This fourth issue of International Transitions opens with a strong and timely plea by Piotr Jednaszewski, Director of the St. Mary’s Institute in Ireland and PhD in Education, advocating for the integration of peace education into school and university curricula. In a world witnessing a troubling surge in armed conflicts — with their number having doubled over the past five years according to ACLED (Armed Conflict Location & Event Data) — this proposal resonates with particular urgency. Today, fifty countries are affected, and one in eight people worldwide has been directly or indirectly exposed to war, amounting to 12.5% of the global population. While Western Europe had long remained relatively untouched, recent conflicts in Georgia, the Balkans, and more recently Ukraine remind us that peace is fragile. In such a context, education can no longer remain neutral. It must become a lever for awareness, prevention, and action.
Extending this reflection on transformative dynamics, this issue examines one of the fundamental tensions at the heart of any transition: resistance to change. Widely documented in sociology, psychology, and management sciences, this resistance takes many forms. It may be rational, reflecting a desire to safeguard existing assets, or irrational, driven by fear, cognitive biases, or deep-seated emotions. Whether individual or collective, resistance is a central phenomenon for understanding contemporary social, technological, and organizational transformations.