NIU’s College of Education and the University of Tetova, in the Republic of North Macedonia, have issued a call for book chapters that will anchor a new edited volume and international conference focused on peace as a transcultural, democratic practice.
The project is part of the growing collaboration between the NIU-Tetova Center for Peace and Transcultural Communications, a partnership linking the Western Balkans and the U.S. Midwest.
At a time marked by democratic backsliding, rising polarization and contested truths, the center aims to position peace not as an abstract aspiration but as a practical, community rooted approach to strengthening democratic life. The forthcoming volume will examine how global commitments such as human rights frameworks and international agreements are interpreted, challenged and enacted in local institutions, civic spaces and everyday interactions.
The editors encourage contributions that explore how language, narrative and inclusive participation shape democratic well-being across diverse cultural and political contexts. The project draws on NIU’s strengths in civic engagement and public service education and Tetova’s leadership in post conflict dialogue and municipal collaboration.
Themes for Contributors
The call invites all NIU faculty to engage with one or more of five major themes:
- Uniting Voices, Building Peace: Community participation, youth engagement, activism and bottom up democratic action.
- Community Participation, Public Discourse and Counter Narratives: Storytelling, public discourse, polarization and civic voice.
- From Global Agendas to Local Realities: Governance, institutional trust, accountability and policy translation.
- Building a Shared Civic Vocabulary: Education, civic learning, pedagogy and democratic competencies.
- Systems of Accountability and Democratic Evaluation: Metrics, indicators and community defined measures of peace and well-being.
Submission Details
Faculty can submit research chapters, conceptual frameworks, case based practice profiles, policy notes or teaching and training modules. Chapters can include up to three authors and should not exceed 15 pages.
Proposal submissions are due Sunday, Feb. 15, and should include a working title, author information, chapter outline and a brief explanation of how the chapter advances peace as a central concept. Full chapters are due Tuesday, March 31.
Proposals can be submitted online.
The editorial review board includes Vullnet Ameti and Donika Kamberi of the University of Tetova and Mary Earick, Patrick Roberts and Eric Junco of NIU’s College of Education.
Organizers say the book aims to build a shared vocabulary for peacebuilding across borders and to support scholars, practitioners and policymakers working in complex democratic environments.
