Confronting Identity-Based Mass Violence: Bridging Expertise on Urban Violence and Atrocity Prevention

Over the last year, the Stanley Center and Impact:Peace at the University of San Diego’s Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice have been investigating the intersections between urban violence and mass violence, as well as actions city-level leaders can take in preventing and building resilience to large-scale violence. In this vein, we developed a research project commissioning expert researcher Ariana Markowitz, drawing lessons from nine select cities that experienced situations of mass violence within the last 25 years. Through this initial examination of urban atrocities, a frame of identity-based mass violence emerged. From there, we have been able to tease out the ways in which systemic, chronic, and acute mass violence events occur. We have held two roundtable discussions on this work: the first in October 2020 and subsequently during the Stockholm Forum on Peace and Development in May 2021. During the May event, 30 participants helped to articulate specific ways in which this work could and should continue to inform and expand existing thinking and practice.

On June 30, the Stanley Center and Impact:Peace convene the third discussion with select partners to collectively explore ways in which this frame could be further developed, to stretch existing bounds of both the atrocity prevention and urban violence prevention communities. Our goal is to build collective engagement and collaboration, facilitating the design of distinctive next steps informed by a strategic agenda.