Frontlines of Peace. Séverine Autesserre

How Do We Fix It?

The word “peacebuilding” evokes a story we’ve all heard over and over: Violence breaks out, foreign nations react, peacekeepers and million-dollar donors come rushing in, warring parties sign a peace agreement, and, sadly, within months the situation is back to where it started—sometimes worse.

But peace can grow in the most unlikely circumstances. What are some strategies that work?

Our guest is an award-winning researcher and peacebuilder, Séverine Autesserre, author of the new book, "The Frontlines of Peace". She shares success stories — innovative grassroots initiatives led by local people, at times supported by foreigners, often employing methods shunned by the international elite.

In this episode, we look at examples of local initiatives that build lasting peace. We examine how they differ from the top-down "Peace Inc." approach that can waste billions of dollars in aid and involve massive international interventions.

Séverine shows the radical changes we must take in our approach if we hope to build lasting peace around us—whether we live in Congo, the United States, or elsewhere. We also learn how these approaches could help all of us, and discuss the work of moms in Chicago who work against gun violence in their neighborhoods.

Featured sound bite: "Let's say you don't care about the rest of the world and you only care about your own community: The lessons we learn from conflict zones can help us improve the situation around us."

Recommendation: Richard is watching comedy as a constructive form of escape. The TV series "Better Things" is an example. On earlier shows we recommended "Never Have I Ever" and "Call My Agent".

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