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Background Context
Over the past two decades, the field of international peace and conflict resolution has grown substantially with an abundance of new degree, certificate programs and training programs, and organizations dedicated to practice. Particularly in the past five years, peace and conflict resolution programming has become an increasingly important component of international assistance work funded by various US government agencies, international intergovernmental organizations, foundations and individual donors. With this increase in programming, there has also been increased funding for peace and conflict resolution work.
As the field has expanded, the number of individuals seeking professional opportunities has also risen dramatically. Given the relatively new nature of international peace and conflict resolution work, the path to a career in the field is still quite confusing to many individuals. Although many non-profit, governmental, educational and intergovernmental organizations have begun creating positions at least in part focused on peace and conflict resolution, it is not clear who is filling these positions and what skills employers are seeking in potential employees.
Much of the motivation for this research emerged from countless discussions with other practitioners and scholars, with students interested in pursuing a career in the field, and from online discussions with subscribers to the ACT Forums. Several years ago, ACT launched the ACT Forums, an online resource for jobs, scholarships, events and networking in peace and conflict resolution and related fields that has attracted several thousand members from over 100 countries. In many discussions, people have asked the question: “What is the field?” Or, “What I can do with a degree in the field?” or “What are the career paths I can pursue?” All too often, the responses we are able to provide are based largely on informal perceptions, which are not necessarily an accurate representation of the true nature of career opportunities in the field.
Moreover, although there are several research efforts underway directed to mapping out the academic world of peace and conflict resolution, there has not been a complimentary study of employers and employment opportunities. As mentioned, ACT has also conducted background research on how academic departments are preparing their students. A brief summary of the findings is presented to further establish the context for this report.
Through an analysis of the background research, it is clear that the peace and conflict resolution field is growing rapidly, both in terms of the number of academic programs and job opportunities. Although some programs do a better job than others in preparing their students for careers, there is still a significant dearth of information and resources. The majority of support for students regarding career choices seems largely to be informal one- on-one discussions with faculty and relies heavily on each faculty member's personal network. While this type of mentoring is essential, not all students have equal access to faculty or their networks. In addition, while mentoring is a key source of career guidance and assistance for students, there is still a need for additional resources outlining career tracks and options in the field. Most respondents also stressed that many of their students bring their peace and conflict resolution skills into other fields. One senior professor estimated that 50% of his graduates or more are employed in sectors related to conflict, such as development, human rights, and the environment. Therefore, having more information that outlines the diverse careers available to graduates would be invaluable.
It is against this background that ACT undertook this research project to try to provide a career guide to the field. While we do not want to claim that this report is a complete picture of the entire universe of careers related to international peace and conflict resolution, we are optimistic that it does provide at least a roadmap to help individuals and organizations identify the necessary tools to successfully enter the field and pursue a career. We hope that it will be useful to students and professionals pursuing a career in this field and to the academic and professional organizations that seek to prepare them.