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Rethinking Peacebuilding for a New Geopolitical Era
The liberal peace is dead. Roger Mac Ginty, Richard Gowan, and Erika Gregory on what is replacing it, and how the field navigates the shift.
Today’s geopolitical shifts have transformed how peacemaking and peacebuilding are conducted, and who is leading the charge. Navigating that change requires a new outlook.
The Effective Peacebuilding Initiative and The Less War Initiative convene Roger Mac Ginty, Richard Gowan, and Erika Gregory for a big-picture conversation on new approaches to the complexity of today’s conflicts. Drawing on their work at Everyday Peace Indicators, the International Crisis Group, and Horizon 2045, the panel takes up the peace and security sector’s geopolitical backdrop and three pressing questions:
- How can peace and security leaders adapt to a system that no longer rests on the aspirations of democratic statemaking and multilateral agreements as a means to peace?
- What can we learn from the middle-power mediators carrying influence in today’s conflicts?
- Where are reorientation and coordination needed across the sector to reduce violent conflict and strengthen peace?
Each panelist writes in Volume I of the Global Peace Almanac, and the conversation expands on their essays. Reading them beforehand is not required, but it will sharpen the discussion.
The panel
Roger Mac Ginty
Professor, Durham Global Security Institute, Durham University
Roger Mac Ginty is Professor at the Durham Global Security Institute and the School of Government and International Affairs, both at Durham University. He is founding editor (with Oliver Richmond) of the journal Peacebuilding, and founder (with Pamina Firchow) of the Everyday Peace Indicators.
Richard Gowan
Director of Global Issues and Institutions, International Crisis Group
Richard Gowan is Director of Global Issues and Institutions at the International Crisis Group. From 2019 to 2025 he was Crisis Group’s UN Director. He has also worked at New York University’s Center on International Cooperation and the European Council on Foreign Relations.
Erika Gregory
Founder and President, Horizon 2045
Erika Gregory is Founder and President of Horizon 2045, working at the intersection of global security, philanthropy, and governance reform. She is also Co-Lead of Women Transforming Global Security (WTGS), a partnership with Ploughshares and The Elders.