Students Talk Security | Mass Atrocities, Myanmar, and the Rise of the Far-Right - a podcast by Notre Dame International Security Center

An Interview with Dr. Ernesto Verdeja by Lauren Pizzella

Summary: In this episode of ‘Students Talk Security’, Associate Professor of Political Science and Peace Studies at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, Ernesto Verdeja, will provide a brief summary of what mass atrocities are, what are their causes, and what we can do to prevent them.

It will discuss current international events that pertain to mass atrocities and human rights including the Myanmar ethnic cleansing, the rise of the far-right in the US, US sanctions on ICC officials, and COVID-19.

Lastly, it will allow Professor Verdeja about his experiences working with governments and some of the challenges he has faced during peacebuilding.

Biography:

Professor Verdeja is an associate Professor of Political Science and Peace Studies at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame.

Professor Verdeja’s research has focused on large-scale political violence (genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity), transitional justice, forgiveness and reconciliation, and trials, truth commissions, apologies, and reparations. He is the author of “Unchopping a Tree: Reconciliation in the Aftermath of Political Violence” and is co-editor of volumes on peacebuilding and social movements, the field of genocide studies, and the international politics of genocide.

Professor Verdeja received his Ph.D. and M.A. in political science from the New School for Social Research in New York City. He has worked on human rights at the International Center for Transitional Justice and the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights (now Human Rights First) and also served on the Advisory Board of the International Association of Genocide Scholars and the United States Institute of Peace's RESOLVE Research Advisory Group.

He is currently working on a book project on comparative genocide as well as co-directing a project mapping state security force structures around the world and working as the Executive Director of the Institute for the Study of Genocide (a non-profit organization founded in 1982 to promote research and policy analysis on the causes and prevention of genocide and political violence.)

Professor Verdeja also regularly consults with the U.S. government, foreign governments, and human rights organizations on genocide and mass atrocity prevention, and on justice and reconciliation efforts.

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