John Paul Lederach

Last updated
John Paul Lederach
Born
John Paul Lederach

(1955-04-17) 17 April 1955 (age 68)
Indiana, United States of America
Nationality American
EducationBA History and Peace Studies Bethel College; Ph.D. Sociology University of Colorado
Occupation Professor
Known forauthor of several books on Conflict Transformation, founder of the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, professor of conflict studies
Awards2000 - Community of Christ International Peace Award
2002 - Keys to Access Award from CADRE (the National Center for Dispute Resolution in Special Education)
2006 - Martin Luther King Order of Peace Medal
2009 Pax Christi Award - St. John's University and Abbey
2009 Reinhold Neibuhr Award from the University of Notre Dame
2014 Distinguished Scholar Award - International Studies Association
2019 Niwano Peace Prize

John Paul Lederach is an American Professor of International Peacebuilding at the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, and concurrently Distinguished Scholar at Eastern Mennonite University. He has written widely on conflict resolution and mediation. He holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Colorado. In 1994 he became the founding director for the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University where he was a professor. [1] He currently works for the foundation Humanity United. [2]

Contents

Early life and education

Lederach was born in Indiana into the family of a local preacher, whom he was named after. He graduated from Bethel College in 1980 with a degree in History and Peace Studies. During this time he was working for the Mennonite Board of Missions in Barcelona, Spain. He then pursued a Ph.D. in sociology with a concentration in the Social Conflict Program from the University of Colorado, receiving his degree in 1988. During this time (from 1975-1996) he was also active with the Mennonite Central Committee serving for a time as the Director of the Mennonite Conciliation Service. [3] [4]

Academic work

Lederach's theories of elicitive methods of conflict resolution have been influential[ how? ] in the fields of political science, peace studies, international relations and conflict transformation. His works have been published in English, Catalan and Spanish. [4]

His academic work draws on his experience in the field as a mediator, negotiator, peacebuilding practitioner, trainer and consultant. At the international level, this has involved input into peace processes in Somalia, Northern Ireland, Nicaragua, Colombia and Nepal. Within communities, his work has often been at the level of reconciliation within church and family. In 2014 he said:

"Change only comes through ensuring that people are represented. In Somalia where I did a lot of my early work, there was no government and it was a chaotic situation. My job was to engage in longer term bottom-up grassroots work. You do this by establishing organisations for elders, women's associations and so on which build strength into a community by creating space for civil society." - from a BBC interview [5]

His elective approach to conflict transformation has been developed further systemically by Wolfgang Dietrich within the framework of the Innsbruck School of Peace Studies at the University of Innsbruck, Austria. [6]

Lederach has given keynote speeches, commencement addresses, and lectures, among them a keynote lecture entitled "Narratives of Care: The Social Echo of Community Transformation" at the Conversations on Attachment conference at Eastern Mennonite University. [7] and a lecture entitled "Compassionate Presence: Faith-Based Peacebuilding in the Face of Violence" at the University of San Diego's Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice Distinguished Lecture Series.[ citation needed ] [8]

In an article in Time Magazine, former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy describes Lederach's influence on his thinking about social policy and his framing of loneliness as a public health concern: “For John Paul Lederach, an international peace builder and expert in conflict transformation, the first step is to promote a mutual sense of belonging. That means meeting and serving people where they live, by physically going to their homes or neighborhoods.” [9] Murthy quotes Lederach in Time, as well as in his book, Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World, as observing that “a lot of our isolation…is the degree to which people feel invisible. So, when you come and show up and have concern and conversation from their location, you’re rehumanizing the situation that has lost that connection at a very deep level.” [10]

Religion and beliefs

Lederach is a Mennonite Christian, and as he wrote in his 1999 book Journey Toward Reconciliation ( ISBN   978-0836190823), his Christian faith has affected both his thinking and application of non-violent solutions to conflict. In 2000, he received the Community of Christ International Peace Award. [11]

Awards and honorary degrees

In 2014 he received honorary degrees from Conrad Grebel College at the University of Waterloo, St. Paul University in Ottawa, Ontario. [18]

Publications

Related Research Articles

Peace churches are Christian churches, groups or communities advocating Christian pacifism or Biblical nonresistance. The term historic peace churches refers specifically only to three church groups among pacifist churches:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Mennonite University</span> University in Virginia, U.S.

Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) is a private Mennonite university in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The university also operates a satellite campus in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which primarily caters to working adults. EMU is especially known for its Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP), particularly its graduate program in conflict transformation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peace and conflict studies</span> Field of study

Peace and conflict studies or conflict analysis and resolution is a social science field that identifies and analyzes violent and nonviolent behaviors as well as the structural mechanisms attending conflicts, with a view towards understanding those processes which lead to a more desirable human condition. A variation on this, peace studies (irenology), is an interdisciplinary effort aiming at the prevention, de-escalation, and solution of conflicts by peaceful means, thereby seeking "victory" for all parties involved in the conflict.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peacebuilding</span> Nonviolent intervention to prevent conflict

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References

  1. ↑ "Personnel Directory". Archived from the original on 13 August 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  2. ↑ "John Paul Lederach". Humanity United. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  3. ↑ "Lederach, John Paul (1955-) Mennonite Church USA Archives". Archived from the original on 18 August 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  4. 1 2 Wright, Walter (13 September 2004). "John Paul Lederach: A Peacebuilder Bibliography". Archived from the original on 18 August 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  5. ↑ Casciani, Dominic (24 October 2003). "'International flashpoint? I'm on my way'". BBC News Online. Archived from the original on 18 August 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  6. ↑ "Wolfgang Dietrich :: Positions". Archived from the original on 2016-07-20. Retrieved 2017-04-09.
  7. ↑ "Narratives of Care: The Social Echo of Community Transformation by John Paul Lederach". Archived from the original on 18 August 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  8. ↑ "Compassionate Presence: Faith-based Peacebuilding in the Face of Violence with John Paul Lederach". UniversityofCaliforniaTelevision. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  9. ↑ "Loneliness Was a Public Health Crisis Long Before Social Distancing. Here's How We Can Solve It". time.com. 26 March 2020. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
  10. ↑ Murthy, Vivek (21 April 2020). Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World. HarperWave. ISBN   978-0062913296.
  11. 1 2 "Community of Christ International Peace Award Honor Roll". Archived from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  12. ↑ "2002 "Keys To Access" Award Presented to John Paul Lederach". Archived from the original on 18 August 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  13. ↑ "Nicaraguans Honor Lederach for Global Peace Efforts". 14 September 2006. Archived from the original on 18 August 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  14. ↑ "Saint John's awards Mennonite peacebuilder John Paul Lederach its highest honor". 10 August 2010. Archived from the original on 18 August 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  15. ↑ "ND Report: Reinhold Neibuhr Award". Archived from the original on 18 August 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  16. ↑ "Notre Dame Gives Lederach Peacebuilding Award". 4 June 2009. Archived from the original on 18 August 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  17. ↑ "Become a Sponsor at ISA 2014". Archived from the original on 18 August 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  18. ↑ "Lederach to Receive 2 Honorary Degrees, International Studies Association Award". Archived from the original on 18 August 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
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