The Neuroscience of Peace and Conflict

As global conflict and violence continue to pose significant threats to peace and stability, gaining a deeper understanding of the underlying neuroscience of peace and conflict is crucial for developing effective policies and programmes that promote peaceful societal relations. DPPA and UNOCT hosted a session on the neuroscience of peace and conflict, including presentations from researchers Professor Mina Cikara (Harvard University) and Clara Pretus (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona). Sub-themes included intergroup relations, sacred values, empathy and resilience. The presentations outlined what policymakers and programme designers can do to ensure their outputs generate the conditions for peaceful societal relations and how they might avoid inadvertently generating the conditions for violent relations.