Norbert Koppensteiner

Norbert Koppensteiner is an Associate Teaching Professor of Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs and serves as the Director of the International Peace Studies Major for the Master of Global Affairs program. He is based at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies.

Education:

• PhD in Philosophy / Peace Studies, European Graduate School (Saas-Fee, Switzerland), 2009
• MA in Peace Studies, University of Innsbruck (Austria)
• MPhil in Political Science, University of Innsbruck (Austria)

Research Focus: Koppensteiner’s work centers on arts-based peacebuilding, qualitative peace research methodologies, and elicitive conflict transformation. He integrates embodied practices—such as dance, theater, and breath work—into facilitation processes, exploring how somatic knowing can deepen peacebuilding practice and pedagogy. His scholarship interrogates cultures of peace and innovative didactic approaches that foreground vulnerability and relationality.

His recent publications articulate a transrational peace research paradigm that positions the self as a primary resource for transformation, blending methodological rigor with artistic and experiential dimensions.

Publications & Contributions:

• Author, Transrational Peace Research and Elicitive Facilitation (2020)
• Author, The Art of the Transpersonal Self (2009)
• Co-editor, Palgrave International Handbook of Peace Studies: A Cultural Perspective (2011, 2014)

Teaching & Advising: Koppensteiner teaches graduate and undergraduate courses including Embodied Knowing in Peace and Conflict Transformation, Developing a Peacebuilding Practice, International Peace Studies Capstone Seminar, and Peace Research Methods at the PhD level. He has previously coordinated the MA program in Peace Studies at the University of Innsbruck and has extensive global experience as a guest lecturer and freelance facilitator.

Labs & Teams: While no specific lab is mentioned, his leadership of the International Peace Studies Major within the Master of Global Affairs program positions him at the nexus of interdisciplinary research teams and student cohorts dedicated to innovative peacebuilding practice.