Thread by @cblatts

Severine's last book, Peaceland, is still something I thrust into the hands of my MA students and aid colleagues. Check out her new book, Frontlines of Peace. Here is a glowing NYT review.

https://twitter.com/SeverineAR/status/1366791224137560066

At first I started skeptical of her main claim--that the world does too much peace building from the treetops rather than the grassroots. I still emphasize the center a lot more than Severine, but her argument made me realize how most of my career I'd spent emulating her advice.

My strategy for the last 15y has been to look in fragile places for mostly-ignored, somewhat wacky locals with bold ideas. That's how I came to study cash transfers in post-conflict zones, alternative dispute resolution to reduce village conflicts, or cognitive behavior therapy.

These brilliant, sometimes lonely voices had tinkered their way to successful programs. Most of the time my first reaction was "this is nuts". But their belief was infectious. And I had the tools and ability to help expand and test what they did.

Today one of those successes influenced how Chicago responded to a spike in homicides
economist.com/united-states/…

So, even though for national peace, I would still like to see attention to the treetops, and similar tinkering and testing there, we have a lot to learn and emulate from the grassroots. Highly recommended.

Buy the book here:
amzn.to/309zRUM