The inaugural conference of the Weatherhead Research Cluster on Identity Politics took place at the Weatherhead Centre for International Affairs at Harvard University from 5 to 6 October.  It brought together researchers and practitioners engaged in designing, studying, and implementing interventions aimed at improving intergroup relations following violent conflict.  Mitchell Institute Honorary Professor of Practice Peter Sheridan CBE was one of the speakers at the event.

Over the course of two days, the workshops and panels delved into interconnected themes at various levels of analysis: the micro, meso, and macro levels.  Panellists were encouraged to focus on the theoretical underpinnings of contact-based interventions, as well as real-world experiences, and the ways in which features of local, national and international factors shape intergroup relations on the ground. Participants from diverse disciplines were prompted to engage in creative thinking and collaboration.

The Weatherhead Research Cluster on Identity Politics is chaired by Mitchell Institute Honorary Professor and Director of the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Professor Melani Cammett.  The cluster explores ways to improve intergroup relations in postconflict countries by bringing together a network of scholars at all career stages from Harvard and other US - and globally based institutions who work on conflict, conflict resolution, and identity politics, including the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice.  The research cluster will be active for at least the next 3 years, with plans for the conference to be hosted at Queen's University Belfast next year.

Through workshops, seminars, lectures, and even small grants to local affiliated researchers, the cluster aims to establish lasting collaborations among researchers domestically and abroad that will forge innovative scholarship and draw on evidence from diverse global regions.  The cluster also creates opportunities for scholars to translate their research into short, accessible, policy-oriented pieces and to engage directly with representatives from relevant government agencies and civil society organizations to share and discuss their findings. 

The Mitchell Institute and the Weatherhead Centre are in the process of establishing a global scholars network to investigate questions related to peacebuilding and intergroup conflict.

Institute Director Professor Richard English commented: 'It's very exciting to see this collaboration with the Weatherhead Center at Harvard proceeding so strongly. I'm grateful to Professor Cammett for her work in leading this important initiative, and it was very good that our Honorary Professor of Practice Peter Sheridan spoke at the recent Harvard Conference. Collaborative partnership of this kind is essential to the work of the Institute, and promises much for the future in terms of research and practice.'

The featured image has been used courtesy of a RareClub Studios, Unsplash.