What is Peacebuilding, Really?

In this episode of The Peace Room, we ask a deceptively simple question: what is peacebuilding, really? Katarina Popović and Georgios Karagiorgos are joined by Professor Nemanja Džuverović (University of Belgrade / Northwestern University) to unpack critical peacebuilding, the political economy of peace, and what “building peace” looks like beyond buzzwords—especially in the Western Balkans.

Hosted by Katarina Popović and Georgios Karagiorgos

The Peace Room

This podcast enters the spaces where official diplomacy rarely looks — the contact zones built by ordinary people. We explore the micro-diplomacy, quiet negotiations, and community stitching that keep fragile societies standing. Each episode uncovers how peace is sustained from below. These are stories of unarmed voices, shared courage, and the everyday work of resilience. This is the world of grassroots peacebuilding, one conversation at a time.

About the guest:
Professor Nemanja Džuverović is a Peace Studies scholar at the University of Belgrade’s Faculty of Political Science and a visiting professor at Northwestern University. His work digs into critical peacebuilding, the political economy of peace, and how international “statebuilding” projects reshape societies in the Western Balkans. He is also co-editor of the Journal of Regional Security and co-director of the Master’s programme in Peace, Security and Development.

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