Why Rise to Peace Exists

For me, terrorism was personal long before it became professional. I grew up in Afghanistan around war, and later, education and technology opened a much larger world to me. I met people from different countries, cultures, and backgrounds, and I learned something simple: the world looks very different depending on where you are standing. That idea stayed with me and eventually became part of the reason I created Rise to Peace.

I did not start Rise to Peace because I believed I had all the answers. I still do not. Terrorism, radicalization, war, and peace are complicated. There is rarely one explanation, one policy, or one expert who understands the whole picture. That is why Rise to Peace has always been about bringing different people into the same conversation and learning from one another.

Over the years, students, researchers, professionals, writers, and advisers from different parts of the world have joined this network. Some understand terrorism and national security. Others bring knowledge of technology, psychology, politics, education, or particular countries and communities. A researcher in Washington may see a problem differently from someone in Kabul. A student studying online extremism may notice something an experienced security professional misses. Those differences make the work stronger.

Rise to Peace began with a focus on terrorism, extremism, conflict, research, and peace, and those issues remain important to us. But I do not want this organization to become a place that only talks about terrorists. If we want to understand violence, we also have to understand education, technology, identity, history, community, grievance, opportunity, and belonging. We have to study what happens before violence, not only what happens afterward.

That matters even more today because the threat is changing. Young people can enter violent online communities without leaving their homes. Extremist ideas, criminal networks, conspiracy theories, hate, nihilism, and personal grievances can mix together in ways that do not fit the old categories. At the same time, the same technology that spreads propaganda can also connect people, share knowledge, and allow a student in one country to learn directly from someone living through events in another.

One of the parts of Rise to Peace that matters most to me is our Fellowship. People come to us at different stages of their lives. They research, write, learn, make mistakes, receive feedback, and work with people they might never have met otherwise. I do not want the Fellowship to become just another line on a résumé. It should be a place where people learn, contribute, challenge ideas respectfully, and grow through the experience.

We are also not here to tell people what to believe politically. Rise to Peace is independent and nonpartisan. Disagreement is not extremism, criticism of a government is not terrorism, and religion or political belief alone does not make someone violent. Our responsibility is to follow the evidence, understand violence and radicalization honestly, and be willing to question policies and assumptions when they do not work.

A phrase has stayed with me from the beginning: the way of the word over the way of the gun. It does not mean security or law enforcement are unnecessary. It means force alone cannot solve the ideas, grievances, fear, hatred, manipulation, or conditions that can lead people toward violence. Prevention also requires education, research, good policy, strong communities, and people willing to listen before deciding they already understand someone else.

So this first article is simply a welcome. Whether you are a student, researcher, educator, journalist, policymaker, practitioner, or someone who wants to understand these issues better, there is a place for your perspective. Bring what you know, be willing to admit what you do not know, and be open to learning from someone whose experience is different from yours.

That is the kind of global network I want Rise to Peace to continue building: a place where people can learn, connect, and help bridge some of the divides that make violence easier and understanding harder.

That is why Rise to Peace exists.