Inside Geneva: how to make peace

One year on from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Inside Geneva podcast host Imogen Foulkes is joined by conflict resolution experts to discuss what the prospects for peace are, and how it can be won.

“The fact that we’re talking about the possibility of using nuclear weapons, the fact that we’re talking about the possibility of the United States and China going to war over Taiwan; it’s frightening,” says Katia Papagianni, director of Policy and Mediation Support at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue.

“There is a concept that has been floating around in academia for many years called a hurting stalemate, when the two parties decide that enough is enough. And we are clearly not at this hurting stalemate,” says Keith Krause, director of the Centre on Conflict, Development, and Peacebuilding at the Graduate Institute Geneva (IHEID).

What does a lasting peace look like?

“Peace is beyond the absence of violence. It’s really about access to justice, economic opportunities, security, and pluralism,” says Hiba Qasas, executive director of the Principles for Peace Initiative.

“Sustainable peace needs to include the youth, it needs to inform the youth, and it needs to educate the youth; so inclusion, information, and education,” says Shefali Kaur Nandhra, a graduate student in sustainable development at IHEID.

Are there good examples from the past?

“There are, of course, some success stories. I think the Colombian process, we have a lot to learn from that, and not just because it was locally driven,” says Krause.

“As someone who grew up in conflict, my concern is not only about the battlefield, but also about all the insidious impacts that come after the guns have been silenced,” says Qasas.

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