“Peace is a Practice, Not a Promise”
By Nish Kharal (Duke MIDP ’26)
Summer 2025 AFE Blog Post Series
Over the past month, I have had the chance to reflect deeply on what peace truly means in a world that is increasingly divided. From rising populism and polarization among communities to intimidation to the voice of dissent and shrinking civic spaces, as well as climate-induced instability, the cracks in our social fabric are getting much deeper. This situation is not limited to one geography or political economy system; currently living in the global North and coming from a country in the global South, I can strongly argue that both the global North and South are similar in this situation. And in this critical movement, I often ponder how to heal these wounds when people and communities are divided, unheard, and unsafe, whereas on the other hand, global institutions created to protect peace are weakening day by day.
Remote Engagement, Grounded Reflection
While my Applied Field Experience (AFE) has been remote, far from Interpeace’s Geneva headquarters, the quiet beauty of North Carolina’s Research Triangle has been my companion. It gave me space to reflect, walk, and think deeply between meetings, strategy sessions, and proposal reviews. Through my role as a Peace Fellow with Interpeace, I have come to understand that peace is not a promise but a deliberate practice.
Through virtual engagement, I contributed to peace actor mapping, reviewed strategic documents, and supported both national and global teams in shaping proposals. Being remote did not distance me from the work, but has grounded me in a more personal reflection about peace as something we live, not just study. And in that space, I saw that peace isn’t only negotiated at high-level tables. It’s built into everyday moments of empathy, storytelling, creativity, and solidarity.
Who Shapes the Vision?
One of the most meaningful aspects of my experience was reading and contributing feedback to Interpeace’s emerging strategy for 2026–2030. It’s a rare opportunity to engage with an organization during such a transformative period. What impressed me most was Interpeace’s willingness to confront uncomfortable truths, including the erosion of public trust, the climate crisis, and the growing marginalization of entire populations, particularly youth.
However, alongside this promise, I also faced difficult questions. Who shaped this strategy? Were local peacebuilders involved in drafting it? Did they understand the language used? Did they feel genuinely included as co-creators, or merely consulted as an afterthought?
What I truly believe is that for strategies to be truly effective, they must be grounded in the voices of those living on the frontlines of peace and conflict. Local artists, educators, organizers, and young leaders hold immense wisdom. Including them at the table not only ensures equity, but it also transforms strategy into something more emotional and practical.
Peace Responsiveness as a Way of Life
One concept that deeply resonated with me during this time is Peace Responsiveness. It is a transformative approach of peacebuilding that asks us to embed peace across all sectors, not just within humanitarian work, but across development, governance, and even in economic activity.
Imagine an economy designed not just for growth, but for dignity for justice. Imagine entrepreneurship driven not only by profit, but by purpose and peace. Imagine education systems that nurture empathy alongside excellence. This is the radical potential of peace responsiveness. It encourages us to dismantle silos and reimagine systems with a peace lens. But to realize this vision, we must act boldly and collaboratively, and Interpeace has taken a lead role in inviting many governmental, developmental and peacebuilding institutions to go beyond in integrating peace lenses into every activity.
Financing the Peaceful Future
Another area where my thinking evolved was in the realm of peace financing. Too often, peacebuilding budgets focus narrowly on infrastructure or crisis response. But if we want peace to last, I believe that we need to fund what nourishes the human spirit and sustains social resilience. For example, investing in mental health care for peacebuilders, who often carry the emotional weight of their communities’ traumas. Digital storytelling platforms, where youth can voice their hopes and struggles across cultural divides. Arts and healing programs, which use creativity as a tool for reflection, resistance, and intergenerational connection.
I believe that peace financing should not just respond to the absence of violence, but also enable the presence of dignity, imagination, and inclusion. By funding people and ideas, not just infrastructure, we support more profound and lasting forms of peace. I was encouraged by Interpeace’s openness to these ideas. All the conversations I participated in made it clear that reimagining peace financing is not only possible but necessary to reconstruct the justice agenda. It can unlock new approaches that are strategically sound and emotionally connected.
Peace is Possible
Despite the scale of the challenges we face, I am progressing in this experience more hopeful than when I began. Peace is not perfect, it is nonlinear, and full of contradictions. But it is the most crucial thing for human progress and establishing dignity and justice. And today, as we embrace this critical junction of peace and division, it invites us to unlearn old patterns and imagine new futures.
I am especially grateful to mentors like Leonard Fried and Clémentine from Interpeace, whose wisdom and encouragement have constantly reminded me that peace is not just about what we do, but how we do it and our commitment to it. Over time, I have learned that peace is built not only in negotiation rooms but also in dance circles, film screenings, healing rituals, and dialogue circles. It lives in the ways we choose to show up for one another, tell our stories, and dream together.
As I continue my journey, I carry with me a deeper understanding that peace is a practice, one that demands consistent care, critical thinking, and collective imagination. It will not happen on its own. But if we nurture it together, step by step, it becomes not just a distant hope, but a lived reality. And for that, I remain committed and inspired to walk this path, not alone, but alongside others working toward a world where real peace is possible.