Research highlights


Below is a range of research publications from past and present CPA participants offering deeper dives into issues of peace.

Hidden Harms consultation report

Hidden Harms: Human (In)security in Outer Space

By Jessica West and Vaishnavi Panchanadam

Motivated by prior feminist research on lessons learned from the fields of peace and arms control, the consultation was intended to uncover the many ways in which human well-being is connected to the security of outer space.

With funding from the Canadian Department of National Defence MINDS (Mobilizing Insights in Defence and Security) program, the consultation aimed to:

  • better understand the differentiated human implications of security and insecurity related to outer space;
  • articulate diverse experiences of insecurity related to outer space to inform both domestic and global policy responses;
  • consider alternative approaches to, and perspectives on, peace, security, and disarmament that might provide new ways of identifying, thinking about, and responding to the collective security environment in outer space;
  • expand the scope of dialogue on gendered and intersectional approaches to peace and security in outer space and inspire additional research by others.

Read the full report through the Project Ploughshares website.

Cover of the consultation report with a painting of the night sky looking to space

Military Footprints in the Arctic By Ernie Regehr with Kelsey Gallagher

"Ours is a fragile planet, and in few places is that fragility greater and more immediate than in the Arctic." 

This report analyzes the implications of Arctic militarization while drawing on the roots in the disarmament/ peacebuilding community and reflects a predilection toward encouraging military restraint, demilitarization, intensified diplomacy, and regional cooperation in support of security and public safety. 

PeaceTech Founders Forum Brief

To better understand the support that PeaceTech ventures require, the authors facilitated a Founders Forum at the Build Peace conference in Nairobi, organized by Build Up from December 1-3, 2023.

It was made clear during the in recent gatherings such as the Global PeaceTech Conference in Florence in November 2022, and the Designing Tech for Social Cohesion conference in San Francisco in February 2023, to address the role of technology as a driver of conflict. To meet this demand PeaceTech is incubating start-ups to grow the PeaceTech movement. 

Until Now, Humans Have Been Lucky in Space — It Won’t Last Forever By Jessica West

Jessica West in the article Until Now, Humans Have Been Lucky in Space — It Won’t Last Forever explains how we must develop effective space governance to prevent its weaponization.

"A growing arms race, coupled with a general lack of transparency regarding capabilities and intentions in a poorly governed environment, is a recipe for conflict."

Good Governance and Arctic Security by Ernie Regehr

Good Governance and Arctic Security, written by Ernie Regehr examines how the emerging security challenges in Arctic require policies that encapsulate changing conditions, strategic and envoirmental while making the preservation of the basic stability in the reigon a clear priority. 

"Good governance in collaboration with northern indigenous communities in Canada and throughout the Arctic should be recognized and energetically pursued as a key means of enhancing Arctic security."

Strategic Nuclear Patrols and an Arctic Military Code of Conduct by Ernie Regehr

Strategic Nuclear Patrols and an Arctic Military Code of Conduct, written by Ernie Regehr, examines current tensions in the Arctic stemming from fears of European conflict extending over to the region, leading to discussions about strategic deferrence and ways to prevent warfare operations in the north.

"Proposals for an Arctic code of conduct, designed to avoid provocative behaviour and reduce risks of accidental encounters escalating, seek to preserve the Arctic as a low-tension security environment, and proposals to constraint strategic patrols rest on the same principle."

Breakthrough community change: A guide to creating common agendas that change everything by Paul Born

A book by Paul Born, co-founder of the Tamarack Institute with a wealth of experience in community development, this book shares stories to illustrate the journey of breakthrough community change and the ideas and strategies that can be used to create high-impact change in the community where you live. Click here to access a recording of the virtual book launch and featuring a conversation between Sylvia Born and Paul Born.

Community Innovation: A Place-Based Approach to Social Innovation by Sonja Miokovic and Nicholas Torres

An article in Vol. 17 of Social Innovations Journal Community Innovation: A Place-Based Approach to Social Innovation written by Sonja Miokovic, Tamarack Institute for Community Engagement, Consulting Director, Community Innovation and Nicholas Torres, Co-Founder Social Innovations Journal.

Exploring the importance of a place-based approach in social innovation and community building. For example, Tamarack's Social and Community Innovation Principles.

"1. Community Connections: Strengthen connections and collaborations between diverse people, organizations, and sectors to grow and align our capacity to make a difference.
2. Place Matters: Focus efforts on places where people live.
3. Hope and Optimism: Focus on the possible and our collective potential for making positive change.
4. Equity and Inclusion: Engage and elevate the voice of those most impacted by issues who have the greatest insight into possible solutions.
5. Courage and Learning: Ask difficult questions about the systems and structures which hold people and communities back and engage in peer-to-peer learning to build our capacity.
6. Action and Impact: Emphasize action and focus on impact."

Abdul Aziz Said: A Pioneer in Peace edited by Nathan C. Funk & Meena Sharify-Funk

"Known to many as American University’s “peace legend,” Abdul Aziz Said (1930–2021) led an academic career spanning nearly sixty years. Always a forward-looking thinker, Said consistently sought to be among the first to grapple with the leading-edge issues of his day, from decolonization and turbulent social change in developing countries to the influence of multinational corporations, the normative priority of human rights, cultural aspects of conflict resolution, and the promotion of Islamic-Western  understanding... Abdul Aziz Said's writings address salient global issues from the 1950s to the first decades of the twenty-first century."

Edited and prefaced by Nathan C. Funk (PACS Faculty and CPA Fellow) and Meena Sharify-Funk (Wilfred Laurier University)

Available through Springer Link

A Security Regime for Outer Space: Lessons from Arms Control by Jessica West

"Outer space is a fragile environment that is subjected to an array of interrelated hazards and threats to its safety, sustainability, and secure use. Hazards include deadly orbital debris and a growing risk of accidental collisions from the rapidly growing population of satellites. Threats are also increasing, from emerging technologies such as cyber-enabled attacks to new anti-satellite and other weapons capabilities that would support armed conflict in space... Project Ploughshares and Spectrum Space Security examine potential pathways to arms control and other military restraints in outer space. Norms are at the core of this process... What is required is an ongoing and iterative process to mitigate the risks that military competition and technology pose to the security and well-being of the space environment and its users."

Written by Project Ploughshares Senior Researcher and CPA Fellow Jessica West the full report can be found here.

Doubling Down on a Retentionist Nuclear Posture: NATO's 2022 Strategic Concept

Doubling Down on a Retentionist Nuclear Posture: NATO's 2022 Strategic Concept, written by one of the Centre's Research Fellows, Ernie Regehr, reviews the nuclear dimensions of the 2022 Strategic Concept, focusing exclusively on nuclear weapons. Topics discussed and reviewed include: the nuclear threat, the purpose/ role of nuclear weapons, US nuclear forces in Europe, arms control and disarmament, among others.

"The prevention of war and ensuring the security of states and humanity depend fundamentally on the rule of law, effective governance, meeting fundamental social and economic needs, persistent diplomacy across political divides, and all the other mechanisms, including arms control and national security forces and multilateral peace support operations, that the international community has painstakingly developed and assembled."

A side-by-side methodological approach: Shared experience, informality and adaptation

A side-by-side methodological approach: Shared experience, informality and adaptation, written by Visiting Assistant Professor and Research Fellow, Eric Lepp dicusses an experiential study guided by conceptual innovations in interview practices relating to community-based research practices.  

"Developped out of fieldwork experiences amongst ice hockey supporters in Northern Ireland, this article presents a side-by-side methodological approach, contributing to a shift in peace and conflict-focused qualitative research methodologies centering on the relationship of the researcher, local voices and the context and spaces in which the research takes place. "

Read the report: A side-by-side methodological approach: Shared experience, informality and adaptatio

Insights, Considerations, and Conversations on Technology by Paul C. Heidebrecht

Insights, Considerations, and Conversations on Technology, written by Paul C. Heidebrecht serves as an examination of how the Anabaptist-mennonite faith is grappling the complexities of technological advancements in contemporary society.

"The problematic and formative nature of technology means that none of the articles in this issue is content merely to explain or analyze; they seek to prompt changes in the way we engage with our technological reality."

Read the article here: Insights, Considerations, and Conversations on Technology

Canadian Defence Policy by Ernie Regehr

Canadian Defence Policy, written by research fellow, Ernie Regehr, discusses the current security postures between NATO and Russia, during the current Russian Invasion of Ukraine. Topics including: security spending, nuclear deterrence, and past rates of spending are discussed. 

"Pundits and editorialists have delivered a near-unanimous verdict - that Canadian and NATO military spending has been woefully inadequate in the face of the Russian aggression, and that now is the time to do something about it."

Read the report here: Canadian Defence Policy

Regulating new tools of warfare by Jessica West, Branka Marijan, and Emily Standfield

Regulating new tools of warfare: Insights from humanitarian disarmament and arms control efforts, written by Project Ploughshares researchers Jessica West and Branka Marijan and intern Emily Standfield dicusses arms control in the context of new and emerging technology. 

"There is renewed interest in promoting various forms of arms control and ensuring humanitarian protections as a means of addressing dangers posed by emerging technologies. For example, multilateral efforts are under way to control the weaponization of new autonomous, cyber, and space technologies. Emerging technologies also bring forth new concerns. In some cases, these technologies amplify existing threats; for example, new cyber tech intensifies concerns about the vulnerabilities of nuclear weapons command, control, and communications."

Read the report: Regulating new tools of warfare: Insights from humanitarian disarmament and arms control efforts 

Canada's flawed analysis of arms exports to Saudi Arabia by Project Ploughshares and Amnesty International

Ploughshares

In this special report from Core Collaborator Project Ploughshares and the professionals at Amnesty International, Researcher Kelsey Gallagher and Ploughshares Director, Cesar Jaramillo discuss the lack of "credible evidence" available on Canadian arms exports, and what it means for internationally.

Read the complete report: No Credible Evidence (PDF)

Check out some of the media coverage this topic generated, including a Globe and Mail article and coverage on Global News.

Soft security responses to hard power competition by Ernie Regehr

Ernie Regehr

On thin ice? Perspectives on Arctic Security, edited by Duncan Depledge and P. Whitney Lackenbauer, is a collection of essays on Arctic security published by the North American and Arctic Defence and Security Network (NAADSN). Regehr's contribution is featured as Chapter 6.

"While Russia's conventional military posture in the Arctic is widely acknowledged as being primarily defensive, there are nevertheless growing concerns about its current and potential power projection capabilities. The other Arctic states (all NATO members or partners) still consider it unlikely that they will face state-based military threats in the forseeable future, but they do worry that competition among the major powers inevitably spills into the region, leading them to expand their own military footprints."

See chapter 6 on page 84 for "Soft security responses to hard power competition" (PDF).

The pandemic and DND’s public service mandate By Ernie Regehr

Ernie Regehr

This Canadian defence policy briefing paper was written for The Simons Foundation.

"Public awareness of Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) aid to civilian governments and agencies hasonce again come to the fore in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. Military assistance to civil authorities is routine in Canada and variously includes emergency help in law enforcement, humanitarian relief, natural disaster recovery, and search and rescue. From the earliest days of the present pandemic, critically important CAF resources have been mobilized. An emerging question is whether these core civilian support roles, for which there is increasing demand, should be elevated for priority attention in military planning, training, and procurement, or whether they should continue to be treated as spin-offs from the primary combat-readiness focus of the Armed Forces."

View "The Pandemic and DND’s Public Service Mandate" on The Simons Foundation website.

Military infrastructure and strategic capabilities: Russia's Arctic defense posture by Ernie Regehr

Ernie Regehr

This paper by Ernie Regehr was published as chapter 8 of The Arctic and world order, a collection edited by Kristina Spohr, Daniel S. Hamilton, and Jason C. Moyer that explores the "political, legal, social, economic, geostrategic and environmental challenges confronting the Arctic in the face of global warming and a shifting world order."

Regehr analyzes Russia's Arctic defense posture, positing that while the Arctic region has a wealth of environmental resources, "the Arctic should not be drifting towards geostrategic competition and growing tension" because it is "not a lawless frontier" and security challenges "arise mostly within, rather than between, states."

Read Regehr's chapter "Military infrastructure and strategic capabiliteis" (PDF)

Evolving the practice of collective impact: Inspiration from the field by Sylvia Cheuy

Sylvia Cheuy

This paper is a Tamarack Institution report updating readers on the evolving understanding associated with Collective Impact practices and initiatives.

"Since John Kania and Mark Kramer’s article was published in 2011, understanding of Collective Impact (CI) has evolved beyond being viewed only as a framework for achieving high-impact outcomes on an array of complex social and/or environmental issues. Collective Impact practitioners have experimented with applying the CI framework to an array of issues at a variety of scales.

This paper profiles key milestones in the evolution of Collective Impact and explores examples at the neighbourhood, regional, and national level. We profile lessons gleaned from the use of CI at each of these scales with an emphasis on noting their capacity and contribution to advancing systems level change. Opportunities to further strengthen and/or accelerate systems change efforts with Collective Impact are also explored."

Evolving the practice of collective impact - Full paper (PDF)

Peacebuilding and the norms of technological change by Paul Heidebrecht

Paul headshot

This paper was published and distributed as a TODA Peace Institute Policy Brief, and it was written by the Centre for Peace Advancement's Director, Paul Heidebrecht.

"The regulation of emerging technologies is particularly challenging. This policy brief argues that peacebuilders need to devote more attention to engaging the private sector in order to influence the culture and ultimately the norms of the organisations and individuals closest to the development of advanced technologies. Running throughout this analysis are references to two contrasting contexts: the innovation ecosystems in Silicon Valley, California, and what has at times been referred to as “Silicon Valley North” in Waterloo, Ontario (Canada)."

Peacebuilding and the norms of technological change - Policy Brief (PDF)

From safety to security: Extending norms in outer space global workshop series report by Jessica West and Gilles Doucet

Ploughshares

This paper is a Project Ploughshares Workshop Series Report.

"In November 2020, global space experts were invited to participate in a series of regional online workshops to identify priorities and possible next steps in the development of norms related to space-based military capabilities and activities. These workshops were part of a wider research project to map the normative landscape in outer space that is being undertaken by Dr. Jessica West, a Senior Researcher at Project Ploughshares, and Mr. Gilles Doucet, President of Spectrum Space Security, Inc."

The report highlights safety and sustainabilty as security issues, shared values, inclusivity and fairness, threatening activities and operating environments, as well as opportunities for good practice going forward.

From safety to security: Extending norms in outer space full report (PDF)

Leadership for navigating uncertainty by Liz Weaver and The Civic Canopy

Liz Weaver headshot

This paper was written in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Given the scale of disruptive forces unleashed by the global pandemic, the social movements which inspired action to respond to racial justice and the economic shockwaves that have followed, the need for effective leadership has risen to the forefrontin profound ways. This paper attempts to draw upon the growing literature around leadership models and applies it to the current context based on what we are observing in communities, states, and provinces across Canada and the United States."

Leadership for Navigating Uncertainty (PDF)

Killer optics: Exports of WESCAM sensors to Turkey by Kelsey Gallagher

Killer optics: Exports of WESCAM sensors to Turkey by Kelsey Gallagher

Kelsey Gallagher

This paper is a Project Ploughshares special report.

"Based on an analysis of Canada’s international obligations, domestic arms controls, and an evaluation of Turkey’s recent conduct during warfare, Canada’s export of WESCAM sensors to Turkey poses a substantial risk of facilitating human suffering, including violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. Canadian officials are obligated by international and Canadian law to mitigate the risks of such transfers, including through the denial of export permits, when such risks are apparent from the outset—which appears to be the case with WESCAM exports to Turkey."

Killer Optics: Exports of WESCAM Sensors to Turkey - a litmus test of Canada's compliance with the Arms Trade Treaty (PDF)

Deterrence, arms control, and cooperative security by Ernie Regehr

Ernie Regehr

This collection of selected writings on Arctic security was distributed by the North American and Arctic Defence and Security Network (NAADSN) to advance discussions, that "test assumtions and prompt constructuve policies in support of Arctic peace and security." 

“Arctic ‘security is ultimately about the safety and well-being of the people of the Arctic – a human security agenda that necessarily engages a broad range of social and economic conditions and policies.” By focusing on military aspects of this broader security agenda in the Arctic, Regehr poses the overarching question: “What are and should be the roles, and limits, of military forces in supporting human security, in strengthening the rule of law nationally and internationally, and in promoting efforts towards a cooperative security regime within the Arctic region?”

Deterrence, arms control, and cooperative security: Selected writings on Arctic security (PDF)

Collective impact post-pandemic: A framework for response, recovery and resilience by Liz Weaver

Liz Weaver headshot

This paper was written in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Through the lens of Collective Impact, this paper examines three important stages for leaders to consider when navigating our world post-Pandemic: Respond, Recover and Deepening Resilience Capacity. Within these stages, what simple rules might we follow? How will these simple rules create a different future for ourselves so that we can transform our communities at the individual and systems level? While this crisis has already changed us individually, it has also uncovered some of the greatest fragilities and strengths in our systems."

Collective Impact Post-Pandemic: A Framework for Response, Recovery and Resilience (PDF)

Space Security Index 2019 by Project Ploughshares and its partners

Ploughshares

Project Ploughshares publishes 2019 report on trends and developments in space, in collaboration with its partner institutions, including The Simons Foundation, McGill University Institute of Air and Space Law, Research Unit for Military Law and Ethics at the University of Adelaide, and George Washington University Space Policy Institute.

"Space Security Index 2019 is the 16th annual report on developments related to safety, sustainability, and security in outer space. It is part of the broader Space Security Index (SSI) project, which aims to improve transparency on space activities and provide a common, comprehensive, objective knowledge base to support the development of dialogue and policies that contribute to the governance of outer space as a shared global commons."

The Index report can be obtained on the project's website.

Creating fertile soil: Catalyzing community innovation by Galen McCluskey

Galen Maclusky

This paper highlights some of the important enabling conditions for Community Innovation, explores the many roles that changemakers can play in supporting innovation, and provides a framework for identifying where action might be most needed in your community.

"With the current intensity of attention focused on innovation in the private, public, and social sectors, it is important to remember that innovation is an innate human capacity. Our current communities and lifestyles are a testament to this fact. At a scale unlike any other animal on earth we naturally change our environments, organizing structures, and beliefs to suit our needs. However, our communities still face a myriad of challenges and opportunities, so the work of Community Innovation is not (and will never be) complete. As well, though innovation is a natural human, individual, and community activity, it must be cultivated to achieve the types of impacts our communities hope for."

Creating Fertile Soil: Catalyzing community innovation (PDF)

Review of "A Nation of Feminist Arms Dealers? Canada and Military Exports" by Ernie Regehr

Ernie Regehr

Ernie Regehr reviewed “A Nation of Feminist Arms Dealers? Canada and Military Exports” for the International Security Studies Forum.

“Canadian military export policies came to unusual public attention following Canada’s 2014 agreement to sell $15 billion worth of armored vehicles to Saudi Arabia. The deal was negotiated under the Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and was subsequently given official approval, through the granting of export permits, by the Liberal Government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was elected in 2015. In the debate that ensued, the greater indignation was reserved for the Liberals, who had come to power on the promise of a return to multilateralism and re-engagement with the United Nations—a posture that raised expectations of a renewed exercise of Pearsonian internationalism rather than of record-breaking arms sales to one of the world’s most egregious violators of global human rights standards.”

Article Review 115 on “A Nation of Feminist Arms Dealers? Canada and Military Exports.” (PDF)

Srdjan Vucetic.  “A Nation of Feminist Arms Dealers?  Canada and Military Exports.” International Journal 72:4 (2017): 503-519.  

The war in Yemen: 2011-2018: The elusive road to peace by Sonal Marwah and Tom Clark

Ploughshares

This report provides an overview of the evolution of the conflict in Yemen from 2011 to mid-2018. It finds that the current absence of peace is related to the UN’s failure to take up its traditional role as the body that builds peace. In the case of Yemen, it simply endorsed a peace process developed by the Gulf Cooperation Council in April 2011 to end Yemen’s political crisis.

This report begins with the large-scale protests that broke out in Yemen in 2011 in the wake of the Arab Spring uprisings. It then explores the internationalization of the civil war in 2015, when the GCC intervened on behalf of the ousted government, examining the shortcomings of the GCC plan to bring peace to the country. Next, It shows how the war has led to a deteriorating humanitarian situation for Yemeni citizens, especially since 2015. The final section examines the prospects for peace, with Yemen now in its fourth year of war.

The War in Yemen: 2011-2018: The elusive road to peace (PDF)

Christian political engagement in a new key? Reading Ellul in Ottawa by Paul Heidebrecht

Paul headshot

Political Illusion and Reality (2018) is a collection of twenty-three essays on Ellul’s political thought edited by David W. Gill and David Lovekin. Veteran as well as younger Ellul scholars, political leaders, activists, and pastors, discuss aspects of Ellul’s thought as they relate to their own fields of study and political experience. As an engineering student, and then in the course of researching seminary and graduate school theses in Christian ethics that focused on the topic of technology, Paul was exposed to both Ellul’s social scientific and theological writings.

This chapter is an attempt to explain why it might makes sense for churches and church agencies in the Canadian context to pay close attention to governmental structures. His thesis is that the pursuit of political engagement is one important way for Christians to act in the midst of a barren moral landscape defined by, as Ellul put it, technique.

Space Security Index 2018 by Project Ploughshares and its partners

Ploughshares

Project Ploughshares publishes 2018 report on trends and developments in space, in collaboration with its partner institutions, including The Simons Foundation, McGill University Institute of Air and Space Law, Research Unit for Military Law and Ethics at the University of Adelaide, George Washington University Space Policy Institute, and Xi’ian Jiaotong University School of Law.

"Space Security Index 2018 is the fifteenth annual report on developments related to safety, sustainability, and security in outer space, covering the period January-December 2017. The project seeks to provide a policy-neutral fact base of trends and developments in space security based on primary, open-source research in an annual report."

The Index report can be obtained on the project's website.

Making sense of the multiple faces of leadership by Liz Weaver

Liz Weaver headshot

This paper was prepared for Tamarack’s Community Change Festival being held in Toronto, Canada from October 1-4, 2018.

"There are so many different approaches to leadership. My bookshelf is full of publications about civic leadership, collaborative leadership, servant leadership, and adaptive leadership. It is so confusing. What are the similarities and differences in these leadership approaches? What leadership approach is most impactful in a community change context? This paper explores the multiple faces of leadership and, drawing from my own experience in both implementing and supporting an array of community change efforts, focuses on two central questions:

  • What similarities and differences exist between various approaches to leadership? and,
  • Which leadership approaches are best suited to help community changemakers achieve their desired impact?"

Making Sense of the Multiple Faces of Leadership (PDF)

Canada, the Arctic, and the expanding world of drones by Ernie Regehr

Ernie Regehr

Ernie Regehr, O.C., authors the article as part of the Arctic Security Briefing Papers. He writes the paper series in his work as the Senior Fellow in Arctic Security and Defence at The Simons Foundation.

"Remotely piloted vehicles' get frequent mention in last spring’s Canadian defence policy statement. They are characterized as integral to a range of new capabilities to be acquired by the army, air force, and navy, as bringing new operational sophistication to the armed forces, as enhancing joint intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities in the Arctic, and as enabling precision strikes. But don’t expect to see prominent military drone operations in Canada’s high north any time soon – it’s a foreboding environment, adapting models to the north’s unique geography and climatic conditions will take time and money, the advantages are not self-evident, and, what should be top of mind, the international community has yet to agree on credible international standards for the responsible transfer and use of drones."

Canada, the Arctic, and the Expanding World of Drones (PDF)

Conrad Grebel Review Vol. 35, No. 3 (Fall 2017) edited by Jeremy Bergen, Paul Heidebrecht, and Reina Neufeldt

square grebel logo

This issue covers the work of the authors at the Global Mennonite Peacebuilding Conference and Festival held June 9-12, 2016 at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ontario. The papers are presented under the theme "Global Mennonite Peacebuilding: Exploring Theology, Culture, and Practice".

"The Conrad Grebel Review (CGR) is a multi-disciplinary peer-reviewed journal of Christian inquiry devoted to advancing thoughtful, sustained discussions of theology, peace, society, and culture from broadly-based Anabaptist/Mennonite perspectives. It is published three times a year."

The issue can be read on the journal's website.

Space Security Index 2017 by Project Ploughshares and its partners

Ploughshares

Project Ploughshares publishes 2017 report on trends and developments in space, in collaboration with its partner institutions, including The Simons Foundation, McGill University Institute of Air and Space Law, Research Unit for Military Law and Ethics at the University of Adelaide, George Washington University Space Policy Institute, and Xi’ian Jiaotong University School of Law.

"The Space Security Index is the first and only annual, comprehensive and integrated assessment of space security. The project seeks to provide a policy-neutral fact base of trends and developments in space security based on primary, open-source research in an annual report."

The Index report can be obtained on the project's website.

The community innovation imperative by Sylvia Cheuy

Sylvia Cheuy

"Developing innovation capacity within our communities and the non-profit sector has now become a strategic imperative. With the array of complex challenges now confronting communities, the solutions we need will not be found by simply making incremental changes to our current programs and approaches."

"In this paper, Sylvia Cheuy explores community innovation - a unique form of social innovation that is place-based within the specific geography of a community."

The Community Innovation Imperative Paper (PDF)

Turf, trust, co-creation and collective impact by Liz Weaver

Liz Weaver headshot

A preceding paper for Tamarack’s Community Change Institute "Cities of the Future: Co-Creating Tomorrow" held in Vancouver, Canada from September 25-29, 2017

"Authentic community change moves at the speed of trust. And yet, we spend so little time and focus on intentionally building trust amongst partners. This paper explores the intricacies of trust, how to build it and what to do when trust is broken."

Turf, Trust, Co-creation and Collective Impact Paper (PDF)

War or peace in cyberspace: Whither international cyber security? Conference report

conference

The summary report of "War or Peace in Cyberspace: Whither International Cyber Security" Conference held in Waterloo, Ontario, on May 24, 2018. This report prepared by Stephanie MacLellan highlights some of the key themes emerging from the discussions.

The conference was made possible by The Simons Foundation Canada's support, along with other sponsors, including the Balsillie School of International Affairs, Project Ploughshares, the Canadian Pugwash Group, and the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement at Conrad Grebel University College.

Cyber Security Conference Report (PDF)

When good intentions are not enough: Confronting ethical challenges in peacebuilding and reconciliation by Reina Neufeldt

Good intentions. Good ends. Failure. People usually assume peacebuilding is morally good because well-intentioned people are pursuing good ends. Likewise, reconciliation. But, what happens when the moral values that drive peacebuilding become a problem?

Reina Neufeldt explores how moral and ethical claims that are intrinsic to peacebuilding can contribute to failure and can be part of transformational engagement. Her research is featured in 2017 Benjamin Eby Lecture, an annual lecture that presents the research of a faculty member at Conrad Grebel University College. It is named after Benjamin Eby (1785-1853), an early educator and Mennonite church leader in Waterloo County.

Reina Neufeldt’sresearch interests include the ethics of peacebuilding, civil society peacebuilding, the relationship between peacebuilding and development, ethno-national conflict, reflective practice, monitoring and evaluation. She has worked with a number of nongovernmental organizations on peacebuilding, including Catholic Relief Services and Mennonite Central Committee. She is currently an advisory board member for the Peacebuilding Evaluation Consortium (PEC) and serves on Project Ploughshares’ governing committee. A professor in the Peace and Conflict Studies program at Conrad Grebel University College, University of Waterloo, she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on research, ethics, development and peacebuilding, as well as music, peace and conflict, and the quest for peace in literature and film.

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