Professor of Practice: Human Security and Peacebuilding

In fall semester 2010, the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies was delighted to welcome its newest faculty member, Professor Necla Tschirgi. Professor Tschirgi has joined our faculty as a “Professor of Practice in Human Security and Peacebuilding.”

In the excerpt below, Professor Tschirgi explains her perspective on international peacebuilding and her reasons for choosing the School of Peace Studies:

 “I arrived in New York as Vice President of the International Peace Academy (IPA) days after the devastating September 11 attacks and have since been working closely with the larger United Nations community to gain a better understanding of the changing nature of threats to peace and security in the post Cold War.   I have increasingly come to believe that we need to think about peace in fundamentally new ways and to devise innovative strategies to promote it.  Many of our security institutions (including the United Nations) were created at the end of World War II and are now anachronistic; our theoretical frameworks are still largely uni-disciplinary and fragmented; and there is a large gap between theories of peace and practices of peacebuilding.  It is essential that the next generation of peace researchers, policy makers and practitioners develop more holistic understandings of threats to peace and strategies for sustainable peace. 

The Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies at USD provides a unique setting in which to undertake a critical investigation of these issues and to educate a new cadre of peace professionals.  Dedicated explicitly to peace studies from a multi-disciplinary perspective, the School offers an opportunity to bridge the gap between theory, policy and practice.  In specific, moving away from state-centric definitions of security, its focus on the concept of human security promises to promote new ways thinking about global peace and justice based on human well-being.  As Professor of Practice in Human Security and Peacebuilding, I am particularly excited about contributing to the growth of the new School and its multi-faceted work."

To learn more about Professor Tschirgi, please click here.