By: Hafid Abbas
Director, Center for Global Peace and Conflict Resolution, Hasanuddin University
The twenty-first century is confronting humanity with challenges that no single nation can solve alone. Geopolitical rivalry, climate change, maritime disputes, forced migration, violent extremism, cyber insecurity, pandemics, and deepening social polarization are increasingly interconnected. These are not merely security issues or development challenges in isolation; they are fundamentally questions of peace, human security, and sustainability. The world therefore requires institutions capable of understanding these challenges in an integrated manner while generating practical solutions that bridge scholarship, public policy, and international cooperation.
Indonesia needs a new generation of such institutions. This is the rationale behind the establishment of the Center for Global Peace and Conflict Resolution (CGPCR) at Hasanuddin University’s (UNHAS) Petojo Campus in Jakarta—an initiative dedicated to connecting peace, human security, and sustainability through interdisciplinary research, transformative education, policy innovation, executive training, and strategic partnerships.
The Center is founded on a simple yet profound conviction: peace is not merely the absence of war. Peace is created through justice, human dignity, resilient institutions, environmental stewardship, inclusive economic development, democratic governance, and mutual trust among communities. Lasting peace cannot exist where people remain vulnerable to poverty, inequality, discrimination, environmental degradation, or exclusion. Likewise, sustainable development cannot be achieved without peaceful societies, while human security cannot flourish without both peace and sustainability.
These three pillars—peace, human security, and sustainability—must therefore be understood as mutually reinforcing rather than separate policy agendas. This integrated perspective reflects the realities facing Indonesia, ASEAN, and the wider Indo-Pacific. Climate change affects food, water, and energy security. Maritime competition influences regional stability and international trade. Digital misinformation weakens social cohesion and democratic resilience. Population displacement creates humanitarian and development challenges. Economic inequality fuels social unrest, while geopolitical competition increasingly intersects with technological innovation and environmental governance. Every one of these issues transcends disciplinary and national boundaries, demanding collaborative rather than fragmented responses.
CGPCR seeks to become a platform where these complex challenges are examined holistically. Through interdisciplinary research, policy dialogue, leadership development, executive education, and partnerships with governments, universities, international organizations, think tanks, and civil society, the Center aims to translate knowledge into practical solutions that strengthen peaceful, resilient, and inclusive societies.
Beyond its academic mission, the Center also carries an important strategic national purpose. It seeks to advance Indonesia’s geopolitical, socio-economic, political, and cultural leadership at both regional and global levels. Indonesia occupies a unique position in the international community. It is the largest member of ASEAN in terms of population, economic size, and geographical reach. Home to more than 288 million people spread across one of the world’s largest archipelagos, Indonesia sits at the strategic crossroads of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, making stability in Indonesia inseparable from stability in Southeast Asia.
Indonesia is also the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, demonstrating that Islam, democracy, pluralism, and constitutional governance can coexist within a vibrant multicultural society. This experience provides Indonesia with important soft power and moral credibility in promoting dialogue among civilizations, religious moderation, tolerance, and peaceful coexistence. At the same time, Indonesia remains one of the founding members of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), whose 118 member states continue to represent a significant voice of the Global South. In an era of renewed great- power rivalry, Indonesia’s long-standing commitment to an independent and active (bebas aktif) foreign policy positions the country as a trusted bridge-builder capable of promoting dialogue rather than confrontation. The Center aspires to provide the intellectual foundation that strengthens these strategic national roles through research, policy recommendations, diplomacy, and international partnerships.
Indonesia itself possesses valuable experiences that deserve greater international recognition. The peaceful resolution of the Aceh conflict through the 2005 Helsinki Peace Agreement, together with reconciliation efforts in Poso, Ambon, and other regions, demonstrates that dialogue, mediation, inclusive leadership, and sustained political commitment can transform violent conflict into lasting peace. These experiences have earned Indonesia international credibility in peacebuilding, preventive diplomacy, and post-conflict recovery, offering lessons that are increasingly relevant for societies experiencing polarization and protracted conflict.
UNHAS has long been associated with this tradition of peace and reconciliation. In 2005, the University conferred an Honorary Doctorate upon Nelson Mandela in recognition of his extraordinary commitment to reconciliation, democracy, justice, forgiveness, and human dignity. Mandela’s enduring legacy continues to inspire the University’s commitment to educating future leaders who choose dialogue over violence, inclusion over division, and cooperation over confrontation.
The Center also draws inspiration from distinguished Indonesian figures associated with Hasanuddin University, including Jusuf Kalla, whose leadership and mediation contributed significantly to peace in Aceh, Poso, and Ambon; Hamid Awaluddin, a principal negotiator of the Helsinki Peace Agreement; Farid Husein, whose lifelong dedication to dialogue strengthened national reconciliation; and numerous scholars whose research has advanced conflict resolution, community empowerment, human rights, and inclusive development. Their collective experiences demonstrate an enduring lesson: sustainable peace cannot be achieved through military or political solutions alone. It requires trust, empathy, credible institutions, quality education, economic opportunity, and long-term engagement among all stakeholders.
The Center’s vision is therefore simultaneously national, regional, and global. It seeks to become a leading center of excellence advancing peacebuilding, conflict resolution, human security, and sustainable development across Indonesia, ASEAN, the Indo- Pacific, and the wider international community. It will connect local wisdom with global knowledge, academic excellence with public policy, and rigorous research with practical action. Equally important, it aims to nurture a new generation of leaders equipped with interdisciplinary perspectives and capable of addressing increasingly complex global challenges.
This ambition is particularly timely as Indonesia assumes an increasingly influential role in regional and global affairs. As one of the world’s largest democracies, the largest economy in Southeast Asia, and an active participant in the G20, ASEAN, the United Nations, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the Non-Aligned Movement, Indonesia is uniquely positioned to contribute innovative ideas for conflict prevention, human security, sustainable development, and international cooperation. Universities must become strategic partners in this endeavour by serving not merely as centers of learning, but as centers of policy innovation, peace diplomacy, and intellectual leadership.
The establishment of the Center for Global Peace and Conflict Resolution is therefore far more than the creation of another academic institution. It is an investment in Indonesia’s future leadership and global contribution. It reflects the conviction that the world’s most pressing challenges can only be addressed by connecting disciplines, sectors, institutions, cultures, and nations around a shared commitment to peace, human security, and sustainable development.
The true measure of a nation’s greatness is not only the strength of its economy or the reach of its diplomacy, but its capacity to transform wisdom into peace, justice into human security, and diversity into a shared future.” Guided by this conviction, the Center for Global Peace and Conflict Resolution seeks to position Hasanuddin University as a bridge between Indonesia and the world—where scholarship becomes diplomacy, dialogue becomes reconciliation, and hope becomes public policy. In doing so, the Center embraces a simple yet enduring mission: to leave future generations not merely a more prosperous world, but a more peaceful one.
