Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs

Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs
Name	Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs
Formation	2006
Founder	Francis X. Malone
Type	Research center
Location	Washington, D.C.
Parent organization	Georgetown University

Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs is an interdisciplinary research center at Georgetown University that studies the interactions among religion, politics, international relations, human rights, and development with a focus on public life. The Center convenes scholars, diplomats, religious leaders, and students from institutions such as the United Nations, World Bank, United States Department of State, and European Commission to analyze contemporary issues including religious freedom, peacebuilding, humanitarian aid, and global ethics. Its activities intersect with policy debates involving actors like Pope Francis, Dalai Lama, Aung San Suu Kyi, and institutions such as the International Criminal Court and International Organization for Migration.

History

The Center was established in 2006 at Georgetown University during a period of renewed interest in religion’s role after events including the 9/11 attacks, the Iraq War (2003–2011), and the Arab Spring. Founding leadership drew on networks connected to Pope Benedict XVI, the Holy See, and scholars affiliated with Harvard University, Yale University, and the University of Oxford. Early projects engaged issues stemming from the Second Vatican Council legacy, debates around the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and post-conflict reconstruction priorities shaped by the United States Institute of Peace and International Committee of the Red Cross. Over successive directors, the Center expanded its programming to include partnerships with the Brookings Institution, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and the Council on Foreign Relations.

Mission and Programs

The Center’s stated mission aligns with initiatives led by entities such as the United Nations Development Programme, the World Health Organization, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, emphasizing research on religion-informed public policy. Core programs address religious freedom in contexts like the Uyghur situation and Rohingya crisis, interreligious dialogue involving the World Council of Churches and A Common Word, and ethics of development influenced by debates around the Millennium Development Goals and the Sustainable Development Goals. Programmatic work often convenes practitioners from the United States Agency for International Development, legal scholars from the Supreme Court of the United States bench, and diplomats from embassies to advance policy discussions on migration, humanitarian response, and transitional justice tied to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Africa) model.

Research and Publications

Research at the Center produces briefs, policy papers, and books that have interacted with scholarship from Princeton University, Columbia University, Stanford University, and journals like Foreign Affairs, International Organization, and the Journal of Democracy. Its publications examine topics such as the role of religious actors in post-conflict elections after the Rwandan genocide, the juridical debates surrounding the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the intersection of faith and climate policy as in negotiations at COP26 and COP21. The Center has hosted symposia featuring authors linked to presses including Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, and Harvard University Press and has produced multimedia series that reference archival collections from the Library of Congress and the British Library.

Education and Student Programs

Student initiatives at the Center connect undergraduates and graduates from Georgetown University schools such as the Georgetown University Law Center, the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, and the Georgetown University Medical Center with internships at the United Nations Development Programme, the United States Agency for International Development, and nongovernmental organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Courses and practica draw on case studies from the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, the Good Friday Agreement, and truth commissions in Sierra Leone and Argentina, and engage visiting fellows from institutions like the London School of Economics and the Yale Divinity School. The Center supports student research grants and thesis supervision related to the Geneva Conventions, the Genocide Convention, and comparative studies involving the European Court of Human Rights.

Partnerships and Outreach

The Center maintains partnerships with academic and policy organizations including the United States Institute of Peace, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Kennedy School of Government, and faith-based partners such as the World Council of Churches and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Outreach includes public lectures featuring figures such as Kofi Annan, Ban Ki-moon, Desmond Tutu, and leaders from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Jewish Theological Seminary. Collaborative projects have addressed issues raised at forums like the G20 and the Summit of the Americas and coordinated briefing series for delegations to the United Nations General Assembly and the United States Congress.

Notable Fellows and Leadership

The Center’s leadership and fellows have included scholars and practitioners affiliated with Francis Fukuyama, Martha Nussbaum, Amartya Sen, Michael Ignatieff, Charles Taylor (philosopher), and diplomats from the United States Foreign Service. Resident fellows and visiting scholars have come from Princeton Theological Seminary, the Pontifical Gregorian University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and have worked on projects intersecting with initiatives at the Ford Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Directors and fellows have testified before bodies such as the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and contributed to advisory panels for the World Bank and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Category:Georgetown University Category:Research institutes in Washington, D.C.