Why It Worked: Research-Backed Strategies for Transforming Conflict
How can societies rebuild after decades of violent conflict?
What strategies help create lasting peace in even the most fractured regions?
The world is currently experiencing more armed conflicts than at any time since World War II. To address this, we must urgently apply research-backed peacebuilding strategies that drive real, sustainable change.
The Propeller Framework for Conflict Transformation, developed by NCRC, ensures that peace processes stay on track—even when one element stalls—by helping provide tools and strategies to overcome obstacles. Our toolkit and trainings equip leaders with diagnostic tools, evidence-based strategies, and case studies to identify the root causes of conflict and design effective, locally driven interventions. We provide insights and strategies to inform and enhance peace-building efforts in conflict zones and enhance systems, change, and leadership analysis efforts worldwide, rooted in our pioneering research project: Why It Worked.
View 1-Page Overview: Propel Sustainable Peace
Why It Worked is a pioneering global initiative that distills key lessons from the world’s most intractable conflicts over the past 70 years, offering insights into what drives successful peace transitions. By identifying the shared patterns behind successful transitions from violence to peace, we equip leaders with proven tools for conflict resolution. Since 1946, over 300 conflicts have erupted worldwide, yet only about 70 have been resolved through comprehensive peace agreements—and even fewer have remained free from violence. Understanding what makes these rare successes possible is at the heart of our work. With a focus on seemingly-intractable conflicts – those that are protracted, asymmetric, and ethnonational – uncovering strategies that have led to lasting peace in even the most deeply divided societies. These conflicts studied lasted more than 20 years (protracted), had significant power disparities between the involved parties (asymmetric), and rooted in ethnic or nationalistic tensions (ethnonational).
The Why It Worked initiative brought together five leading global universities to research conflict through interdisciplinary frameworks:
Land and Resources, University of Delaware
How do parties in conflict relate to their natural environment?
Identity and Religion, George Mason University
How do parties in conflict see themselves and one another?
Power and Leadership, Harvard University
How do parties in conflict relate to, lead, and engage with others?
Track II Negotiations, University of Ottawa
How did informal and less formal spaces contribute to the peace process?
Process and Negotiation, Uppsala University
How do parties in conflict build a sustainable peace?
This Spring 2025, the Why It Worked research will be made available in a forthcoming Special Issue of Negotiation Journal published by the MIT Press, in collaboration with the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School.
NCRC is focused on building on this foundation, to bring The Propeller Framework and Why It Worked body of research to create, convene, and equip local leadership capacity.
View the Why It Worked Research Overview
 | CREATEDevelop practical tools like The Propeller Framework to apply research, diagnose conflict systems, and design scalable interventions.
CONVENEFacilitate global convenings and train peacebuilders through targeted workshops, conferences, and symposia, which foster shared understanding and drive collaboration.
EQUIPHost workshops, seminars, and interactive forums to equip students and leaders with tools and knowledge to address the root causes of conflict and implement sustainable solutions. |
Ready to make an impact? Join us in applying decades of research to real-world peacebuilding efforts and create tailored, impactful solutions that drive lasting peace. Contact Elan Kogutt, Senior Fellow to discover how you can contribute to sustainable peacebuilding efforts around the globe.
Why It Worked was devised and funded by Bridging Insights, Inc. and designed and led by Harvard Kennedy School’s Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Collaboratory. Bridging Insights, Inc. is a registered nonprofit organization seeking to build a research-based model for conflict resolution to provide new ideas, paradigms, and methods of engagement applicable to practitioners in diverse conflicted areas.
Research Teams
Project Lead: Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Collaboratory, CPL, Harvard Kennedy School
Monica Giannone, Brian Mandell, Elan Kogutt, Anselm Dannecker, Tala Ram-Rainsford, Javier Muñoz
Department of Geography and Spatial Sciences, University of Delaware
Saleem H. Ali, Nancy Boyer, Gabriela Mundaca, Lynette de Silva
Carter School, George Mason University
Alpaslan Ozerdem, Marc Gopin, Karina V. Korostelina, Jeffrey Helsing
Negotiation Task Force, Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University
Arvid Bell, Warisha Aslam
Ottawa Dialogue, University of Ottawa
Peter Jones, Julia Palmiano Federer
Uppsala University
Isak Svensson, Mimmi Soderberg Kovacs