Abstract
In the face of widespread global conflict, this paper explores emergent work on empathic design for peace. We draw on award-winning theory and practice within peace studies and previous work on empathic design to develop a theoretical framework for the practical application of design methods, and illustrate this framework by showing how an analysis of a novel—in this paper, Milkman by Anna Burns (2018)—can lead to a multi-scalar approach to civil society-led peacebuilding which can inform future public sector and policy design work. We view this as a form of ‘literary design fiction’—that can harness the positional difference of conflict adversaries found in literary fiction—which can be applied to processes of designing and which can shape peacebuilding efforts in conflict and post-conflict zones.
Keywords
peace studies; civil society; empathic design; literary design fiction
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1230
Citation
Ely, P., Koskinen, I., McNulty, S., and Dixon, B. (2026) Designing hope: Civil society, empathy and peace, or avoiding World War III, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1230
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Included in
Designing hope: Civil society, empathy and peace, or avoiding World War III
In the face of widespread global conflict, this paper explores emergent work on empathic design for peace. We draw on award-winning theory and practice within peace studies and previous work on empathic design to develop a theoretical framework for the practical application of design methods, and illustrate this framework by showing how an analysis of a novel—in this paper, Milkman by Anna Burns (2018)—can lead to a multi-scalar approach to civil society-led peacebuilding which can inform future public sector and policy design work. We view this as a form of ‘literary design fiction’—that can harness the positional difference of conflict adversaries found in literary fiction—which can be applied to processes of designing and which can shape peacebuilding efforts in conflict and post-conflict zones.