Exchanges and peacemaking: Counterfactuals and unexplored possibilities

Abstract

We may expect international exchange programs to contribute to peaceful international relations, but how strong is the evidence that they actually do? In addition to the intercultural education discussed elsewhere in this volume, this chapter offers a classification of mechanisms by which exchanges might contribute to peace into four categories-signaling, attitude change, network formation and institutional transfer-and assesses the evidence that exchanges affect international relations through each of these mechanisms. Despite considerable research, there are still important gaps in the evidence, and these gaps may have significant consequences for how we organize exchanges and what kinds of mobility we support.