Peacemaking in the Middle East is the topic of a public presentation organized by Bellarmine University's Peace Studies minor, featuring Dr. Glen H. Stassen of Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif.

The free and public session, made possible with a grant from the United States Institute of Peace, takes place on Thursday, March 14, at 7 p.m. in the George G. Brown Center's Frazier Hall (building #5 on this map).

Stassen, the Lewis B. Smedes Professor of Christian Ethics at Fuller Theological Seminary, proposed a new paradigm for the ethics of war and peace in his book "Just Peacemaking: Transforming Initiatives for Justice and Peace" (Westminster John Knox Press, 1992). He has collaborated with other experts in ethics and international studies to develop the "just peacemaking" model in a book he edited, "Just Peacemaking: The New Paradigm for the Ethics of Peace and War," which is in its third revision (Pilgrim Press, 1998/2004/2008).

Stassen has written or edited eight other books and dozens of journal articles. In his presentation at Bellarmine, he will ask whether the just peacemaking model can point a way forward in the intractable conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

“The United States Institute of Peace offered a competition for grants on the topic of peacebuilding,” said Dr. J. Milburn Thompson, professor of theology at Bellarmine. "The conflict between Israel and the Palestinians calls out for peacebuilding, and Glen Stassen’s just peacemaking paradigm can, I think, point a constructive way forward."

Thompson obtained grant funding from the U.S. Institute of Peace to make this event possible. Other sponsors are Bellarmine's Quality Enhancement Plan and International Programs Office. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this presentation are those of the presenter and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Institute of Peace.

For more information about just peacemaking, visit the Just Peacemaking Initiative online.