Measuring networked peacebuilding: Continued engagement of Peace & Conflict International Education (PCIE) program alumni

• In Event: Peace education and higher education

Proposal

In 2025, we presented preliminary data from our project, Measuring Networked Peacebuilding, which explores the role of peace & conflict-oriented international education (PCIE) programs in contributing to continued engagement in the peacebuilding field, particularly as related to the potential significance of networks created through program participation and their salience for continued peacebuilding activity.
PCIE programs, that is, international education and training programs focused on peacebuilding and conflict, are an increasingly central part of university curricula and a key way that higher education institutions internationalize curriculum, give students valuable field training, promote engaged learning, and strengthen students’ global citizenship and professional development (Paige et al, 2009; Jacoby & Brown, 2009; Pugh & Ross, 2019). As we noted in previous presentations, research in the education and peace education fields indicates that opportunities for cross-cultural exchange created through educational programs can increase understanding across different backgrounds, improve interpersonal relationships, and motivate further action for change, all of which are important areas of preparation for the formation of peacebuilders (Deardorff, 2015; Schroeder & Rosen, 2016; Stearns et al, 2018).
To this end, PCIE programs are based on a goal of shaping and increasing the agency of future peacebuilders (Bajaj & Hatzopoulos, 2016); further, they are premised in part on the belief that learning occurs through relationships formed as much as through material taught (Pugh, 2020). The content of such programs and the networks they help foster presumably both contribute to the success of the peacebuilders trained and to the quality and effectiveness of subsequent peacebuilding activity by these alumni. In our research, we aim to help fill the gap in research that exists exploring a) the significance of relationships formed through participation in PCIE programs as well as b) their impact on the effectiveness of subsequent peacebuilding and social change activities in the longer term (Ross, 2017; Ross & Lazarus, 2015; Iyer, 2019).
Our focus on relationships draws from conventional wisdom and preliminary research on the topic (including our own data from previous phases of the study) showing that one of the most important resources contributing to effective peacebuilding work is social capital (Cox, 2007). Having access to appropriate channels through which to obtain information and best practices, connect with others, and evaluate the trust and quality of potential partners in carrying out work on the ground, are critical components for any peacebuilding initiative to be successful. Most of these relational networks can only be built and cultivated over time, and are catalyzed most effectively through in-person events, either as initial formative spaces for networks - such as those formed in formal and nonformal educational spaces – or as periodic spaces of renewal and coordination (Garb & Allen Nan, 2006; Pugh, 2020).
In addition, peacebuilding scholarship points to the importance of relationships for creating sustainable change in societies characterized by conflict (Lederach, 2005; Allen Nan, 2009). Institutional or programmatic structures, such as institutions of higher education and training organizations, can provide the catalyst for these types of networks to form (Pugh, 2020). Indeed, educational and training programs are often the starting points that bring together people from different groups or countries for opportunities to learn and develop intergroup friendships (Sidanius et al, 2008), and their alumni networks often represent powerful sources of social capital for those who belong to them. Moreover, research indicates that networks play an important role in motivating individuals to engage in actions that move from what RPP (2014) frames as individually- to structurally-oriented change (Ross, 2017). This suggests that when educational and training programs intentionally bridge different countries and focus explicitly on the themes of peace and conflict, the potential for creating networks of relationships that enable subsequent cooperative efforts to reduce violence and build peace is enhanced (Fowler, 2005; Loode, 2011).
Preliminary data presented in 2025 drew from the first two phases of our project (survey and interview data from program directors, and from current peacebuilders and activists), showing that education and mentors, family, and direct personal/community experience with conflict are especially salient in shaping engagement in peacebuilding and social change activities; our data also illustrated the critical role of networks and relationships as providing access to resources enabling action, including through educational spaces.
In this year’s presentation, we will present data from the 3rd phase of our project, which draws on survey and interview data from alumni of a set of 5 PCIE programs with which we have partnered. Key questions we will address include:
1) What is the role of PCIE participation in motivating continued engagement in peacebuilding and social change activities? In particular,
a. To what degree does PCIE participation help establish relational ties that support continued engagement in peacebuilding and social change activity?
b. How do former PCIE participants view the transformation that engagement with these programs engendered, and how (if at all) does that transformation connect to their subsequent professional and personal engagement with peacebuilding and social change?
Preliminary analysis affirms existing scholarship and suggests that PCIE shapes participants in a range of ways related to the kind and intensity of programming experienced. For instance, many participants report maintenance of interpersonal relationships – of those who said they have kept in touch with more than 10 other participants, approximately 20% were PCIE participants 15 years ago or more – of these, most participated in full-time, intensive, multi-week programs (rather than online programs or shorter/less intensive ones). Participants in more intensive programs are also more likely to note that others from their programs (both participants and faculty/staff/administrators) have provided support for implementation of ongoing peacebuilding initiatives. Paradoxically, however, our initial analysis suggests that continued interaction with PCIE participants or with program faculty, staff, or administrators among alumni is not strongly connected to continued engagement in peacebuilding.

Authors

• Karen Ross, UMASS Boston

• Jeffrey D Pugh