Introduction
As a new entrant in the peacebuilding field, I continue to learn and explore opportunities that will deepen my efforts to contribute my quota to building a fair, inclusive, and just societies. For this reason, I am excited and appreciate the diversity of learnings and insights that the Kroc Institute has exposed me to.
Over the past one and half years, my learning, skills, and experiences I have acquired both in the theory and practice of peacebuilding have made me to question at a deeper level my career as a peacebuilder. As a result of my reflections on my work – not only from the internship experience – but also from my previous work and the theory I have learned in class, it has become clearer to me that the problems in the real world do not emerge within specific and isolated boundaries of society. In other words, the problems of society particularly, conflicts are embedded in multiple layers of interrelationships. And therefore, linear and silo solutions cannot yield the desired results. This awareness has helped in advancing my understanding of the notion of structural violence as espoused by Galtung. The notion of structural violence assumes that armed violence…show more content… My identity as a peacebuilder is framed on the basis of my beliefs and understanding of the interrelationship between inequality, poverty, and conflict. Therefore, my approach to peacebuilding is consistent with the belief that poverty is both a cause and an effect of armed conflict. Inequality manifest in armed violence and armed violence equally manifest into poverty. Based on this point of view, I subscribe to a holistic approach to peacebuilding address conflict from multiple levels including, the factors leading to divisions, inequality, poverty, and discrimination; societal transformation and reconciliation; justice and human