Change and disruption in the international order – is positive peace possible?

The Western Academy for Advanced Research Team, led by Ryan Liss  (Photo – left to right: Ryan Liss, Masud Husain, Uzma Rashid, Sabine Nölke, Valerie Oosterveld, Pascal Michelberger, Bipasha Baruah, John T. Holmes), celebrate a successful day of dialogue among conference participants working toward important understanding of the current global context and our role in contributing to positive peace. (Credit: Parshati Patel/Western Research) 

In the comfort of our homes here in Canada, we go about our daily lives in relative safety and security while interstate peace is under threat at an unthinkable scale. Over the past year, Western’s Academy for Advanced Research has supported an interdisciplinary team led by Ryan Liss, Assistant Professor at Western Law, focused on exploring possibilities for peace in our current global climate. From past failures of international law at securing peace, to the cries for help of states and the international community caused by the rise of interstate war, important questions arise about how we can and should adapt to better secure peace today.

“When we first proposed this project two years ago, we couldn’t imagine how timely it would become. The conversation around these issues seemed important then. Now, it seems absolutely vital.” – Ryan Liss

On October 2-3, 2025, WAFAR hosted the Possibilities for Peace conference, which brought together 75 leading academics, students, diplomats, judges of international tribunals, policymakers, and artists from across Canada and around the world. The group engaged in an interdisciplinary discussion on a wide range of topics, including the definition of peace, Canada's foreign policy, and the role of international law in regulating conflict.

Across disciplines, there was consensus that this is a moment of fundamental change and disruption in the international order. Invited keynote speaker Payam Akhavan (Senior Fellow at Massey College and lawyer for a number of countries appearing before the International Court of Justice) encouraged participants to hope. He noted that the antidote to fragmentation, alienation, and anger is to live with empathy, purpose, and communal belonging while in harmony with the laws of nature. Building a shared identity based on universal ideals and embracing the opportunities offered by international institutions and solidarity he described as important strategies.

"Peace in the twenty-first century is not only possible; it is inevitable...The only question is whether we will achieve it through vision and volition, or only after unimaginable catastrophes leave us with no other choice." – Payam Akhavan

Awareness, Balance and Action

The relevance and responsiveness of current international systems that are meant to address atrocity and conflict, such as the United Nations Security Council, were discussed along with the role that international institutions and players can and must play in securing lasting peace. Solution-oriented speakers explained that the international criminal justice system, for example, is morphing, not dying. They emphasized the potential our current challenging conditions offer to serve as a trigger for positive evolution of better international programs and initiatives. Today’s influence of polarization and major powers in driving change has the potential of being balanced by mid-powers joining forces centered on values and cooperation to guide the change.

It was recognized that peace is not only about international negotiations resulting in cease-fires, it is also about ensuring harmony in everyday life.

A declaration of peace among parties who engaged in an armed conflict does not mean it’s the end. For women, girls and survivors, peace means getting or restoring access to physical and psychological health care, food, housing, and employment, and finding missing loved ones.” – Valerie Oosterveld, Professor, Western Law and Western Research Chair in International Criminal Justice

Peacebuilding was described consistently as a process that must be multifaceted. While legal enforcement has a purpose through channels like the International Criminal Court, so does financial, social, and restorative justice. Sessions encouraged participants to think about countering the rise of hate and evil by focusing on the needs of victims rather than simply the punishment of criminals or investment in cyber security and defence strategies to counter hostile states and private actors alone. These elements are important of course, but they should be combined with equity, reconciliation, and climate protection that serve as the backbone of lasting positive peace.

Evolution of Roles and Contributions

Three main takeaways were formulated during the conference:

1) international institutions, multilateral cooperation, and the international rule of law continue to have a crucial role to play in the most challenging domains of international affairs, despite popular narratives of their increasing or potential irrelevance;

2) efforts to secure peace need to pay greater attention to social conditions that make peace possible such as promoting inclusivity, countering polarization, enabling local and community level initiatives, engaging with restorative justice efforts, and exploring how art and satire can be used to alter political and social narratives; and

3) the new realities Canada faces—both in terms of international relations generally and in its position on the international plane specifically—require careful and precise reflection to determine what Canada wants to lead on under current conditions, who Canada wants to pursue those aims with, and how Canada can build the capacity to lead in this manner.

"Our team will continue to collaborate locally and internationally to explore opportunities to prevent war and build peace under the challenges posed by current conditions. The conference was extremely fruitful in breaking down barriers between academic disciplines on the one hand, and between the academy and policymakers on the other. Such innovative engagement is essential to finding solutions in the face of global problems that often feel intractable.” – Ryan Liss