Ph.D. of National Interest in Peace Studies: International Conference on Peace Studies “Researching Peace: What Can We Do?”, Rome, September 7–9, 2026

From September 7–9, 2026, Sapienza University of Rome will host the first International Doctoral Conference of the Ph.D. of National Interest in Peace Studies, entitled “Researching Peace: What Can We Do?”, an initiative aimed at doctoral students and young researchers engaged in the interdisciplinary study of peace, conflict transformation, and social coexistence.

Moving beyond the reductive view of peace as merely the “absence of war” or as an ideal abstraction, the conference aims to highlight its everyday, plural, fragile, and context-specific dimensions. The Ph.D. of National Interest was established precisely to train researchers capable of developing transformative ideas and actions for society. In an international context increasingly marked by global polycrises, an arms race, and the resurgence of conflicts, the world of research responds by placing scientific analysis and civic engagement at the center.

The conference aims to provide a space for discussion and exchange among young scholars from various disciplinary fields, promoting innovative and interdisciplinary approaches to the study of peace.

Speakers at the opening session include Rector Antonella Polimeni, the coordinators of the Network of Italian Universities for Peace, Enza Pellecchia and Marco Mascia, and the PhD program coordinator, Alessandro Saggioro.

The initiative is promoted and organized by the doctoral students of the 40th cycle of the DIN in collaboration with the Network of Italian Universities for Peace (RUniPace). The main objective is to reaffirm the active role of research in Peace Studies, proposing concrete solutions for the peaceful transformation of conflicts, the deconstruction of language of oppression, and the promotion of a lasting “positive peace.”