Diplomacy in Practice

To the extent that maintaining world peace is a collective goal and ongoing effort, the sights and paths our students embarked on challenged them to reflect on their roles as key participants in shaping the future. From visiting museums and memorials honoring the lives of survivors during colonial occupation to witnessing remnants of war be turned into souvenirs and household products, our students couldn't help but ask, "what is the legacy of war/conflict?" Over the three weeks of this program, our students have been deeply reflective and insightful in the ways they present their thinking and how they are taking in new perspectives and theories on peace-building. Their instructors have encouraged them to deeply delve into the ideas of diplomacy as opposed to conflicts and arms, an ask to which many of our students rose above the expectation in their response. 

Often, a theme and conversation that our group finds itself floating back to is what defines a just war. Is war ever justified? To which degree do nations with imperial pasts have the authority or calling to intervene? What legacies remain as a result of superpower's colonial history and how do those factors continue to play a role in our ever increasing globalized world? These are a few of the profound dinner-table and long-bus-ride conversations our scholars discuss.