New Conflict, Resilience, and Health Program Study Identifies Ways to Strengthen Everyday Peace
The Conflict, Resilience, and Health Program at the MacMillan Center supports research that deepens understanding of how individuals and communities navigate conflict and define peace. By bringing together scholarship in anthropology, global affairs, and resilience studies, the program advances interdisciplinary research that addresses pressing global challenges and informs practical solutions.
Catherine Panter-Brick, Bruce A. and Davi-Ellen Chabner Professor of Anthropology, Health, and Global Affairs at Yale and Faculty Director of the Conflict, Resilience, and Health Program directs this research initiative. With support from the MacMillan Center’s International Research Grant, her work examines how people in conflict-affected societies understand and experience “everyday peace.” The project highlights why locally grounded perspectives matter and demonstrates how MacMillan-funded research contributes to more effective peacebuilding efforts worldwide.
Peacebuilding policies often rest on assumptions of shared priorities. Our comparative analysis helps clarify those assumptions and shows where disconnects exist.
In the study, Panter-Brick and her collaborators worked with a wide range of stakeholders in Nouakchott, Mauritania, including students, community members, diplomats, and academics. Through structured visual mapping exercises, participants identified the factors that most shape their everyday experience of peace. The comparative findings highlight clear differences in how groups prioritize governance, security, economic opportunity, and social cohesion. The research also identifies areas where perspectives diverge, offering important entry points for dialogue and more responsive policy development.
By centering local lived experience and participatory research methods, the project reflects the Conflict, Resilience, and Health Program’s commitment to rigorous, interdisciplinary scholarship with real-world relevance. The findings not only contribute to academic understanding of peacebuilding but also provide practical insights for strengthening resilience and informing policy in conflict-affected settings.
- Humanity