“Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.” – Arundhati Roy
The Second International Conference on Critical Peace Studies calls for a collective reflection to sense and make sense of the current moment; it also calls for collective action to enact spaces where we can live and breathe free. In Audre Lorde’s words, we see and sense the Master’s house crumbling, so we seek to build windows that help us see outside to new possibilities.
The year 2025 marks an era of global disruption. We witness major upheavals that may change the world as we know it. This conference shall focus on three major disruptions of current times: a) the unapologetic destruction of Gaza, collapse of the international rules-based order and the rise of techno fascism we call Trump 2.0 in United States b) the intensifying climate crisis, as we witness destructive wildfires in California engulf 57000 acres of land and 18000 homes, forcing more than 2 lakh people to evacuate, including the most affluent in America c) the new set of challenges we face with the arrival of autonomous AI (Artificial Intelligence).
All this can be very unsettling, especially in the realm of knowledge and knowledge creation.
At this unsettling moment we gather to ask big questions, demand clear answers and offer ideas that may lead us out of the dominant decaying systems, especially the systems of knowledge and knowledge making.
Finding our ways out of the Master’s House is a collective effort that requires wider solidarity. We aim to transcend colonial compartmentalization to build connections with people and ideas from diverse spaces, histories and struggles.
Love, care and connection with the land, with ourselves and with each other are at the centre of the knowledge space we intend to co-create in the present (not just futures).
When we dismantle our current ways of thinking /being/doing to imagine new possibilities, we are guided by the ancestral wisdom: “Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” – Rumi
We honour Frantz Fanon, whose work remains a constant source of inspiration for our struggle(s): “The aim is to realize not only the disappearance of colonialism, but also the disappearance of the colonized man (and woman).” – Fanon
Call for Conference Papers
We call for critical and creative contributions - concept papers, working papers, art work, and critical fictional stories - that relate to the following intersecting themes or seek connections between them.
*Conference Themes*
Peace and Peace Studies in 2025
Peace Studies, as envisioned by Galtung, was built on the idea of structural violence i.e. violence of the institutionalized, normalized structures that define our everyday life (Ercoskun, B. 2021). However, it is not only the prevailing structures that normalize oppression but also the knowledge systems they are rooted in. In current context, where a live genocide has become a part of our everyday life, peace researchers must gather to ask big questions:
- How do we teach peace amid fire?
- How do we convey the concept of justice when powerful institutions not only fail to uphold it but often work to suppress those who call for it?
- Why can’t we dispel the systems that continue to harm us?
- What makes us stick to the systems that choke us?
- What is the role of extensive research, impact factor journals and publications in Peace Studies?
Ahmar Mahboob asks a simple question that fits well to the vast ‘knowledge’ of peace and security studies:
If our knowledge is increasing every day (as measured by the number of research publications), why is it that we see such high levels of social and environmental injustice around the world?
A one-line answer to this question according to Mahboob is: It is the kind of knowledge one creates that matters, not how much knowledge one makes.
Climate Justice and Action
The conference is based in Lahore, a vibrant city once known as ‘the city of Gardens’, now struggling to breathe in winters as thick smog chokes it and air quality index remains beyond hazardous. Climate justice and action is our second theme.
- Can we ‘solve’ the problem of climate without addressing the problem of justice, coloniality and capitalist greed that underpins it?
- How can we imagine development without infinite growth?
- How can we make indigenous knowledge a source of guidance for our environmental policy and action?
- Who can be trusted to set the agenda for the planet’s future?
- Who can lead environment and climate action?
‘Intelligence’, ‘Autonomy’ and ‘Research’ in the Age of AI
AI is not just a technology; it is a phenomenon that may transform the world as we know it. The advancement of AI prompts us to rethink our role as humans, our relationship with machines, and the definition of intelligence.
- What does it mean to be human and live with autonomous thinking machines?
- How do we understand ‘intelligence’ in the age of AI?
- What impact might Gen AI have on prevailing research paradigms?
- Can we trust the big tech giants to offer us credible knowledge?
- Is such knowledge aimed at building an ethical society?
- How do we address the immense carbon footprint of AI technology?
- What are the options/possibilities/problems in education, research, and knowledge creation?
Call for Conference Papers
As mentioned earlier, we seek and invite critical and creative contributions - concept papers, working papers, art work, and critical fictional stories.
The extended abstracts/ full papers should reach us by 6th June 2025.
Email to: Tehreem Saeed: [email protected] cc: [email protected]
Call for Community
We are building an ‘Alliance for breathable futures’. We call academics, researchers, artists, students, teachers, writers, journalists to join us for a series of educational programs and events.
Open membership is available for a limited time. Members can join our programs and conference on special discounts.
To become a community member, send us:
- a) Your brief introduction and expression of interest
- b) Your email/contact details
We look forward to hearing from you!
