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Dr. Tatsushi ("Tats") Arai (о®Á¢Ö¾) is an Associate Professor at Kent State University¡¯s School of Peace and Conflict Studies. He is a peace researcher and conflict resolution practitioner with twenty-five years of international experience. Dr. Arai has led or co-led conflict resolution initiatives in over twenty countries across the Asia-Pacific, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East.

Prior to joining Kent State in 2019, Dr. Arai served as a United Nations Senior Mediation Adviser on a when-actually-employed basis and held the Sergio Vieira de Mello Endowed Visiting Chair in the Practice of Post-Conflict Diplomacy at Seton Hall University in New Jersey. He began his teaching career in 1997¨C1998, when he lived in Rwanda in the aftermath of the genocide and served as a lecturer in international relations at the National University of Rwanda. In 2006, he joined the School for International Training (SIT) Graduate Institute in Vermont as a faculty member and trainer, specializing in peacebuilding and conflict transformation, including through SIT¡¯s Kathmandu-based South Asia Peacebuilding Training Program. He earned his Ph.D. from George Mason University¡¯s Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution (formerly S-CAR/ICAR) in 2005 and received the school¡¯s Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2015.

Research

Dr. Arai¡¯s research focuses broadly on peacebuilding, reconciliation, and multi-track diplomacy, engaging both government and civil society actors. He is especially committed to transforming large-scale, intractable conflicts through sustained strategic engagement and broad-based, inclusive partnerships. He is currently writing a book on mediative practice, which explores how conflict parties, stakeholders, and interveners can foster a web of intermediary relationships across social divides. The book draws upon his practitioner experiences in Nigeria, Syria, Myanmar, and Taiwan¨CMainland China¨CU.S. relations. Dr. Arai is also conducting research on Global Challenges and Contextual Transformation, examining how emerging technological and socio-economic shifts¡ªsuch as artificial intelligence, bioengineering, and the global transition to renewable energy¡ªare likely to alter the foundational assumptions and contexts of peacebuilding and conflict transformation (). He serves on the editorial board of and hosts the YouTube channel .

Practice

In terms of applied peacemaking practice, Dr. Arai regularly serves as a mediator, dialogue facilitator, trainer, coach, mentor, and designer of systemic social change processes in diverse conflict-affected countries and regions, mostly upon invitation. Illustrative examples of his recent and/or ongoing peacemaking practice include:

• (2005¨Cpresent): Co-leads a nonpartisan, multinational dialogue movement for peacemaking across the Taiwan Strait, regularly facilitates Interactive Conflict Resolution (ICR) workshops, and helped develop the growing network of 1,200 emerging civil society leaders from both sides of the Strait, as well as from the United States and Japan ().

• Burma Initiative (2013¨Cpresent): Organized 27 peacebuilding workshops for 580 members of Burmese civil society, including political party leaders, influential religious figures, youth activists, and women leaders in Rakhine, Shan, Mandalay, Yangon, and other regions (). Actively contributed to the development of UNESCO Myanmar¡¯s peace education guides and curriculum, as well as Burmese civil society organizations and networks.

• Demobilization, Reintegration, and Reconciliation in Northeastern Nigeria (2016¨C2018): As a consultant for a UN agency, co-led the establishment of the pioneering Muslim¨CChristian, multi-ethnic reconciliation committee in Gwoza, Borno State¡ªthe former heartland of Boko Haram¡¯s armed insurgency (). This model of broad-based community-led mobilization has since been adapted and replicated in eight additional townships across Northeastern Nigeria.

• Mediation Training in Syria and Lebanon (2014¨C2018): As a consultant for a UN agency, conducted six workshops for Syrian and Lebanese professionals in humanitarian assistance and psychosocial support. Participants included staff from government ministries, international organizations, NGOs, and civil society networks serving populations affected by the war in Syria ().

• Capacity Building for Diplomats from the Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) (2018¨C2022): Delivered three training courses on mediation and conflict resolution in Turkey for diplomats from OIC member states.

Additionally, Dr. Arai has undertaken multi-year peacebuilding initiatives in Burkina Faso, , Oman, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Singapore, , Afghanistan, and in Japan¨CChina relations (East China Sea), among other contexts. He is currently building new initiatives in Bangladesh (transitional justice, democratic transition) and Israel¨CPalestine relations (action research on intra-national dialogue and platform development). 

Dr. Arai lives with his tri-national family in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. He speaks English and Japanese and has functional competency in French.

Books

• Arai, T. and M. Tadevosyan, eds. 2025. . London: Routledge. (Open access publication; )
• Arai, T, S. Goto, and Z. Wang, eds. 2015. . Washington DC: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
• Arai, T., S. Goto, and Z. Wang, eds. 2013. . Washington DC: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
• Arai, T. 2009. . London: Routledge. (Paperback 2012; .)
• LeBaron, M. and V. Pillay (as lead authors), and T. Arai, N. Carstarphen, and K. Bhangoo. 2006. Conflict across Cultures: A Unique Experience of Bridging Differences. Boston: Intercultural Press. (.)

Selected Peer-reviewed Journal Articles and Book Chapters

• Arai, T. 2023. . Negotiation Journal. January.
• Arai, T. 2022. . Peace and Change 47: 1-34.
• Arai, T. 2021. Conflict Resolution and Historical reconciliation in East Asia: Lessons from China-Taiwan Civil Society Dialogues. In: Development in Reconciliation Studies: Memories, Emotions, and Values ¨C Series for the Development in Reconciliation Studies 1: Principles and Methods, ed. Toyomi Asano. Tokyo: Akashi Shoten Publisher. (In Japanese; )
• Arai, T and J.B. Niyonzima. 2019. . Peace and Conflict Studies 26 (2).  [Action research in Rwanda]
• Arai, T. 2019. . Journal of Peacebuilding and Development 14 (3). 
• Arai, T. 2017. . Peace and Conflict Studies 24 (2). [Action research in Myanmar]
• Arai, T., E. Babbitt, K. P. Clements, S. Lodgaard, and C. Satha-Anand. 2017. . In Risk and Uncertainty: Understanding and Dialogue in the 21st Century, edited by K.P. Clements and O. Urbain. London: Routledge.
• Arai, T. 2015. . Peace and Conflict Studies 22 (1). 
• Arai, T. 2015. . Conflict Resolution Quarterly 32 (3). 
• Arai, T. 2012. . Journal of Peacebuilding and Development 7 (1). 

Selected Policy Proposals, Editorials, and Other Publications for Public Scholarship

• Arai, T. 2022. . Transcend Media Service. June 20. [Ukraine, Russia, Finland, and Sweden]
• Arai, T. 2022. . Policy brief. January 2022. (In French and English.)
• Arai, T. 2018. . Conflict Trends 1.
• Arai, T. 2017. . Conflict Trends 1.
• Arai, T. 2017. . The Kathmandu Post. February 20. [Nepal]
• Arai, T. 2016. . Japanese Journal of European Studies 4.
• Arai, T. 2015. . Transcend Media Service March 9.
• Arai, T. 2012. . Conflict Trends 4. 

Illustrative Examples of Commissioned Reports and Training Guides

• Arai, T, M. Ragueneau, and G. Schinina. 2019. Integration of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Conflict Transformation and Mediation. Chapter in . International Organization for Migration (IOM), Geneva. (Served as an IOM scientific committee for the production of the manual.)
• United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), with T. Arai as the principal author. 2018. Enacting a Culture of Peace: Adult Learners¡¯ Guide to Peace Education in Myanmar. Yangon, Myanmar: UNESCO Myanmar. (In Burmese; .)
• Arai, T. 2018. Demobilization, Dissociation, Reintegration, and Reconciliation in Northeastern Nigeria: Findings from the Field Research and Capacity-Building Activities. Report for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) - a UN migration agency.
• Arai, T. 2017. . Yangon, Myanmar: Peaceful Myanmar Initiatives. Commissioned by the King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Center for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID), Vienna. 

A number of other training guides have been translated into Hausa, Arabic, Burmese, and other languages, and have been used in capacity-building workshops in the field.

Selected Media and Social Media Appearances

• TED Talk ¨C . University of California, San Diego, June 20, 2014.
• Webinar ¨C . Kent State University, December 14, 2023.
• Webinar ¨C . International Studies Association (ISA) Book Launch Webinar, January 31, 2025.
• Podcast ¨C . Social Change Career Podcast Interview with T. Arai. Fall 2018.
• Podcast ¨C , December 23, 2024.
• Seminar ¨C The George Washington University. November 2, 2023.
• Keynote ¨C . Inaugural Peace and Conflict Studies Journal Conference, sponsored by Nova Southeastern University, Florida, February 10, 2021.

A request for a PDF version of any publication not listed above, as well as any inquiries regarding peacebuilding practice, peace processes, or policy support, may be directed to tarai@kent.edu.