Latest Issue

April 2026

These days, pledges of “never again” – what world leaders professed in the wake of past genocides – have been overtaken by the realities of “again and again.” Mass atrocities are ubiquitous in war zones from Burma to Gaza to Sudan to Ukraine. And some powerful world leaders – including, notably, in the United States – are now disparaging norms, laws, and frameworks adopted to limit such atrocities. This raises a fundamental question: What can be done, if anything, to prevent more instances of the worst war-related crimes against humanity? This Peace Policy issue brings together a group of scholars, practitioners, and advocates to reflect on these current challenges and the adaptations needed to enable future atrocity prevention work. It builds upon an expert-level roundtable discussion that the Keough School of Global Affairs and its Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies convened on this topic in Washington, D.C., at the end of 2025.

In this issue: Andrea Gittleman, policy director for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide, calls for cultivating wider champions and coalitions to work against genocide. Ernesto Verdeja, leading scholar of genocide and mass atrocities, argues for “decentering” the global atrocity prevention architecture away from the United States. Reflecting on her experiences in Ukraine, Keough School alum Khrystyna Kozak confronts the disconnect between evolving tools for documenting mass atrocities and accountability measures. Paul Ronan, director of programs at Invisible Children, and I describe how early warning and early response networks in Central Africa offer a promising model for locally-led atrocity prevention. Laura Miller-Graff, respected researcher on how violence impacts children and families, highlights the need for more focus on the psychosocial well-being of communities to enhance prevention. Finally, Nicole Widdersheim of Human Rights Watch outlines the advocacy case for why we must not give up on the goal of “never again.”

April is designated as Genocide Awareness Month, an opportunity to commemorate the victims of genocides and renew our resolve to prevent future mass atrocities. We hope this issue contributes to that important goal and helps us collectively shine a light to traverse the spreading fogs of war.

–Peter J. Quaranto
Visiting Professor of the Practice & Global Policy Fellow, Keough School of Global Affairs