Challenges and Opportunities for Peace (or Conflict) in Higher Education: Insights From Afghanistan and Somaliland

• In Event: Transformative Peace Education Through Building Blocks of Peace

Abstract

Universities have a role to play in supporting peacebuilding in all societies but especially in (post)conflict contexts. Yet such work has rarely been examined. This paper then looks toward the diverse approaches of higher education to support peacebuilding, from policy and philosophy to pedagogical practices, in (post)conflict contexts. Specifically, the paper examines the work of university educators in two institutions in Afghanistan and Somaliland. Data for the research was collected through qualitative interviews with 12 university educators across the two institutions. Findings indicate a number of challenges and opportunities that university lecturers and their institutions face in supporting peace in diverse societies, particularly as relates to the ‘two faces’ of higher education to support or impede peacebuilding processes.

Author

• Kevin Kester, Seoul National University