Wicked Problems: The Ethics of Action for Peace, Rights, and Justice

Ethical action requires more than a catch-phrase. While a generation of changemakers and peacebuilders have set out to Be the Change!, a thousand cautionary tales from the frontlines of social, economic, climate, and racial justice work suggest that deep ethical dilemmas don't always have easily actionable answers. Drawing on the lived experiences and real expertise of activists, educators, and researchers, Wicked Problems explores how doing the work--around the world and in one's own community--often requires tough decisions: between peace and justice, revolution and reform, violence and nonviolence, and between means and ends.

Austin Choi-Fitzpatrick is University Professor at the University of San Diego's Kroc School of Peace Studies. Austin's teaching, scholarship, and public engagement lies at the intersection of social movements, human rights, and new technology. He is the author of What Slaveholders Think and The Good Drone, and has written articles in Slate, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, The Conversation, MIT Reader, Medium, and Aeon. His commentary on current events includes appearances on BBC and Fox News, and his work on drones has been profiled in Science and Fast Company and by NBC, among others.

Douglas Irvin-Erickson is Assistant Professor at the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, George Mason University. He is the author of Raphaël Lemkin and the Concept of Genocide, and many articles on human rights, international criminal law and legal history, genocide, and peace. Irvin-Erickson directs the Raphaël Lemkin Genocide Prevention Program at the Carter School, is a Senior Fellow with the Alliance for Peacebuilding, a Board Member of the Institute for the Study of Genocide, and a member of the editorial board of Genocide Studies and Prevention. He lectures widely and works with governments, international organizations, and NGOs around the world.

Ernesto Verdeja is Associate Professor of Political Science and Peace Studies at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame. He researches contemporary genocide and mass atrocities, and political justice and reconciliation after violence. He has worked for a variety of human rights organizations and is the Executive Director of the non-profit Institute for the Study of Genocide. Ernesto regularly consults with governments and non-governmental organizations on mass atrocity prevention and reconciliation efforts.