Selected Essays Announced in Peaceful Elections Essay “Un-Contest”  

We at the War Prevention Initiative (WPI) are pleased to announce that four essays on peaceful elections have been selected for publication.  

In June 2024, we launched a call for essays on peaceful elections. In anticipation of a contentious national election period in the United States, we were interested in exploring how we can ensure that elections remain peaceful and that all individuals feel safe expressing themselves politically, free from violence and threats of violence. We received nine submissions from six countries (United States, Romania, Kenya, South Africa, South Sudan, and Cote d’Ivoire). The four essays selected for publication include:   

  • Building Peace Midst Conflict: My Journey in South Sudan’s Path Towards Elections, Lona James Luduro Elia  
  • Votes, Voices, and the Far Right, Irina Alexandra Militaru 
  • Campaign Finance Reform: A Pathway to Peaceful Elections, Padmini Das  
  • Standing United in Wisconsin: Promoting Peaceful Election in a Contested State, Lisa Inks and Eli Kelling with Urban Rural Action 

These essays will be released weekly throughout October 2024 on the Peace Science Digest.  

The final essays were chosen by a selection committee composed of WPI team members and external reviewers.  

  • Maher Akremi, Creative Producer and Project Manager of Peace and Pen Foundry   
  • Soheila Comninos, Human Rights Philanthropy and Advocacy Expert   
  • Molly Wallace, Senior Contributing Editor, Peace Science Digest 
  • Adam Zikri, Program Associate, War Prevention Initiative of the Jubitz Family Foundation  
  • Patrick Hiller, Executive Director, War Prevention Initiative of the Jubitz Family Foundation  

A special thank you to Nonviolent Peaceforce for sponsoring this un-contest. We appreciate your support in widely promoting and sharing this work!