Peacebuilding

The Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution is playing a key role in George Mason University’s Grand Challenges Initiative through its collaboration on the Humanitarian Forensics and Peacebuilding Project, one of seven newly funded catalyst research efforts. By linking peacebuilding practice with forensic science, public health, and law, Carter School faculty are helping advance interdisciplinary, real-world solutions that strengthen peace, trust, and engagement in democracy—one of the university’s core Grand Challenge priorities.

The Center for Peacemaking Practice at George Mason University’s Carter School advances conflict resolution through practitioner‑driven research, global partnerships, and hands‑on learning. CPP works locally and internationally with peacebuilders, hosts fellows and study visits, and connects real‑world experience to theory and practice—offering students direct engagement in peacebuilding, facilitation, and program design across conflict‑affected regions.

Mike is an expert in mass atrocity prevention and a pracademic who works within policy, program, and academic spaces, Mike is currently developing a blueprint for building a prevention-focused foreign policy.

23 January 2025 – The Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University was appointed as the new United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Hub Chair for SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions by the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) initiative.

The Carter School Dean Alpaslan Özerdem was named to the Alliance for Peacebuilding’s Board of Directors, further cementing the Carter School’s commitment to long-term partnering for peace with impactful organizations.  The Carter School’s history with the Alliance for Peacebuilding goes back to its beginning, when Henry Hart Rice Professor Susan Allen was a founding member of the Alliance for Peacebuilding and previously served as Chair of the Board.

The Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School at George Mason University, the top-ranked national public institution for peace and conflict resolution, has partnered with Rotary International, one of the largest global membership service organizations, to provide education and develop modalities to assist Rotary clubs in promoting local, regional, and global peace.

Carter School Dean Alpaslan Özerdem recently returned from a peacebuilding initiative in South Sudan, where he was a guest of the Minister of Peacebuilding Stephen Par Kuol and NewGen Peacebuilders’ Executive Director Patricia Shafer.

The Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Conflict & Stabilization Operations (CSO) have signed an agreement, along with a select number of other universities, to become an Academic Center of Conflict Anticipation & Prevention (ACCAP) partner.  As part of this public-private partnership, the Carter School will provide research on “current, real-world conflict-related issues” as identified by CSO offices in the interest of supporting conflict resolution and stabilization efforts.

Yet, even in these dark times, rays of hope pierce through. Around the world, institutions, organizations, and dedicated individuals are diligently striving to care the fragile seeds of dialogue, cooperation, coexistence, and peace. Often, their fearless efforts go unnoticed, and their struggles are underfunded. Their peace infrastructure is under constant attack while every day, they witness the power of the military-industrial complex, proxy wars of geopolitics, and suffering of communities torn apart by physical, structural, and cultural violence. But make no mistake; their role in our shared global narrative is pivotal. They are the bastion against chaos, the remedy of wounds that run generations deep, and the bridge-builders in a fractured world.

Dr. Borislava Manojlovic, assistant professor of conflict analysis and resolution at Mason Korea, has been awarded a Fulbright award to conduct research in Serbia.