nepal

John Paul’s involvement in peacebuilding in Nepal began with a phone call and unfolded through a foundation’s acceptance of his long-offered suggestion that peacebuilding and sustainable social change are only effectively imagined and possible in decades. John Paul accompanied the McConnell Foundation’s pledge to support peacebuilding in Nepal stretched from ten years, to twelve, and beyond. The primary locus of this work was supporting local Nepali communities focused on natural resource conflicts, rural women’s empowerment, and community mediation. He helped facilitate the work of Nepal Transition To Peace and their efforts to support national political dialogue and the implementation of the Nepali peace agreement. The insights he shares from his experience offer a unique glimpse into the dilemmas and lessons from sustained peacebuilding engagement across all scales of society.

The Pocket Guide for Facing Down a Civil War: Surprising ideas from everyday people who shifted the cycles of violence
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The Pocket Guide for Facing Down a Civil War: Surprising ideas from everyday people who shifted the cycles of violence

A collection of stories, reflections, and wisdom offering insight into the challenge of facing down toxic polarization layered with violence and the surprising ways everyday people found to shift harmful patterns of violence that had lasted decades. 

2024
Memoirs of Nepal: Reflections Across a Decade
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Memoirs of Nepal: Reflections Across a Decade

Reflections gathered from a decade and more of work in Nepal, written for The McConnell Foundation and friends and partners in Nepal.

2015
The Poetic Unfolding of the Human Spirit
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The Poetic Unfolding of the Human Spirit

A travelogue reflecting on what it means to be fully engaged in the world.

2011
Varela Symposium: Transforming Conflict – From Science to Real World Applications
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collection
Varela Symposium: Transforming Conflict – From Science to Real World Applications

John Paul's contributions to the Upaya Zen Center's Varela Symposium 2018, which explored the theme, "Transforming Conflict: From Science to Real World Applications."

2018
Zen Brain: Mind, Brain, Social Perspectives of Views, Values, Ethics
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collection
Zen Brain: Mind, Brain, Social Perspectives of Views, Values, Ethics

John Paul's contributions to the Upaya Zen Center's Zen Brain conference in 2017, which explored the theme, "Mind, Brain, Social Perspectives of Views, Values, Ethics."

2017
Forging Inclusive Peace
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article
Forging Inclusive Peace

An article exploring challenges of inclusivity in peace processes and proposing a shift in metaphor to enhance inclusivity.

2019
The Peace Professor
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The Peace Professor

An article offering a glimpse into John Paul's practice of peacebuilding in La Pedregosa, Colombia.

2007
Más allá de la mesa, espacios estratégicos de diálogo en la construcción de la paz
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Más allá de la mesa, espacios estratégicos de diálogo en la construcción de la paz

A conference paper that explores dominant and alternative metaphors in peacebuilding.

2012
Foreword, The Cooperative Solution
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Foreword, The Cooperative Solution

The foreword to the book The Cooperative Solution, which offers local examples of cooperative economics that provide a vision of true globalization from below, a vision of a just and sustainable world.

2010
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