Dr. Angela Lederach

I was very excited to be able to conduct an interview with Dr. Angela Lederach and share more information/takeaways that I noted regarding the Peace and Justice field. Dr. Lederach is currently a professor at Chapman University within the Peace and Conflict Studies department and has spent a significant amount of time in Latin America, namely Colombia. Below is a synopsis of the questions/responses from my interview with her:

• Tell me a bit about your background in the Peace & Conflict field, including how you got involved in the field and what led you to your current role as a professor at Chapman.

Dr. Lederach grew up in a family that was significantly involved in the field, with her parents being very committed to peace-building work. She spent many of her early years in Latin America, namely Costa Rica, during the 80s solidarity movement in which she worked with the exiled indigenous leaders of the Miskito people. She has worked mainly with grassroots and civil society groups in advocacy/post-advocacy work and post-war reconstruction. With regard to her studies, she majored in both anthropology and peace studies at the University of Notre Dame. After which she spent two years in the Phillippines working on grassroots and peace education.

• I know you spent a lot of time working in Colombia. Can you tell me more about what you did there and the population you worked with?

In Colombia, Dr. Lederach was working in the Montes de Maria, a location where the Peace Accords implementation was prioritized, as this site suffered an immense amount of violence. Dr. Lederach had been working in this area since before the peace accords were signed and was studying and researching more to understand what it looked like for people to build peace and the language/rhetoric used to do so up until the peace accords were signed. Her research seeks to understand the differing relationship between the community’s and the national level’s peace process, and a finding has included that international peace-building interventions can undermine and really destabilize the fragile process of community reconciliation. Dr. Lederach is also interested in how civil organizations worked to advocate and combat harmful forms of intervention in a way that called for changes while still supporting a peace accord and resolution. 

• What has been your favorite part about working in the Peace and Conflict field?

Dr. Lederach explained that she loves that this is an applied field that is engaged. She highlighted that in this field, we are asking questions in really empirical ways that help us understand the significant questions of “What reduces violence?” and “How can we create peace?” The field is proactive and has implications for policy and future peace efforts. She also mentioned that she truly loves the depth of the commitment that people within the field show toward creating a better and more peaceful world. 

• Do you have any advice for graduating university students who want to enter this field?

Dr. Lederach explained that there is not a clear pathway when you study peace and conflict, unlike other areas in which there is more of a linear pathway to your career. With this, she stressed that our studies and this field have skills that are directly applicable and useful to any path you decide to take or any specific focus you are exploring. The concepts, theories, questions, and commitments apply everywhere, whether in healthcare, the United Nations, or otherwise. While this is a good thing, it can also be overwhelming; too many paths can make narrowing down your future challenging. Her advice thus was that instead of seeking a singular pathway or answer, focus on identifying the core areas that deeply resonate with you and ask yourself, “What skills have I developed/do I need to develop for this area, and how will I apply them?” From there, it is about applying yourself and seeking the experiences and opportunities to push you forward.

This interview provided me with a couple of takeaways that really surprised me and also helped me understand the potential for my future career in the peace and justice field. The first important takeaway is that the peace and justice field encompasses such a wide variety of different pathways and possibilities for what my future career could look like. It can range from working in the non-profit sector grassroots activism to working for the United Nations and other international organizations. With that being said, it is vital that I recognize that this is both beneficial and also a bit of a struggle. In order for me to truly find what direction I want to go in, I need to identify my core passions and the ways in which I can reach those areas. The second takeaway is that this field often requires a good amount of moving around as opportunities and needs are present all around the world. That said, it does not really bother me, but it is something that I should keep in mind while planning out my next steps after graduation and something I should be prepared for going forward.