The Kroc Cast: Peace Studies Conversations

In this live episode of the Kroc Cast, Good Friday Agreement signatory Monica McWilliams shares a masterclass in resilience and political strategy. Drawing from her experience co-founding the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition, McWilliams offers a candid look at what it takes to "mess up the pitch" and force a seat at a table dominated by "big beasts" and entrenched " dinosaurs ." She explores the...

How do we measure the success of a peace process? While international observers often look to legislative milestones and disarmament data, these metrics often miss the most critical element of lasting change: the slow, relational work of the people living through the transition. At the center of this effort is civil society—the community leaders and grassroots organizers who act as the ultimate st...

In this urgent and timely episode of the Kroc Cast, we are joined by Kelsey Davenport (MA '11), Director of Nonproliferation Policy at the Arms Control Association. This conversation was recorded as a "massive armada" gathered in the Persian Gulf, and it now serves as a hauntingly prophetic analysis of the catastrophic military escalation that unfolded on February 28, 2026. Hours after "intense" n...

How can a global research tool become a localized "bridge" for peace? In this episode of the Kroc Cast, experts Madhav Joshi, Myla Liguoro, and Bishnu Sapkota join host Melinda Davis to discuss the evolution of PAM-Mindanao (PAM-M) . The conversation highlights how a framework originally known for its global research has become a "scientific art of accompaniment" in the Bangsamoro peace process, f...

Peace implementation is a long, nonlinear journey that requires more than just technical oversight—it requires a human network rooted in trust. In this episode of The Kroc Cast, we go behind the scenes of the Peace Accords Matrix (PAM) to explore its historic responsibility: independently monitoring the 2016 Final Peace Accord in Colombia. Host Cristian Sáez Flórez is joined by the researchers and...

Are we facing the dusk or the dawn of peace processes and global peacebuilding efforts? In this episode of the Kroc Cast, renowned scholar-practitioner Dr. John Paul Lederach invites listeners to reflect on his half-century arc of experience in the field and challenges us to confront the core tensions of peacemaking in a time of crisis. This episode was recorded live at the Kroc Institute for Inte...

We know you've been waiting—and we're thrilled to announce an all-new season of The Kroc Cast beginning November 2025.   This season we're zeroing in on the most critical element of any peace effort: the peace agreements. We'll explore how signed documents transform into real change on the ground, guided by the Institute's globally renowned tool, the Peace Accords Matrix .   Don't miss this season...

In this episode of The Kroc Cast, Josefina Echavarría Álvarez , director of the Peace Accords Matrix and the Legacy Project at the Kroc Institute, part of the Keough School of Global Affairs, explores the power of Colombia’s Truth Commission Transmedia Platform and its relevance for peacebuilding worldwide. The conversation highlights how this innovative, multimedia archive preserves multiple voic...

Art has long been a powerful tool for fostering understanding, reconciliation, and healing in conflict-affected societies. By transforming cultural, political, and ideological boundaries, artistic expression allows individuals to communicate, reflect, and envision new possibilities for coexistence. In this episode, Peace Policy guest editor Norbert Koppensteiner , Associate Teaching Professor of P...

Every year, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) hosts the SheLeads4Peace Summer School, a program dedicated to providing women peacebuilders the necessary skills to be a leader for peace as they transition from their education into their professional careers. For the past two years, the Kroc Institute has had the privilege of partnering with UNITAR to send a delegation...

This episode is dedicated to our latest issue of Peace Policy , which focuses on the co-mingling of two existential crises of our time: the threat of nuclear war, and potential planetary destruction through climate change.   Atalia Omer , Professor of Religion, Conflict and Peace Studies, serves as this year’s faculty editor of Peace Policy. She is joined by George A. Lopez , Rev. Theodore M. Hesb...

In this episode, Fr. Emmanuel Katongole , professor of theology and peace studies at the Kroc Institute, hosts a conversation with His Eminence Cardinal John Onaiyekan , Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja Archdiocese in Nigeria. Cardinal Onaiyekan, one of Africa's most prominent religious peacebuilders, reflects on lessons learned from his decades of work for peace in Nigeria and elsewhere in Africa.

Today’s episode features three current Keough School of Global Affairs students who took part in the course “Racial Justice In America,” offered through the Center for Social Concerns . The conversation is hosted by Euda Fils (MGA '23), and the guests include Bernice Antoine (B.A. '26) and Aidé Cuenca Narvaéz (MGA '23).  The course's curriculum is centered around Clint Smith's book, How the Word I...

In this episode, Contending Modernities editor and writer Josh Lupo and Professor Atalia Omer , Co-Director of Contending Modernities, interview three contributors to their edited volume, Religion and Broken Solidarities: Feminism, Race, and Transnationalism . The volume explores distinct moments in time across various geopolitical settings when solidarity failed to be realized between marginalize...

El Acuerdo Final de Paz de Colombia, suscrito en 2016, estableció como uno de sus principios orientadores el de la centralidad de las víctimas. El Acuerdo Final reconoce los daños y el sufrimiento desproporcionado que el conflicto armado interno les ocasionó a las víctimas. Por ello, las partes firmantes acordaron compromisos encaminados a satisfacer sus derechos a la verdad, la justicia, la repar...

Twenty years ago, the US invasion of Iraq unleashed a series of humanitarian tragedies that, combined with the effects of sanctions, set back women’s rights for decades. In the years since, women’s groups across the country have continued to work for progress, despite many obstacles.   In this episode, Anna Romandash (MGA '22), a Brembeck Fellow at Fourth Freedom Forum, talks with Nadje Al-Ali, th...

In this episode, Josefina Echavarría, director of the Peace Accords Matrix and associate professor of the practice, hosts a conversation with the Honorable Juan Manuel Santos, Former President of Colombia and 2016 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate about the 2016 Peace Agreement between the Colombian government and the former FARC-EP that ended the country’s deadly 52-year armed conflict and its current s...

This is the second of two podcast conversations with authors of policy briefs in the newest collection published by the Kroc Institute's Peace Accords Matrix. The briefs address content and process-related issues in peace agreement design, especially regarding inclusion of citizens’ rights. In this episode, Josefina Echavarría, director of the Peace Accords Matrix and associate professor of the pr...

This is the first of two podcast conversations with authors of policy briefs in the newest collection published by the Kroc Institute's Peace Accords Matrix. The briefs address content and process-related issues in peace agreement design, especially regarding inclusion of citizens’ rights. In this episode, Josefina Echavarría, director of the Peace Accords Matrix and associate professor of the pra...

Marty Kennedy, a 2022 graduate of the undergraduate program in peace studies, talks with peace studies alums and current students about the history and present state of both activism and scholarship for the inclusion of LGBTQ persons on the University of Notre Dame campus. Guests include Alex Coccia (B.A. '14), Senior Policy Analyst at the Center for the Study of Social Policy in Washington, D.C.;...

This is one of three episodes dedicated to conversations with the authors of recent Peace Policy articles focusing on the importance of including youth in peacebuilding efforts throughout the U.S. and around the world. Cat Bolten, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Peace Studies at the Kroc Institute, is the guest editor for this issue of Peace Policy. This episode features a conversation bet...

In this episode, Kroc Institute faculty member Atalia Omer, Professor of Religion, Conflict, and Peace Studies, convenes a conversation with several religious studies scholars on the impact of Shaul Magid's book, Meir Kahane: The Public Life and Political Thought of an American Jewish Radical. Magid is Professor of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College. The speakers in this episode presented a simil...

Cinco años después de la firma del Acuerdo Final de 2016 entre el gobierno colombiano y las ex FARC-EP, la implementación no se ha detenido, a pesar de enfrentar numerosos obstáculos. Un nuevo informe de la Iniciativa Barómetro de la Matriz de Acuerdos de Paz (PAM) del Instituto Kroc para Estudios Internacionales de la Paz presenta el estado actual de la implementación del acuerdo de paz. Este epi...

Five years after the signing of the 2016 Final Agreement between the Colombian government and the former FARC-EP, implementation has not stopped, despite facing numerous obstacles. A new report from the Peace Accords Matrix (PAM) Barometer Initiative at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies presents the current status of peace accord implementation. This episode features a discussion...

In this episode, Atalia Omer, Professor of Religion, Conflict and Peace Studies, and one of the guest editors of the most recent issue of Peace Policy focused on the particular role of women in global peacebuilding efforts, talks with authors of all the pieces in this issue. Guests include Peace Policy co-editor, Ruth Carmi, current Ph. D. student in peace studies and sociology; Linda Quiquivix, a...