Building a Climate for Peace in the MENA
Institutional Affiliation
Carter School for Peace & Conflict Resolution, GMU
Start Date
3-11-2023 11:30 AM
End Date
3-11-2023 1:00 PM
Proposal Type
Presentation
Proposal Format
On-campus
Proposal Description
Sustainability is a paradigm for thinking about the future in which human, environmental, societal, and economic considerations are balanced in the pursuit of an improved quality of life. Sustainability can be thought of as a long-term goal, while sustainable development (which is one way of defining “progress”) refers to the many pathways to achieve it. Positive peace (i.e., sustainable peace) requires building and strengthening factors such as solidarity and compassion between different ethnic/identity groups, an equitable distribution of resources, and access to food and clean drinking water.
This paper argues that sustainable development and sustainable peace are mutually constitutive; that one cannot exist without the other; and that in their truest, most holistic sense, they can be viewed as almost synonymous. It will examine several endeavors in the MENA that exemplify this holistic sustainability paradigm, focusing on the work of programs in Morocco and Israel/Palestine/Jordan with which the author has worked over the years, as well as a project designed and currently being piloted by the author, which aims to create a cadre of professionals from throughout the MENA with peacebuilding skills and expertise in sustainability. The analysis will be based on participant observation as well as an empirically grounded perspective of the author, who is a scholar-practitioner in the field.
While MENA countries each face specific local challenges, many issues concern multiple communities throughout the region and beyond, including severe water shortage, food insecurity, desertification, and the need for renewable sources of energy. Along with other effects of climate change, these trends create an existential threat to many. Additionally, the region is rife with inter- communal and inter-state conflicts. New political agreements between Israel and several Arab states offer an opportune – and critical - moment to broaden and deepen cooperation employing a sustainability paradigm.
Building a Climate for Peace in the MENA
Sustainability is a paradigm for thinking about the future in which human, environmental, societal, and economic considerations are balanced in the pursuit of an improved quality of life. Sustainability can be thought of as a long-term goal, while sustainable development (which is one way of defining “progress”) refers to the many pathways to achieve it. Positive peace (i.e., sustainable peace) requires building and strengthening factors such as solidarity and compassion between different ethnic/identity groups, an equitable distribution of resources, and access to food and clean drinking water.
This paper argues that sustainable development and sustainable peace are mutually constitutive; that one cannot exist without the other; and that in their truest, most holistic sense, they can be viewed as almost synonymous. It will examine several endeavors in the MENA that exemplify this holistic sustainability paradigm, focusing on the work of programs in Morocco and Israel/Palestine/Jordan with which the author has worked over the years, as well as a project designed and currently being piloted by the author, which aims to create a cadre of professionals from throughout the MENA with peacebuilding skills and expertise in sustainability. The analysis will be based on participant observation as well as an empirically grounded perspective of the author, who is a scholar-practitioner in the field.
While MENA countries each face specific local challenges, many issues concern multiple communities throughout the region and beyond, including severe water shortage, food insecurity, desertification, and the need for renewable sources of energy. Along with other effects of climate change, these trends create an existential threat to many. Additionally, the region is rife with inter- communal and inter-state conflicts. New political agreements between Israel and several Arab states offer an opportune – and critical - moment to broaden and deepen cooperation employing a sustainability paradigm.