Challenges of Mediation and Peacebuilding in an Age of Division

Dr. Daisaku Higashi of Sophia University, Tokyo, is a leading Japanese scholar specializing in mediation during armed conflicts and post-conflict peacebuilding in Japan.

In this special lecture, Dr. Higashi will present key arguments from his latest book - Mediation and Peacebuilding in an Age of Division: The Wars in Ukraine, South Sudan, and Afghanistan (Routledge 2026), examining how mediation can be advanced during armed conflict in an increasingly divided world. He will also highlight the importance of “adaptive peacebuilding” in fostering sustainable peace in post-conflict settings.

Drawing on extensive field research in Afghanistan, South Sudan, Syria, Gaza and the West Bank, he will explore how these approaches can inform mediation and peacebuilding in complex conflict environments.

Professor Higashi has published six Japanese books and three English books, including Challenges of Constructing Legitimacy in Peacebuilding: Afghanistan, Iraq, Sierra Leone, and East Timor (Routledge 2015), Inclusivity in Mediation and Peacebuilding: UN, Neighboring States, and Global Powers (Edward Elgar 2022).

His book, Inclusivity in Mediation and Peacebuilding, was reviewed in The Journal of International Peacekeeping, which praised its scholarship and its analysis of inclusivity across different phases of peace operations, noting the wider implications of Higashi’s research for the international community.

The lecture will be held in English.

Speaker