Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation and Social Justice (ISCTSJ)
ISCTSJ connects the perspectives of all those who seek to contribute to conflict transformation and social justice – from the insights of world leading researchers to the experience of practitioners, policy makers, politicians and activists. It strives to create dialogue within which all voices can be heard and to underpin the pursuit of peace through world class research.
Queen’s University has recently made a significant investment in its long-established expertise in conflict and peace processes by founding a dedicated Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation and Social Justice. At the heart of this development is the recognition of the inseparability of social justice from sustainable processes of conflict transformation and, ultimately, of peace.
The purpose of the Institute is to facilitate sustained interdisciplinary collaboration in research and teaching and to provide strategic focus to support world class research in this field. The Institute will promote cross-School, cross-Faculty and inter-institutional co-operation that leads to high quality publications and will engage research users and other practitioners to enhance the non-academic impact of the work being undertaken.
The Institute was established on 1 August 2012 with Professor Hastings Donnan as its first Director.
Each year the Institute will announce a Priority Theme to provide a focus for its activities and to stimulate innovative and imaginative research collaborations on a flexible set of broadly interdisciplinary topics related to conflict transformation and social justice. This will be led by two Institute Fellows from different disciplines at Queen’s. The Priority Theme will normally be announced a year in advance. In this first year of the Institute’s operation, it will be announced in October 2012.
The Institute will also support a number of Interdisciplinary Research Groups that will develop a programme of activities including seminars, workshops, conferences, exhibitions and performances whose overall objective is to enrich understanding of conflict transformation and social justice. Interdisciplinary Research Groups will play a key role in assisting the Institute realise its goals of attracting leading international researchers and involving research users, policy makers and practitioners in a way that maximises research impact.
Research training at postgraduate level will be an increasingly important element of the Institute’s core activities, and will include the development of a new, cross-disciplinary Masters programme in conflict transformation and social justice.
The Institute is currently in the process of establishing a management committee and international advisory board, as well as appointing core staff including up to five post-doctoral fellowships.
