Welcome to Our Readers!

On behalf of both our editorial team and our sponsoring institution, the HJ International Graduate School for Peace and Public Leadership (HJI), I am honored to introduce the inaugural issue of the International Journal for Peace and Public Leadership (IJPPL), dedicated to providing informative, scholarly perspective on topics related to the pursuit of lasting peace. 

At the outset, I want to express appreciation to HJI, an academic institution engaged in the preparation of a new generation of public leaders and peace professionals who face challenges stemming from a lack of global consensus on the norms, protocols, and the expectations that should inform the agendas of the multilateral institutions that mitigate conflict and further interstate dialogue and cooperation.

At a time when our world is characterized by increasing polarization on the national and global levels, and as war and conflict seem dangerously close to disastrous escalations, the IJPPL seeks to be a platform for intelligent, constructive engagement with the critical issues of our day, while also offering insight that may inform practices that contribute to the advancement of a more peaceful world.

The articles contained in this first volume represent our maiden voyage. We are venturing out on turbulent seas. Yet, we have high hopes that our efforts will make modest, yet significant contributions toward the creation of a more peaceful world.

I take this opportunity to express appreciation to our Editor-in-Chief, Claude Perrottet; our Senior Editor, Thomas Ward; Managing Editor, Angelika Buczynski; the members of our international Advisory Board; and most certainly the authors who have submitted the fine articles that appear in this first volume.

We hope you will find the contents of this issue to be enriching and stimulating. We would love to hear from you, and look forward to your comments and feedback.

Sincerely yours,

Thomas G. Walsh, Executive Editor