Peace and security | British Council

Strengthening UK Soft Power: Strategic Recommendations

Backed by 20 of the UK’s most influential independent organisations, the UK Soft Power Group’s new report outlines strategic recommendations to unlock the full potential of UK soft power.

Three male musicians with wooden instruments watched by a researcher

Music and Peacebuilding in Nigeria

Vashala Charles, a PhD student in cultural sustainability at the University of Maiduguri, Nigeria, discusses the role of music in peacebuilding among communities affected by Boko-Haram.

Part of an artist’s illustration representing themes discussed at the event ‘Insights from Non-Formal Education Initiatives for Youth-Led Change’ in December 2024.

Introducing three reports on Non-Formal Education for Youth-Led Change

New research explores the transformative potential of Non-Formal Education in empowering young people to drive meaningful social change.

Woman stacking sugar cubes into building-like structures, forming a small city on a tabletop.

Understanding Ukrainian young people’s current concerns, needs, and hopes: Looking ahead to a future rebuilding of Ukraine

Research examining how the war in Ukraine shapes young people’s everyday life and perceptions of the future.

National Kandawgyi gardens of pyin u lwin

Dynamics of 21st-century anti-coup resistance in Myanmar: triangle model of resistance in Myanmar

New Voices in Cultural Relations special commendation essay exploring the resistance movement against the military coup in Myanmar.

Environment engineer collects samples of wastewater from industrial canals in test tube

Navigating the chemical weapons taboo: Russia’s response to the OPCW investigations in Syria, 2013–2022

New Voices in Cultural Relations special commendation essay examining Russia’s response to investigations into the use of chemical weapons in Syria and the role of information warfare.

Coloniality, neo-orientalism, culture, and death: why it is time to move away from the ‘war on terror’ narrative

New Voices in Cultural Relations special commendation essay examining and challenging the narrative of the West’s ‘War on Terror’.

Three young women walk along a corridor in a university building in Sudan

Research in the midst of conflict: New perspectives on peacebuilding in Sudan and Ethiopia

New research from the Enabling University Peace Education (EUPE) project on conflict and peacebuilding in Sudan and Ethiopia.

Eurovision 2023 research. Culture, place and partnership: the cultural relations of Eurovision

United by music? Researching the role of Eurovision 2023 and mega-events in peace, place, shared values, cultural relations, and 'soft power'.
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Artwork on the side of a building of a woman holding a parrot

The recognition of divergent voices: The role of artistic expressions in shaping the conditions for a long-term positive peace

In this essay the authors make a powerful case for artistic expression as a means by which true peace can be achieved.