Research Spotlight Series: Fernando Chacon & Cornelius K. A. Pienaah

Dilemmas Before Justice: Postmemory of the Salvadoran Civil War Among Children of Ex-Military Combatants

Fernando Chacon, Master’s student, Psychology

More than thirty years after the formal end of the Salvadoran Armed Conflict (1980–92), national reconciliation remains elusive and claims for justice unfulfilled. This talk examines questions of postmemory among children of ex-military combatants, revealing tensions between family loyalty and public responsibility, but also an openness to increased dialogue and transitional justice measures that go beyond punishment.

Where Conflict Grows, Crops Don’t: Cropland Loss Amid Global Warfare

Cornelius K. A. Pienaah, PhD candidate, Geography and Environment

Current large-scale armed conflicts across the globe have resulted in significant agricultural disruption, particularly through cropland loss, causing heightened food insecurity, rising prices, and increased reliance on humanitarian aid. This talk synthesizes reports to highlight the implications of this decline, emphasizing the urgent need for global coordination to protect agricultural systems and implement conflict-sensitive food security strategies.