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 in her lecture titled, "When Good Intentions are not Enough: Confronting Ethical Challenges in Peacebuilding and Reconciliation." Join us on October 26th in the Chapel.
The Benjamin Eby Lecture is 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’s research 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. Dr. Neufeldt 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.