Navigating Peace and Sustainability in an Increasingly Complex World

This book, a sequel to a well-received book titled “Bridging Peace and Sustainability Amidst Global Transformations,” delves deeper into the entwined roots of peace and sustainability and emphasizes their interdependence. How are peace and sustainability interconnected, and what key factors define the relationship between them? These questions were examined at the NERPS 2024 conference in Hiroshima and are central to our narrative. In this book, we explore the synergy of peace and sustainability through theoretical frameworks and real-world examples.We recognize that while the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has acknowledged the link between peace and sustainability, a significant gap remains. Too often, efforts to promote peace and sustainability run parallel, never intertwining, losing the chance to bolster each other. We argue for merging the peace and sustainability agendas to confront contemporary challenges, calling for action to enhance and take advantage of their mutual reinforcement. Through diverse perspectives, this collection illuminates the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of this nexus, serving as a guide for policymakers, a reference for researchers, and a catalyst for dialogue among sectors committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Ayyoob Sharifi is Professor at the IDEC Institute, Hiroshima University. He also is a core member of the Network for Education and Research on Peace and Sustainability (NERPS). His research is mainly focused on urban climate change mitigation and adaptation. Ayyoob actively contributes to global change research programs such as the Future Earth and has served as a lead author for the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The ultimate goal of his education and research activities is to inform actions toward building sustainable and peaceful communities.

John Lee Candelaria is Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Hiroshima University and a research fellow of the Network for Education and Research on Peace and Sustainability (NERPS). He completed his PhD from the International Peace and Coexistence Program at Hiroshima University and has obtained both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in History from the University of the Philippines Diliman. He researches topics in peace and conflict, including war propaganda, heritage and memory politics, peace processes, and the intersection of peace and sustainability, with a geographical emphasis on the Philippines and Southeast Asia.

Dahlia Simangan is Associate Professor of International Relations at Hiroshima University. Her research interests in peace and conflict include topics on post-conflict peacebuilding, the relationship between peace and sustainability, and international peae and security in the Anthropocene. She is the author of International Peacebuilding and Local Involvement: A Liberal Renaissance? (Routledge, 2019) and published her work in leading International Relations and Peace Studies journals. She is Associate Editor of the Review of International Studies, Assistant Editor of Peacebuilding, and a member of the Planet Politics Institute.

Shinji Kaneko is the Executive Vice President for Global Initiatives and a Professor at the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Science at Hiroshima University. He graduated from the School of Engineering at Kyushu University majoring in water engineering (Dr. of Engineering). Immediately after the completion of his doctoral program, he joined the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) in 1999 as a researcher and conducted research on urban climate policy in Asian megacities for three years. He also worked at global Change System for Analysis, Research and Training (START) as a Research Fellow for three years from 2005. In 2018, he was appointed as the Director of Network for Education and Research on Peace and Sustainability (NERPS) at Hiroshima University. He has conducted numerous policy research on natural resources, energy, and the environment in developing countries.