Abstract Civilians in Sudan have been devastated by wars for decades, including civil wars that occurred from 1956 to 1972 and from 1983 to 2005, and wars continuing to this day in certain regions. With this article, we offer the findings of an oral history project that showcases the testimony of 116 Sudanese from the following three regions: Darfur, the Nuba Mountains and the Blue Nile state. We focused on their experiences of war and their vision of a just future for Sudan. After presenting summaries of the wars in these regions (Section 1), we identify the project's methodology (Section 2). The respondents' testimony is then analyzed thematically as follows: (a) life before war, (b) experiences of war, (c) becoming refugees, (d) war's impact, and (e) vision of justice in Sudan (Section 3). We then interpret the respondents' vision of justice as expressions of their agency in striving to overcome the systemic inequalities that have ravaged this war‐torn nation. Our analysis reveals the complexity of the respondents' notions of justice as inseparable from peace. Long‐term peace necessities the realization of justice that cannot be achieved without long‐term peace.

Abstract This paper focuses on practice insights derived from using nonviolent communication (NVC) as a method of conflict transformation. After describing the main principles and components of NVC, we will present an example from the field: a crisis in the relationships between Arab‐Israeli educators and staff members of a Jewish‐Israeli museum who established a partnership for a special project: to train Arab educators to teach about the Holocaust. We will focus on a conflict that threatened this partnership, and will discuss both the advantages and challenges of NVC as a mediation method.

Abstract In studies on single pogroms, but especially in analyses of waves of pogroms, the central role of rumor communication in the run‐up to, but also in the spread of pogroms has been emphasized time and again. In the following, the functions and types of rumor communication will be examined in more detail in order to understand their role in the emergence and spread of nonorganized collective violence. Rumors in the run‐up to pogroms influence the actions of all actors involved in pogroms, but the pogromists, the bystanders, the target group and the authorities react to them quite differently. Rumors can have both a motivating function for the perpetrators that triggers and promotes violence and an early warning function for the target group and the authorities to prevents violence.

Abstract This study examined blood ritual as an indigenous peacemaking strategy among the Bimoba people of northern Ghana. Descriptive qualitative research methods were used together with in‐depth face‐to‐face interviews with eight elders of the community. The audio‐recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematically analyzed with NVivo 12 software. The findings reveal that the blood ritual approach is participatory, focuses on re‐establishing relationships and emanates from the culture of the Bimoba people. It also involves the use of rituals and seeks the interest of the entire Bimoba community. The study concludes that the strategy shares commonalities with several indigenous peacemaking approaches in Africa and has the potential of facilitating sustainable resolutions of communal conflicts such as the Bimoba chieftaincy conflict. However, similar to other approaches, the blood ritual does not ensure gender equality in peacebuilding as the role of women is reduced to simply being observers. A major limitation of this study is its reliance on only the perspectives of the elders of the community without recourse to the voices of people who appear before the ritual processes, to appreciate how they feel about the blood ritual with respect to their hope and expectation when they appear before the process for solace and solution. Also, the voice of young people, women and other vulnerable groups are not reflected in the blood ritual approach.

Abstract Programs based on restorative justice theory—also known as restorative practices—have gained popularity as a way of resolving conflicts in public‐school settings. To estimate the impact of restorative practices on an entire school population, this study uses a propensity score matching analysis approach to compare disciplinary and attendance outcome measures between students attending a school with established services and an equivalent comparison group drawn from another school building within the same school district. Both school buildings in the study are high schools that are part of the same midsized urban school district, located in the midwestern region of the United States. The study finds that students in the school with established restorative services had lower tardy rates, suspension rates, and absenteeism versus a matched comparison group drawn from the other school building in the district, which did not have established restorative services. Estimates of the difference in rates associated with being in a school with established restorative services versus a comparison group are provided.

Not applicable.

Abstract Following the arrival of over 1.2 million refugees and asylum seekers since the 2015 European refugee crisis, Germany has faced enormous humanitarian and societal challenges, with direct implications for participatory peace‐building efforts at the local community level. A multitude of postmigration stressors and high prevalence of mental health conditions among refugees contribute to the substantial burden of daily conflicts in refugee shelters and communities. Ongoing exposure to a conflict‐prone environment, psychological distress and stigmatization among community members can severely impair the quality of life and aggravate existing health‐related, socio‐economic and integrational challenges. Previous research has demonstrated the feasibility of individual alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and mental health literacy (MHL) interventions in refugee settings. As interpersonal conflict and psychological well‐being constitute mutually interdependent phenomena, integrated methodologies combining ADR with MHL may offer unique value to affected vulnerable populations. However, systemic implementation of such mechanisms in refugee shelters has remained largely unexplored. In recognition of this unmet need and as part of the nonprofit organization R3SOLUTE, we have developed a tailored educational curriculum directed at equipping refugees in shelters and their local neighbor citizens with peer mediation‐based ADR and MHL skills. In this multidisciplinary bottom‐up approach, termed psychosocial peer mediation (PPM), participants learn to effectively manage and prevent conflicts in their own communities. Based on our field experience with implementing PPM in numerous refugee shelters across Germany between 2018 and 2021, we here provide relevant practical insights and discuss best practices, with a focus on addressing existing challenges and opportunities in the field.

Abstract This study employed interpretive phenomenological analysis to examine the lived experience of 10 middle‐aged, married couples in mature relationships who self‐identified as “happily married” as to how they manage marital conflict over closeness‐distance issues. The researcher was particularly interested in dyadic communication and meta‐communication that occurred before, during and after conflict. Open‐ended questions were used to prompt stories about times when an issue of closeness and distance created conflict in the relationship. The researcher recorded and transcribed the calls and conducted a close analysis of the stories told by the subjects. During the analysis phase, a number of themes emerged. The current article examines two salient themes: a) that a “turning point,” defined as significant crisis or event in life, contributes to the level of intimacy within the dyad; and b) this turning point led the couples to understand that they could rely solely on one another in a time of crisis, thereby increasing the level of intimacy within the relationship. Although the turning point stories were all unpleasant experiences, in every case they served to bring the couple closer together. Further research is needed, but the idea holds some promise as a factor of success/failure of marriages. The present article focuses on the evolution of mutual reliance as a relational value and perhaps as a dimension of intimacy.