My work over the last forty-five years has been at the intersection of human rights, conflict transformation, and development with the U.S. government, civil society, and the United Nations. The clearest lesson I have learned is that peaceful, prosperous, and just societies only emerge when we draw on the leadership and contributions of all of society, including women, people with disabilities, racial and religious minorities, the LGBTQ community, displaced persons, and other marginalized groups. The paradox we face is that most of the policymakers and gatekeepers who are key to ensuring this diversity and inclusion are people like me: privileged, straight, older men with little direct experience of exclusion and abuse based on identity factors.
EU, Conflict Transformation and Civil Society: Promoting Peace from the Bottom Up?