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RISE TO PEACEThe way of the word over the way of the gun Donate

research · 2006–2010s

Learning How Violence Recruits People

Years of mission support, threat analysis, rule-of-law and counterterrorism environments gave Shah a close view of how violence is organized—and why people are pulled toward it. That experience later shaped Rise to Peace’s emphasis on recruitment, grievance, identity, misinformation and prevention rather than treating terrorism as one nationality, religion or battlefield.

The story

What happened—and what it changed.

Kabul became a classroom beyond school. Languages, technology, public service and daily contact with people from many backgrounds widened what seemed possible—and exposed the distance between decisions made about conflict and the lives shaped by them.