The Kroc Institute’s recent expansion has triggered a lively debate about its research needs and priorities. During 2004-05, faculty clarified two components of the institute’s strategy for fostering research. First, the institute will provide incentives for Kroc faculty and faculty fellows to pursue research interests and publications within the broad field of peace studies. Second, the institute will encourage the development of new research programs that build on Kroc’s unique resources and expertise.

To facilitate this strategy, a number of institutional changes were introduced:

• John Darby, professor of comparative ethnic studies, was named to the new position of director of research. In that role, he will coordinate and expand research activities.

• A research committee was established to foster the development of research projects by institute faculty.

• A generous leave of absence policy and seed money grants were introduced to stimulate faculty research.

• Two programs for faculty fellows were initiated to stimulate further research on Kroc Institute themes. Faculty associate fellowships will provide for a one-semester leave and one summer of research support. Research grants of up to $4,000 will assist with archival research, travel, or other expenses.

• A program assistant position for research and policy was created. Colette Sgambati was appointed to the post in early 2005.

The institute’s hope is that new clusters of faculty, faculty fellows, and visiting fellows will build on these changes to develop strong research initiatives in conflict and peace studies. Potential initiatives include the evaluation of peacebuilding approaches and the ethics of the use of force—both areas of significant strength at Notre Dame.

Kroc’s expansion highlights the need to balance support for institutional programs and support for individual research initiatives. Together, they shape the institute’s research profile.

Faculty research
Individual faculty research accomplishments in 2004-05 included publication of John Paul Lederach’s book, The Moral Imagination: The Art and Soul of Building Peace (Oxford University Press, 2005). In it, Lederach, the institute’s professor of international peacebuilding, calls upon his 25 years of experience to address the question, “How do we transcend the cycles of violence that bewitch our human community while still living in them?”

Daniel Philpott was awarded two prestigious fellowships to continue researching how religion shapes international relations, with particular focus on political reconciliation. He was named a faculty fellow at the Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics at Harvard University (for 2005-06) and a research fellow at the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany (for 2006-07).

Also in 2004-05, Larissa Fast continued her investigations of the security threats facing people who work with non-governmental organizations. With genocide continuing to make headlines, political scientist Robert Johansen made the case for creation of a multidisciplinary United Nations peacekeeping force.

Kroc’s faculty fellows continued to make significant contributions. In Peace Talks—Who Will Listen? (University of Notre Dame Press, 2004), political theorist Fred Dallmayr traces the evolution of arguments against war as first articulated by the 16th century humanist Erasmus, engaging a wide range of contemporary thinkers and political figures. Alan Dowty authored Israel/Palestine (Polity Press, 2005), a book that draws upon decades of research to demystify the clash between Jews and Arabs in the Middle East. Mark Cummings launched a major psychological study of the effects of marital conflict on children’s functioning and adjustment in societies affected by violent conflict. Cummings’ study includes extensive field research in Northern Ireland and contributions by John Darby.

Research programs
The academic year was a busy one for the institute’s three major research efforts. The Sanctions and Security Project, a Kroc Institute/Fourth Freedom Forum joint effort, explores non-military means of enforcing international norms. In 2004-05, principal investigators David Cortright and George A. Lopez continued to target policy makers as well as reach broad audiences with the results of their work. For example, they discussed ways of enhancing international cooperation in their article “Bombs, Carrots and Sticks: The Use of Incentives and Sanctions,” which appeared in the influential journal Arms Control Today (March 2005). In November 2004, Cortright and Lopez presented a report to the United Nations on ways to improve the UN’s Counter-Terrorism Committee. The report was sponsored by the Danish government, the new chair of the committee. In February, Lopez testified before a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee that was investigating the UN’s “Oil for Food” program, which loosened economic sanctions against Iraq. He made scores of media appearances and participated in an American Enterprise Institute panel regarding Oil for Food.

The Program in Religion, Conflict and Peacebuilding (PRCP) hosted its fourth annual conference in March on “Building Peace Through Inter- religious Encounters.” The event, held at Notre Dame, featured panel discussions on Kashmir, Jerusalem and Indonesia. It was organized by the three Rockefeller Visiting Fellows for 2004-05: anthropologists Haley Duschinski and Jennifer Connolly, and Patrice Brodeur, the newly appointed Canada Research Chair on Islam, Pluralism and Globalization at the University of Montreal. Part of Brodeur’s time at the Kroc Institute was spent developing a web site for curriculum development in inter-religious dialogue and conflict resolution. In late spring, the institute renewed its search for a faculty member to become the Henry Luce Chair Professor of Religion, Conflict, and Peacebuilding. The position was left vacant when Swiss scholar Tariq Ramadan resigned in December, after his U.S. work visa was revoked.

The Research Initiative for the Resolution of Ethnic Conflict (RIREC) brought together an interdisciplinary team of 30 scholars and practitioners to examine post-accord peacebuilding. The results of their work, edited in 2004-05, will be presented in three books available in spring 2006 from the University of Notre Dame Press: Violence and Reconstruction, edited by John Darby; Troublemakers or Peacemakers?: Youth and Post-Accord Peacebuilding, edited by Siobhan McEvoy-Levy; and Telling the Truths: Truth Telling and Peacebuilding in Post-Conflict Societies, edited by Tristan Anne Borer.

RIREC continued to develop a Matrix on Peace Accords to enable negotiators and scholars to find out how issues have been tackled during peace processes. It is being designed and updated in collaboration with masters students in the institute. Its first phase is expected to be available on the Internet by summer 2006.

John Darby chairs new research committee
John Darby, professor of comparative ethnic studies, was appointed director of research at the institute in September 2004. As such, he chairs the research committee. Darby has directed the institute’s Research Initiative for the Resolution of Ethnic Conflict (RIREC) since 2000. He is co-investigator with John Paul Lederach on “Monitoring and Learning from Best Practices in Southeast Asian Peacebuilding,” a project funded by the United States Institute of Peace. He is also collaborating with Mark Cummings on “Children and Political Violence in Northern Ireland,” a project funded by the National Institutes of Health.

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