Just Peace Dialogues

The Just Peace Dialogues are a set of six meetings for public deliberation of key aspects of building peace in today’s world. The dialogues are held across four days at the heart of the Just Peace Festival (19-22 June 2025) and address each of the festival’s six main themes.

The Just Peace Dialogues are open to the public, including armed forces, civil society groups, journalists, policymakers, researchers, young people, and indeed any concerned citizens. The inspiration is that respectful searching dialogue among diverse viewpoints can generate mutual understanding and new solutions.

Dialogue 1: Visions of Peace

• Thursday 19 June 2025
• 16:00 - 19:00
• The Hague Humanity Hub
• Link to this event here

Amidst today’s armed conflicts, authoritarian governments, cyber attacks, organized crime, economic insecurity, and ecological destruction, it can be hard to imagine peace. What do we mean by ‘peace’, beyond the absence of war? What kind of peace are we seeking? What makes people and society at peace? This dialogue brings together leading thinkers who push us to get more clear and creative about peace.

Dialogue 2: Democracy and Peace

• Friday 20 June 2025
• 16:00 - 19:00
• The Hague Humanity Hub
• Link to this event here

What is the relationship between democracy and peace? Do the two go hand in hand, so that less democracy means less peace? Or can democracy work against peace: for example, by producing protectionist and militarist governments? Or is there something more deeply wrong with democracy as we know it, such that future peace depends on a transformation of democracy? If so, what kind of new democracy do we need?

Dialogue 3: Cybersecurity and Peace

• Saturday 20 June 2025
• 10:30 - 13:30
• Leiden University, Wijnhaven Building
• Link to this event here

Thirty years ago, pioneers of the internet expected that this new technology would be a force for freedom, democracy, justice and peace. Yet today digital communications often involve human rights abuses, criminal activity, disinformation, gender-based violence, and cyber warfare. How can we turn these tides and make online spaces serve a just peace?

Dialogue 4: Rule of Law and Peace

• Saturday 20 June 2025
• 14:00 - 17:00
• Leiden University, Wijnhaven Building
• Link to this event here

Liberal visions of international order presume that peaceful settlement of disputes depends on the rule of law. Yet today many actors ignore United Nations resolutions, breach multilateral trade agreements, withdraw from international treaties, and violate legally established territorial borders. Is it the end of international law and order? Can we turn the tide, and if so how? Do we need a new kind of law to promote just peace, and if so what would it look like?

Dialogue 5: Equality and Peace

• Sunday 21 June 2025
• 10:30 - 13:30
• Leiden University, Wijnhaven Building
• Link to this event here

Modern conflict often links back to inequality. If people perceive that they are unfairly blocked from opportunities for a good life, their frustrations can channel into violence. Examples include struggles around colonialism, elitism, gender inequality, age hierarchies, racial exclusion, religious discrimination, disability rights, and more. Does current backsliding on diversity, equity and inclusion increase obstacles to peace? If so, what can be done to reaffirm the importance of equality for peace?

Dialogue 6: Climate and Peace

• Sunday 21 June 2025
• 14:00 - 17:00
• Leiden University, Wijnhaven Building
• Link to this event here

Today’s world faces unprecedented climate change and other environmental disruptions. Meeting these challenges with new policies and lifestyles involves major destabilization and large potentials for violent conflict. What can we do to turn ecological transformation into a force for peace?

Additionally, the programme includes the Peace, Democracy, and Media Conference organised with the Festival partner Iran Academia; and the Grotian Law and Modernity at the Dawn of a New Age - International Conference.