Kriesberg Reflections: Discovering Constructive Ways of Peacemaking

Abstract

This essay is a reflection on my work in peace studies and conflict resolution; it is not a personal memoir nor an autobiography. I focus on my academic writings and some related professional activities, tracing my discoveries about and contributions to the emerging and expanding fields of peace studies and conflict resolution. Nevertheless, I will mention not only my thoughts and steps as I made my way in these endeavors, but also the world events and my relationships and engagements that affected my choices, stumbles, and accomplishments. I want to share these reflections to make my work more understandable and hopefully convincing, and also to encourage others to rely on evidence, to think creatively, to appreciate small contributions, and to persevere in the struggle to advance peace and justice. My approach to conflict analysis and resolution has been comprehensive in three ways. First, although I focus on large-scale conflicts within and among countries, my analytic framework pertains to all kinds of inter-group conflicts. I think this is useful because insights gleaned from considering one kind of conflict often offer new understandings to studying other kinds of conflicts. Furthermore, large-scale conflicts incorporate many smaller-scale conflicts, and the different scale conflicts affect each other. Secondly, my approach is comprehensive in examining conflicts at all stages, as they emerge, escalate, de-escalate, and are transformed. Finally, I draw upon multiple explanatory perspectives to understand the trajectory of conflicts. This essay discusses my comprehensive approach and how I came to discover and shape it.