John Paul Lederach is an American Professor of International
Peacebuilding at the
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...
,
Notre Dame,
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
, and concurrently Distinguished Scholar at
Eastern Mennonite University
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's bachelor-degree holde ...
. He has written widely on
conflict resolution
Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of conflict and retribution. Committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively communicating information abo ...
and
mediation. He holds a
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
in
Sociology
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...
from the
University of Colorado
The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...
. In 1994 he became the founding director for the
Center for Justice and Peacebuilding
Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP) is an accredited graduate-level program founded in 1994. It also offers non-credit training. The program specializes in conflict transformation, restorative justice, trauma healing, equitable developme ...
at
Eastern Mennonite University
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's bachelor-degree holde ...
where he was a professor. He currently works for the foundation Humanity United.
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
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, Spain. He then pursued a Ph.D. in sociology with a concentration in the Social Conflict Program from the
University of Colorado
The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...
, receiving his degree in 1988. During this time (from 1975-1996) he was also active with the
Mennonite Central Committee
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is a relief service, and peace agency representing fifteen Mennonite, Brethren in Christ and Amish bodies in North America. The U.S. headquarters are in Akron, Pennsylvania, the Canadian in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
...
serving for a time as the Director of the Mennonite Conciliation Service.
Academic work
Lederach's theories of elicitive methods of conflict resolution have been influential in the fields of
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
,
peace studies
Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...
,
international relations
International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such a ...
and conflict transformation. His works have been published in English, Catalan and Spanish.
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
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
,
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...
,
Colombia and
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...
. Within communities, his work has often been at the level of
reconciliation
Reconciliation or reconcile may refer to:
Accounting
* Reconciliation (accounting)
Arts, entertainment, and media Sculpture
* ''Reconciliation'' (Josefina de Vasconcellos sculpture), a sculpture by Josefina de Vasconcellos in Coventry Cathedra ...
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
His elective approach to conflict transformation has been developed further systemically by
Wolfgang Dietrich within the framework of the
Innsbruck School of Peace Studies
Since 2001, the ''Innsbruck School of Peace Studies'' has been developed by Wolfgang Dietrich and his team at the University of Innsbruck. Austria. In 2008 the UNESCO Chair for Peace Studies has been established. In 2017 the team of rectors founde ...
at the
University of Innsbruck
The University of Innsbruck (german: Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck; la, Universitas Leopoldino Franciscea) is a public research university in Innsbruck, the capital of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol, founded on October 15, 1669. ...
, Austria.
Lederach has given
keynote speeches,
commencement address
A commencement speech or commencement address is a speech given to graduating students, generally at a university, although the term is also used for secondary education institutions and in similar institutions around the world.
The commencement ...
es, 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
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's bachelor-degree holde ...
. 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.
In an article in ''Time Magazine'', former U.S. Surgeon General
Vivek Murthy
Vivek Hallegere Murthy (born July 10, 1977) is an American physician and a vice admiral in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps who has served as the 19th and 21st surgeon general of the United States under Presidents Obama ...
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.” 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.”
Religion and beliefs
Lederach is a
Mennonite
Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radi ...
Christian, and as he wrote in his 1999 book ''Journey Toward Reconciliation'' (), 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
The Community of Christ International Peace Award was established to honor and bring attention to the work of peacemaking and peacemakers in the world. It has been bestowed on an individual each year since 1993 (except 1996 and 2015).
Overview
T ...
.
Awards and honorary degrees
*2000 - 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
The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...
*2014 Distinguished Scholar Award -
International Studies Association
The International Studies Association (ISA) is a US-based professional association for scholars and practitioners in the field of international studies. Founded in 1959, ISA has been headquartered at the University of Connecticut in Storrs sin ...
In 2014 he received
honorary degree
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...
s from
Conrad Grebel College
Conrad Grebel University College is a university college affiliated with the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The college is owned by Mennonite Church Eastern Canada and named for early Anabaptist leader Conrad Grebel. Its ...
at the
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to "Uptown" Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also operates ...
,
St. Paul University in
Ottawa, Ontario
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
.
Publications
* ''Els anomenats pacifistes: La no violència a l'estat espanyol'', La Magrana, 1983.
* ''Enredos, pleitos y problemas Una guía práctica para ayudar a resolver conflictos'', Guatemala: Ediciones SEMILLA, 1992, .
* ''Preparing for Peace: Conflict Transformation Across Cultures'',
Syracuse University Press, 1995,
* ''Building Peace: Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies'',
U.S. Institute of Peace
The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is an American federal institution tasked with promoting conflict resolution and prevention worldwide. It provides research, analysis, and training to individuals in diplomacy, mediation, and other pea ...
, 1997,
* ''The Journey Toward Reconciliation'', Pennsylvania: Herald Press, 1999,
* ''From the Ground Up: Mennonite Contributions to International Peacebuilding'', 2000, ISBN
* ''A Handbook of International Peacebuilding: Into The Eye Of The Storm'', Jossey-Bass, 2002,
* ''The Little Book of Conflict Transformation'', Good Books, 2003,
* ''The Moral Imagination: The Art and Soul of Building Peace'', Oxford University Press, 2005,
* ''Reconcile: Conflict Transformation for Ordinary Christians'', Pennsylvania: Herald Press, 2014,
*
Memoirs of Nepal', Blurb Books, 2016
References
External links
* https://web.archive.org/web/20100531152842/https://www.emu.edu/personnel/people/show/lederacj
* https://web.archive.org/web/20050220162243/http://ecapc.org/articles/LederaJ_ChallengeTerror.asp
* https://web.archive.org/web/20110725172404/http://kroc.nd.edu/people/directory/faculty/john-paul-lederach
* https://web.archive.org/web/20090211084604/http://kroc.nd.edu/newsevents/news/peacebuilders-share-work-and-wisdom-apprentices-worldwide-485
Lecture transcript and video of Dr. Lederach's speech at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice at the University of San Diego, February 2012December 8, 2013 sermon by Bill Hybels Willow Creek Community Church
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lederach, John Paul
1955 births
American Christian pacifists
American Mennonites
Eastern Mennonite University
Living people
Nonviolence advocates
Peace and conflict scholars
University of Colorado alumni
University of Notre Dame faculty