People Building Peace

Community Peacebuilding

Sacred Ground: How America's Faith Communities Are Becoming Unexpected Architects of Civil Peace

Across the country, interfaith coalitions are stepping into some of America's most contentious local disputes — from school board showdowns to battles over homeless shelters — and quietly brokering agreements that political institutions have failed to reach. Far from being foot soldiers in the culture war, many religious congregations are proving to be among the most effective peacebuilding assets in their communities. Their tools are ancient, but their application is urgently contemporary.

Jul 5, 2026

Education & Policy

The Price of Discord: Counting the True Cost of America's Conflict Crisis

Unresolved conflict costs the United States hundreds of billions of dollars each year in lost productivity, public health expenditures, incarceration, and civic disengagement — yet peacebuilding remains one of the most chronically underfunded areas of domestic policy. A growing body of research from economics, criminology, and public health makes the case that conflict resolution infrastructure is not a moral luxury but a fiscally sound investment with demonstrable returns.

Jul 4, 2026

Community Peacebuilding

Neighbors First: The Quiet Peacemakers Healing America's Most Divided Communities

Across rural counties and suburban cul-de-sacs, a new generation of grassroots mediators is doing what Washington cannot — restoring trust between neighbors, family members, and local officials torn apart by political polarization. Armed with tools like restorative circles and narrative mediation, these everyday practitioners are proving that lasting peace is built one conversation at a time.

Jul 4, 2026

Community Peacebuilding

Common Ground, Uncommon Courage: Five American Cities Rewriting the Rules of Community

Across the United States, from the rust-belt cities of the Midwest to the sunbaked towns of the Southwest, a quiet revolution in civic life is taking hold. Five communities — deeply divided by politics, race, and history — have chosen dialogue over discord, and the results are measurable, meaningful, and replicable. Their stories offer a roadmap for a fractured nation searching for its better self.

Jul 4, 2026

Education & Policy

Democracy Starts in Room 12B: The Case for Making Peacebuilding a Core School Subject

American classrooms are producing graduates fluent in standardized testing and chronically underprepared for the most essential democratic skill: disagreeing without destroying. The absence of structured conflict resolution education from U.S. K-12 curricula is not a minor gap — it is a systemic failure with consequences that are already reshaping civic life. If we are serious about the future of self-governance, we must be serious about what we teach children before they ever cast a ballot.

Jul 4, 2026