Institutional Affiliation
New York University
Start Date
January 2026
End Date
January 2026
Proposal Type
Presentation
Proposal Format
On-campus
Proposal Description
The project of interest is an intervention in the United States of America to reform racial and minority vote dilution, along with systemic entrenchment of power within gerrymandering, to undo the legacies of colonialism and racism within the states. Holding the government accountable to Constitutional and human rights is a patriotic act, even if many Americans don’t see it that way. Though often linked to the Global South, peacebuilding can also include institutional reform in non-war contexts. Peacebuilding processes are intended to improve society’s institutional structures for the betterment and sustainability of its constituents. I argue that the United States of America requires a peacebuilding intervention to create a more racially/ethnically equitable society, specifically regarding voting rights and accessibility. This paper argues that the United States requires a peacebuilding intervention centered on fully implementing the Fourteenth Amendment to address systemic racial inequality and strengthen democracy in the United States.
Lastly, in arguing for this intervention, legal precedent, advocacy work, and contemporary conditions of BIPOC citizens will be noted. This paper proposes a three-pronged intervention:
- Legal Reform: Reimplementing and expanding voting rights protections and Constitutional oversight.
- Community Empowerment: Partnering with NGOs to educate and mobilize BIPOC voters.
- Truth-Telling Commission: Establishing a national initiative to document and acknowledge historical disenfranchisement.
Legal precedents such as Thornburg v. Gingles (1986), Shaw v. Reno (1993), and Rucho v. Common Cause (2019) serve as evidence for the need for such a peacebuilding intervention in the United States.
Included in
International Relations Commons, Other International and Area Studies Commons, Other Political Science Commons, Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons, Peace and Conflict Studies Commons, Political Theory Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons
An Unlikely Ironic Intervention: Reimagining the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States of America
The project of interest is an intervention in the United States of America to reform racial and minority vote dilution, along with systemic entrenchment of power within gerrymandering, to undo the legacies of colonialism and racism within the states. Holding the government accountable to Constitutional and human rights is a patriotic act, even if many Americans don’t see it that way. Though often linked to the Global South, peacebuilding can also include institutional reform in non-war contexts. Peacebuilding processes are intended to improve society’s institutional structures for the betterment and sustainability of its constituents. I argue that the United States of America requires a peacebuilding intervention to create a more racially/ethnically equitable society, specifically regarding voting rights and accessibility. This paper argues that the United States requires a peacebuilding intervention centered on fully implementing the Fourteenth Amendment to address systemic racial inequality and strengthen democracy in the United States.
Lastly, in arguing for this intervention, legal precedent, advocacy work, and contemporary conditions of BIPOC citizens will be noted. This paper proposes a three-pronged intervention:
- Legal Reform: Reimplementing and expanding voting rights protections and Constitutional oversight.
- Community Empowerment: Partnering with NGOs to educate and mobilize BIPOC voters.
- Truth-Telling Commission: Establishing a national initiative to document and acknowledge historical disenfranchisement.
Legal precedents such as Thornburg v. Gingles (1986), Shaw v. Reno (1993), and Rucho v. Common Cause (2019) serve as evidence for the need for such a peacebuilding intervention in the United States.