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Thania Paffenholz

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Dr
Thania Paffenholz
Born
NationalityGermany German
Tanzania Tanzanian
Switzerland Swiss
TitleDirector of Inclusive Peace
Awards2015 Wihuri International Prize
Academic background
EducationUniversity of Frankfurt
Academic work
Discipline
  • Intervention strategies in peace processes
  • Civil society in peace and transition processes
  • Research-policy transfer in peace research
  • Evaluation in Peacebuilding
InstitutionsInclusive Peace and Transition Initiative, Graduate Institute Geneva, United Nations, European Union, Swisspeace

Thania Paffenholz is an academic and policy advisor working on peace processes. She is currently Director of Inclusive Peace[1] (previously Inclusive Peace and Transition Initiative at the Graduate Institute Geneva). Thania Paffenholz has led comparative research of peace processes has contributed to peace processes in Mozambique, Angola, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Mali, Afghanistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Yemen, Egypt, El Salvador, Syria and Colombia.[2] She received the Wihuri International Prize in 2015 for her work as a peace researcher.[3]

Biography

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Dr. Thania Paffenholz is the Director and Founder of Inclusive Peace, a Geneva-based think and do tank operating globally in providing evidence-based support to peace and political change processes.[4] Dr. Paffenholz has advised international organizations, governments, and NGOs to adapt their way of working in conflict contexts. She is a Senior Fellow at the Graduate Institute, Geneva.[5] She is also Chief Field Editor of the journal ‘Frontiers in Political Science’, and holds a PhD in International Relations with focus on mediation. Dr. Paffenholz has roots in Europe and Africa, lives in Kenya and Switzerland and is the mother of two grown up children.

Research projects

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Broadening participation in political negotiations

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Since 2011, Thania Paffenholz has led a comparative analysis of over forty peace and political transition processes, looking at the role, modalities, and impact of various actors involved in negotiations, including civil society, women’s groups, minorities, political parties and armed groups. This work has informed United Nations policy initiatives, the United Nations Global Study on Women, Peace and Security [6] and the work of the United Nations High Level independent panel on United Nations Peace Operations.[7]

Civil society and peacebuilding

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From 2005 to 2010, she led a research project on inclusion and peace processes, which resulted in the publication of the book Civil Society & Peacebuilding: A Critical Assessment (2010).[8]

Media Appearances

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TedX - Make Women Count - Don't just count women

Friedensforscherin zur Ukraine: «Es wurde nie wirklich nach Lösungen gesucht (trans. Peace researcher on Ukraine: “We were never really looking for solutions), Watson

How Do We End Wars? A Peace Researcher Puts Forward Some Innovative Approaches, Scientific American

Wie ein Frieden zwischen der Ukraine und Russland möglich ist (trans. How peace between Ukraine and Russia is possible), The Pioneer

Wer stoppt Putin? Friedensforscherin ist sich sicher: Frauen könnten der Schlüssel sein – weil sie Männern eines voraus haben (trans. Who will stop Putin? Peace researcher is certain: Women could be the key - because they have one advantage over men), Aargauer Zeitung

Die Idee, mit einem Vertrag ewig Frieden zu haben, ist falsch (trans. The idea of having eternal peace with a contract is wrong), Spektrum.De

Prizes

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  • Wihuri International Prize, 2015, Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation
  • International Studies Association (ISA) Honour, 2010, International Studies Association

Peace Process Support

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Thania Paffenholz has been actively involved in providing peace process advice, facilitation, mediation, capacity-building, and convening for various organizations and conflict parties. She has worked in over 24 countries.

Main Support to Development and Conflict-Sensitivity

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Thania Paffenholz provided advice on inclusive governance and peacebuilding to the Swedish Development Agency (SIDA) and on a joint UN prevention strategy in fragile and conflict-affected countries for the World Bank. She was part of the OECD/DAC advisory group for conflict-sensitive development and evaluation in fragile contexts, and served as a key advisor for the Swiss Development Cooperation on conflict-sensitive adaptation of their portfolio in fragile contexts.

For the ILO, Paffenholz assessed selected country portfolios for conflict-sensitive employment creation. At GIZ, she was the lead advisor on organizational development for conflict sensitivity, including country portfolio strategy support. She advised the German Development Ministry (BMZ) on strategy in fragile contexts and conducted major evaluations of BMZ’s peace portfolio. Additionally, she contributed to the European Union’s advisory group on the nexus between peace, conflict, and development.

Teaching

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Thania Paffenholz has been a lecturer at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID) in Geneva, Switzerland, a visiting lecturer at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP), and a guest professor at Sabanci University in Istanbul, Turkey. Moreover, a lecturer at the University of Bern in Switzerland, and at the University of Leuven in Belgium, she led seminars on conflict transformation, peacebuilding, and international cooperation. She has also been a visiting lecturer at the United Nations University in Tokyo, Japan, and the University of Frankfurt in Germany, teaching courses on conflict analysis and peacebuilding strategies. Lastly, a lecturer and trainer at the International Peace-Keeping and Peace Building Training Programme in Schlaining, Austria.

Membership in Journals, Boards, Associations, and Policy Advisory Groups

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Thania Paffenholz, has a background in editorial and advisory roles. She serves as the Field Chief Editor for Frontiers in Political Science and the Editor in Chief for its Peace & Democracy section. She has been a Steering Committee Member of the Peacebuilding Evaluation Consortium in the USA and a member of the International Advisory Council of the Life and Peace Institute in Uppsala, Sweden, where she also served on the Executive Committee. Additionally, she has been an Editorial Board Member for Peacebuilding and Zeitschrift für Konflikt- und Friedensforschung, as well as the Journal of Peacebuilding and Development.

Moreover, she was part of the “Religion and Social Cohesion in Conflict-Affected Countries” Programme at the University of Denver's Kobel School. She has participated in the OECD/DAC Expert Panel on Peacebuilding Evaluations and has been active in the International Studies Association’s Section on Peace Studies, where she chaired the Peace Studies program for the ISA Convention and served on its Executive Committee. She has also contributed to the Swiss Foreign Ministries’ Peacebuilding Strategy and Law, served as a reviewer for various academic journals and foundations, and was a Board Member of the Lessons Learned Unit at the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations.

Reviewed Journal Articles

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References

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  1. ^ Thania Paffenholz
  2. ^ Paffenholz, Thania, ed. (2009). Civil society and peacebuilding: summary of results for a comparative research project. CCDP Working Paper; 4. Geneva: The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies.
  3. ^ Thania Paffenholz, Laureate of the 2015 Wihuri International Prize
  4. ^ Schaffner, Thomas (2023-11-24). "Thania Paffenholz setzt sich mit "Inclusive Peace" für nachhaltigen Frieden ein". Zuger Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 2024-08-05.
  5. ^ "Dr. Thania Paffenholz" (PDF). peacemedia.ethz.ch. Retrieved 2024-12-18.
  6. ^ "United Nations Study " Preventing Conflict, Transforming Justice Securing the Peace, A Global Study on the Implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 1325" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2016-07-04.
  7. ^ Briefing paper for the UN high level review panel on Inclusivity in peace processes
  8. ^ Ginty, Roger Mac (June 2012). "Civil Society and Peacebuilding: A Critical Assessment". The Round Table. 101 (3): 281–282. doi:10.1080/00358533.2012.697803. ISSN 0035-8533.
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