The Time is Now

Unlike anytime in history, the need for violence prevention in the United States and peacebuilding work internationally permeates the national discourse and the atmosphere in Washington.   President Obama's agenda calls for an "End to the Dangerous Cycle of Youth Violence" and notes the administration's support of "innovative local programs" aimed at the prevention of youth violence.  Similarly, officials in the State Department, USAID, and Department of Defense leadership advocate for innovative civilian-driven efforts to build peace across societies in conflict.

The growing consensus in Washington obviously did not just ‘happen.’  It is a reflection of an awareness that old ways of business are not working and a reflection of the advancement of the entire field of peacebuilding.  The growing consensus is driven by the continuous and demanding work of practitioners on the ground that day in and day out have successfully lowered the murder rates in cities such as Chicago (Department of Justice research details a 41-73% decrease in killings and shootings in CeaseFire Zones, 16-35% of which is directly attributable to CeaseFire) as well as in Providence and Boston.   The consensus is being built by the researchers at the United States Institute of Peace who, when writing about some of the most violent places on earth, reveal the efficacy of interfaith peacemaking programs and the need for development to go hand in hand with peacebuilding.  And the consensus is forming because we as advocates, in partnership with our allies, have organized for years school by school and community by community in support of the position that peace is possible and the time to invest is now.  Because of our collective efforts across the board policy makers are seeking to invest in peacemaking, but the question remains: “how?”

Our Legislative Strategy

At this critical moment, we want to be part of the solution to the ‘how?' question. To do so requires a well-tailored and timely approach to policy that can specifically meet this challenge.  Over the past few years the legislative strategy of Student Peace Alliance focused solely on direct lobbying for a Department of Peace. We lobbied for a Department of Peace to achieve two fundamental goals.  First, to establish and enhance peacebuilding programs both in the United States and internationally.  Second, to create a structure in the federal government that makes peace a priority and gives it a voice at the highest level of government. Our greatest success to date is the widespread agreement we have built across the country and in Congress of the need to support and fund peacebuilding efforts.  Yet we have not built similar agreement about changing the structure of our government to meet that need.  We believe that to enhance our capacity to effect change in both areas we must separate these two fundamental goals into distinct initiatives:  Programmatic Change and Structural Change.  By developing tailored strategies for each we will more effectively see peacemaking results on the ground in the short-term while simultaneously building support around the longer-term structural solution.