Here's What Studying Peace and Justice Looks like in 2021 and Beyond

Ali Smith of Inverness, Scotland has authored 10 books, and her research has given her plenty to say about the state of the world. Like so many today, she’s tired:

“I'm tired of the news. I'm tired of the way it makes things spectacular that aren’t and deals so simplistically with what's truly appalling. I'm tired of the vitriol. I'm tired of anger. I'm tired of the meanness. I'm tired of selfishness. I'm tired of how we're doing nothing to stop it. I'm tired of how we're encouraging it. I'm tired of the violence that's on its way, that's coming, that hasn't happened yet. I'm tired of liars. I'm tired of sanctified liars. I'm tired of how those liars have let this happen. I'm tired of having to wonder whether they did it out of stupidity or did it on purpose. I'm tired of lying governments. I'm tired of people not caring whether they're being lied to anymore. I'm tired of being made to feel this fearful.”

In many ways, Ali’s perspective mirrors the findings of the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), an independent, non-partisan, non-profit think tank dedicated to shifting the world’s focus to peace as a positive, achievable, and tangible measure of human well-being and progress. The IEP reports on the “global peace index” each year and tracks 23 indicators that collectively measure peace on a numeric scale. Their findings for 2020 and 2021 include these, among other statistics:

• The average level of global peacefulness has deteriorated for nine of the past 13 years.
• The gap between the least and most peaceful countries continues to grow. Since 2008, the 25 least peaceful countries declined on average by 12.1 percent, while the 25 most peaceful countries improved by 4.3 percent.
• Conflict in the Middle East has been the key driver of the global deterioration in peacefulness since 2008.

Addressing the Increasing Need for Peace Builders Today, and In the Future

Studying the IEP report makes it overwhelmingly clear that peace is fragile and that large numbers of people around the world live in fear of violence or, worse, experience violence.

For example, while the Mexican federal government and law enforcement agencies have taken steps for more than a decade to eliminate drug cartel violence, the number of people who died at the hands of the cartels exceeded 33,000 in 2018 alone, which included 130 politicians and candidates for public office.

From another direction: The Council on Foreign Relations, a U.S.-based non-profit, published a report from Paul J. Angelo, a fellow for Latin America Studies. In it he said, experts ranked “…accelerating economic collapse and political instability in Venezuela, leading to further violent unrest and increased refugee outflows” as one of the top conflict risks to watch in 2021. Policymakers from both sides of the aisle continue to view Venezuela as a U.S. foreign policy priority with humanitarian conditions in the Andean nation continuing to deteriorate against a backdrop of political conflict and public health crisis. By income, 96 percent of the Venezuelan population live in poverty.”

These and other events around the world remind us that peacebuilding is crucially important to securing more positive peace, comfort, and sanity to the planet…and to alleviate some of the long-suffering of humanity.

The Importance of Theory and Practice When it Comes to Peace Work

Educators know that theoretical knowledge and practical knowledge are equally important and relevant when learning a new subject. That’s why the Kroc School’s MA in Peace and Justice (MAPJ) has become a flagship program at the University of San Diego and for peacebuilders around the world.

The Kroc School of Peace philosophy calls for both. Our engaging courses combine theory and practice — we prioritize hands-on experience because we recognize that some insights and skills can only be acquired through action. And, as practitioners of peace themselves, our faculty members draw from firsthand experience when they speak to the most effective approaches for shaping more peaceful and just societies.

There’s much more to our approach to experiential learning than what occurs within the walls of our state-of-the-art classrooms. Specifically, the Kroc School offers field-based courses designed for students to directly apply classroom knowledge in locations such as Mexico, Colombia, and Rwanda. The courses include opportunities to learn through immersion in post-conflict areas, dive into refugee and forced displacement issues, interact with local peace practitioners, and understand on a deeper level the mechanisms that are leading to peaceful progress.

In addition, every MAPJ student participates in a 250-hour internship. An internship preparation seminar prepares students to identify potential opportunities and secure placements in line with their career goals. In addition to the field study and internships, students create professional portfolios, which enable graduates to showcase their real-world experience and tangible evidence of their peacebuilding knowledge and accomplishments.

Students who have an idea in mind for how to address a specific social issue can receive mentorship, access to resources, and guidance to turn that idea into a sustainable business solution through the Fowler Global Social Innovation Challenge. Through this experience, students have the opportunity to pitch their social venture to a group of experts and can also earn up to $24,000 in seed funding to bring their idea to life.

Crucial Skills You Need to Succeed in Peace Work

Peacebuilding is not for the faint of heart or for those who might be inclined to fix blame and project their insecurities on others. Just like any other career, successful peace workers have a host of skills and abilities that set them apart and make them especially effective in peacebuilding. Some of these can be learned, while others are natural skills inherent in one’s makeup.

In other words, it takes a certain kind of person to help resolve conflicts and work for peace with justice, especially when the opposing parties are fixed on their perspectives and conflicting points of view. Accordingly, there are a handful of common traits among people who do well in peace work and achieve success in the field.

The Inherent Qualities of a Peace Builder

Grounded and Human-Centered — At the core, peacebuilders work to improve human quality of life. This work requires the traits to respond to individuals and groups with dignity. Some of these core traits include empathy, humility, sincerity, sound judgment, integrity, and compassion. Additionally, these individuals will have a social justice-oriented personality and profound respect for the lived experiences of other people.

Transformation Driven — Peacebuilders must also be innovative problem-solvers, committed to transforming the society in which we live. Conflicts and social justice challenges are often complex and entrenched. In these cases, success can hinge on forging new and innovative paths to solve deep-rooted problems. These individuals are driven to reject the status quo, challenge systems with innovative thinking, and are fundamentally oriented towards transformative structural change.

Persistent — To cultivate peace in the world, one must be persistent and committed — not easily deterred by slow-moving progress, resistance, and setbacks. Many peace-building efforts require sustained engagements, and this normative commitment to peace is the driving force behind lasting progress.

Thirsty for Knowledge — Peace work involves a lifelong process of learning and unlearning. Individuals who wish to make a sustained impact in their field must have a genuine curiosity and willingness to learn. Without sufficient knowledge, there is the potential to do real harm. Peacebuilding also involves unlearning and divesting destructive beliefs, processes, and systems that do not promote peace.

Team Oriented — Peacebuilding can only occur through collective effort. Those who want to do peace work must thrive in team environments and have the disposition and skills to perform in situations where progress is dependent on the work of multiple participants. These individuals are excellent listeners and communicators, collaborative thinkers, open-minded, and results-driven. They exhibit humility, sincerity, sound judgment, integrity, and compassion. Additionally, these individuals will have a social justice-oriented personality and profound respect for the lived experiences of other people.

Transformation Driven — Peacebuilders must also be innovative problem-solvers, committed to transforming the society in which we live. Conflicts and social justice challenges are often complex and entrenched. In these cases, success can hinge on forging new and innovative paths to solve deep-rooted problems. These individuals are driven to reject the status quo, challenge systems with innovative thinking, and are fundamentally oriented towards transformative structural change.

Additional Skills the Kroc School Teaches Peace Builders

Having the desire and attributes required to change the world is admirable, but to make an impact for good, proper training and knowledge are required. Here are five primary skills you will need to learn to turn your passion for peace into a full-time job.

Communication Skills — Excellent communication skills are essential to conflict transformation and can be used in a variety of situations including mediation, negotiation, facilitation, and advocacy. Successful professionals will be able to listen actively and empathetically to understand the speaker’s intent while observing and evaluating non-verbal communication. They will also be highly skilled at explaining messages to others through a variety of communication styles, both written and oral.

To do this work, peacebuilders must be assertive and persuasive while remaining diplomatic. This skill is especially important in circumstances where at least one conflict party does not want to engage. In other cases, one party may not be able to adequately articulate the real source of distrust or pain. In these situations, effective communicators draw out the information needed for peacebuilding with kindness and sincerity to effectively bring fighting factions together.

Concerning advocacy specifically, it’s not just about peaceful protesting to advance a cause or idea, but also about influencing policies and the decision-makers who shape them. Often, this work entails litigation, lobbying, and public education as well as building coalitions, forming networks, and developing leaders.

Human & Leadership Skills — Central to a peacebuilder’s work are leadership skills like relationship building, community organizing, team building, visioning, and the ability to maintain a calm and low-stress demeanor without becoming passive. While specific peace and justice issues that one focuses on may change over time, these skills are required in any peacebuilding and human rights context, be it environmental justice, human trafficking prevention, or racial justice.

Analytical Skills — All peacebuilders must have sound analytical skills, including but not limited to conflict analysis, conflict mapping, policy analysis, and strategic planning. To redress grievances and promote peace, professionals also need an in-depth understanding of the root causes of violence, oppression, and injustice so they can apply impactful peacebuilding strategies to address them. Practitioners must be able to analyze the proximate and latent causes of the problem and present a strategic solution.

For example, if the problem is access to information, promoting peace may require building new channels of communication and implementing structures that prevent future misunderstanding. Those who work with government agencies or political leaders would benefit particularly from policy analysis skills. Promoting peace and justice often means being able to translate laudable goals into cohesive public policy.

Alternately, if your goal is to promote the safety and security of women in a community, how would you identify the relevant laws, policies, and programs and then recommend reforms to achieve your objective? With a thorough understanding of the policies related to a given issue, peacebuilders stand a better chance of bringing about the changes they seek to make at scale.

In all domains, the best analysis tends to reflect a high level of critical thinking, resulting in recommendations for effective changes to laws, policies, and practices.

Program Design & Management Skills — Peace and justice workers must have the skills to design, monitor, and evaluate peacebuilding programs. Doing research and partnering with experts with firsthand experience of the issues are key steps in understanding the right problems and ideating viable, human-centered solutions to address them. With a firm grasp of the problem and a potential solution in mind, peacebuilders may then move on to design, test, implement, monitor, and evaluate the new policy, social service, or program. After the pilot phase, the innovators must critically evaluate the impact and make further modifications to improve outcomes in the long run.

Fundraising Skills — Those working for peace and justice in nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and nonprofits will often need to fundraise to bring their visions to life. In the hands of a competent fundraiser, an organization can take a promising idea and transform it into an effective and impactful program. Without an understanding of fundraising, professionals with innovative and ingenious solutions may not be able to implement their ideas.

Fortunately, the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies offers a dedicated graduate program that provides these specific skills and more, as well as the hands-on experiences needed to succeed in peace and justice work.

The MAPJ Prepares You for Any Number of Exciting Careers

If you want a career in peacebuilding, the Kroc School is an excellent choice to help you move ahead on your journey. The University of San Diego established the Kroc School in 2007 as the first stand-alone school of peace studies in the United States. Our MA in Peace and Justice (MAPJ) is the Kroc School’s flagship program and will prepare you for a wide variety of careers where you can pursue your passion to confront humanity’s urgent challenges. Here are just a few of the many career paths you may want to consider.

UN Civil Service Officer — According to the UN, “Civil affairs officers are a key civilian component that helps facilitate interactions between peacekeeping missions, partners and local communities to prevent conflict. Civil affairs work depends on a mission’s mandate and the evolving situation on the ground. Three key activities that civil affairs officers undertake are engaging local stakeholders, participating in local conflict management, and supporting the extension of state authority. In 2020, 565 Civil Affairs officers in eight UN Field Missions played a key role in early warning and situational awareness of conflict dynamics on the ground.” The salary range for a mid-career field service officer is $44K - $68K before additional compensation based on the position post. Entry-level professionals earn between $21K-$54K and senior-level professionals earn between $56K-$90K.

Human Rights Defender — Individuals in these positions investigate complaints of human rights violations and protect at-risk populations. They may also be involved in community conversations to address injustices or serve as mediators. On the front lines, a human rights defender with an organization like Human Rights Watch can make between $51K and $95K per year.

Restorative Practitioner — Restorative justice emphasizes repairing the harm caused by violent behavior through cooperative processes that allow all willing stakeholders to meet and agree upon a restoration plan. Restorative justice professionals focus on trauma healing, conflict mediation, facilitating restorative justice dialogues, and much more. Salaries for these positions can vary greatly. For example, a restorative justice coordinator working at a school makes, on average, $41,844, while a mid-career practitioner makes more.

Become a Peace Builder Today! Let Us Help You Get Started

Courses in the MAPJ curriculum combine theory and practice — we prioritize hands-on experience because we recognize that some insights and skills can only be acquired through action. And, as practitioners of peace themselves, our faculty members draw from firsthand experience when they speak to the most effective approaches for shaping more peaceful and just societies.

Learn more by accessing our resource —

or by contacting our admissions team.