religious violence, it explores how traditional and contemporary forms of music function as mediums for collective healing, dialogue, and the reconstruction of social relations. Drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives from peace studies and ethnomusicology, the analysis foregrounds music’s affective and communicative capacities to transcend linguistic and cultural barriers, enabling inclusive participation in peace processes. Case examples from community music initiatives illustrate how localized musical expressions contribute to building resilience, fostering empathy, and sustaining nonviolent coexistence. The article argues for the strategic integration of music into peace education frameworks in Nigeria, emphasizing its potential to engage learners not only cognitively but also emotionally and socially. This article situates music as a culturally embedded resource for nurturing sustainable peace within Nigeria’s diverse and often divided society.

Free Ukraine

Michael Duffey — 2026-01-21

The essay briefly sketches the terms of a negotiated cease-fire in which Ukraine is forced to give up territory but wins certain security guarantees and can begin the process of rebuilding. It then proposes political and economic reforms in Ukraine. It acknowledges the need to secure worker rights, to engage returning soldiers, and to rebuild civil societies. The essay looks at the possibilities of conflict resolution, particularly in what can be called the Occupied Territories, the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. Specific nonviolent strategies that have worked in the past century to end occupations and topple dictatorships make up the balance of the essay

A Review Analysis of the Role of Higher Education Institutions in Promoting Sustainable Peace in Post-War Sierra Leone

Juana Moiwo — 2026-01-21

The trajectory of post-conflict recovery in Sierra Leone, following the devastating civil war (1991?2002), has been a subject of extensive scholarly and policy-oriented inquiry. While significant attention has been paid to formal processes of disarmament, demobilization, reintegration, and transitional justice, the strategic role of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) as catalysts for sustainable peace remains a critically underexplored area. This review analysis seeks to address this gap by systematically synthesizing and evaluating the existing literature on the contributions, challenges, and latent potential of Sierra Leone universities in the peacebuilding landscape. The study was guided by a central research question of “how have HEIs contributed to building sustainable peace, and what factors constrained or enabled the effectiveness of this effort?” Using the systematic review method, this analysis drew on a wide range of academic databases, institutional reports, and grey literature, framed through an integrated conceptual lens comprising four key elements of engagement. These included knowledge production and curriculum reform, skills development and capacity building, community engagement and social cohesion, and policy advocacy and research. The findings suggested that HEIs, notably Fourah Bay College (for University of Sierra Leone) and Njala University, have undertaken significant initiatives since the war. These included the introduction of peace and conflict studies programs, serving as neutral spaces for national dialogue and training of professional workforce essential for reconstruction. However, the analysis uncovered a pronounced disconnect between systemic impact in theoretical and practical potentials of HEIs in the country. The contributions of HEIs were consistently hampered by a confluence of severe challenges, including chronic underfunding, infrastructural decay, political interference, a persistent "brain drain" of intellectual capital, and a legacy of elitism that often creates disconnect with the broader society. Furthermore, community engagement efforts were frequently project-based and dependent on transient external funding, while significant research-policy gap prevented valuable academic insights from effectively informing national recovery strategies. The synthesis of evidence suggested that HEIs in Sierra Leone were an indispensable yet under-optimized actor in the peacebuilding ecosystem. For the institutions to transition from symbols of hope to agents of sustainable peace, a concerted and multi-stakeholder effort was required. There was recommended that university leadership, national government, and international partners emphasize strategic investment in institutional capacity and pedagogical innovation. This will foster critical thinking and civic responsibility, thereby strengthening policy-university-community linkages. This review provided a foundational framework for reimagining the role of academia in not just post-war reconstruction, but in fostering a resilient and cohesive society.

American University of Afghanistan: An Island of Liberal Arts Education in a War Zone

Ali Reza Yunespour — 2026-01-21

This research aims to explain the benefits and challenges of promoting an American-style liberal arts education at the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF) from 2005 to 2021 during the Western-backed Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. It draws on the author’s earlier research on Afghanistan’s higher education and professional experience of working as a foreign academic at AUAF to contextualise the exceptional characteristics of AUAF as an island of liberal arts education and to analyse its educational, institutional, financial and political challenges until the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021. It argues that AUAF’s specific educational mission and institutional management, growing insecurity and over-reliance on external funding prevented AUAF from becoming a sustainable institution. These challenges were further exacerbated after the return of the Taliban and forced AUAF to close its Kabul-based campuses and relocate to the Education City in Qatar to offer a mixed of in-person and remote education.