by Dr Stefano Intropido

Introduction

'Peace be with you all!' These were the words with which Pope Leo XIV introduced himself to the Church and the World from St Peter’s central loggia on the day of his election, on 8th May 2025. The same greeting of the Risen Christ: 'Peace be with you' (John 20:19). As we draw nearer to Easter, these words resound ever more pertinent, and urgent. The new pontiff repeatedly invoked 'an unarmoured and disarming peace' in the face of increasing violence across the globe. But what do 'war' and 'peace' mean? Do we all understand them in the same way?

With interstate conflicts on the rise, it is useful to remember that peacebuilding is never merely a technical exercise. It is a profound ethical and dynamic process grounded in how human beings understand one another, make sense of reality, and imagine a shared future. Peace and Conflict Studies have long examined how conflicts are resolved, managed, or transformed. Yet while culture is often acknowledged as a factor in ethnic and intrastate conflicts, the linguistic and intercultural dimensions of how parties understand ‘conflict’ and ‘peace’ remain underexplored. Because language and culture are inseparable, especially in intercultural mediation, this essay argues that language is a decisive mediating factor shaping shared understandings of conflict, and of resolution.

Stefano Intropido is a political scientist and humanitarian scholar whose research bridges academia, policy, and practice. He holds a PhD in Politics and International Relations (Religion & Humanitarianism) from the University of Glasgow and an MPhil (International Peace Studies) from Trinity College Dublin. He researches religious aid networks, the Holy See in global politics, and forced migration. He served as Assistant to the Head of Global Advocacy at Jesuit Refugee Service International Office and has published peer-reviewed articles in politics and public policy. His contributions have appeared on Avvenire, La Croix, Nuova Rivista Storica, Open Research Europe, the Scottish Council on Global Affairs, and Oxford University Press. Fluent in English, Italian, French, and Spanish, Stefano has conducted fieldwork in Rome and in the Vatican and has collaborated with leading UK and European universities, research centres, and faith-based networks. Dr Intropido is member of the Refugees & Migrants in Our Common Home: Mobilizing Academic Communities for Action project and regular contributor to the Emerging Scholars Forum of the Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church network.

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