Dr. Julia Palmiano Federer

Dr. Julia Palmiano Federer is a Senior Researcher at the Center for Security Studies (CSS) at ETH Zürich, where she is leading a book project on process design for peace mediation as part of the CSS Mediation and Peace Promotion Cluster.

Her research interests center around innovative and critical approaches to peace mediation and conflict resolution, including the role of norms in peace mediation, the role of nongovernmental organizations producing knowledge and expertise on peacemaking, the impact of Track Two (unofficial dialogues) on questions of inclusion and effectiveness, and Indigenous and non-Indigenous ethical knowledge exchange on mediation and peacemaking. Her work can be found in journals in conflict resolution and mediation, such as International Journal, Negotiation Journal, Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, and Politics and Governance. She is the author of the book, NGOs Mediating Peace: Promoting Inclusion in Myanmar’s Ceasefire Negotiations, published in Open Access format with Palgrave Macmillan. She has also published several policy papers related to gender and peace negotiations, gender norms and mediation and women’s inclusion in the Myanmar ceasefire negotiations from 2011-2015.

Before joining the CSS, she was the Head of Research at the Ottawa Dialogue at the University of Ottawa, and organization focused on the research and practice of Track Two peacemaking. She has also taught in academic and policy institutions in Europe (Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Belgium); Turtle Island (Canada and the United States); Southeast Asia (Myanmar and Thailand). She is an active member of several institutions, organizations and networks of the peace mediation community of policy and practice, including the Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Collaboratory at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership, the Geneva Center for Security Policy, swisspeace, the Swiss Women in Peace Processes Network, and the Folke Bernadotte International Research Working Groups. She is also a member of several research groups dedicated to supporting and empowering self-identifying women and women of colour researching peace and conflict.

She was born in Manila, Philippines, and raised on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations (Vancouver).

Selected publications

Palmiano Federer, Julia. (2024) “Track Two Overloaded? Researching Track Two Dialogues as a Vehicle for Inclusive Peace.” International Negotiation (published online ahead of print 2024). external page https://doi.org/10.1163/15718069-bja10101

Palmiano Federer, Julia. (2024). Exclusionary Inclusion: The Unforeseen Consequences of Norm Promotion in Myanmar’s Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement Process. Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, 1–20. external page https://doi.org/10.1080/17502977.2024.2362000

external page Palmiano Federer, Julia. NGOs Mediating Peace: Promoting Inclusion in Myanmar’s Ceasefire Negotiations. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. 

Palmiano Federer, Julia. (2021). “Cowboy or Mavericks? The Normative Agency of NGO Mediators,” In: Rethinking Peace Mediation, Catherine Turner and Martin Wählisch (eds.), Bristol: Bristol University Press.

external page Bharwani, Aleem, Palmiano Federer, Julia, and Latour, Jack. (2022). "Healing Dialogue: Can the techniques and practices of Track Two Diplomacy play a role in resolving public health conflicts?" International Journal, 77(2), 313–334. DOI: 10.1177/00207020221135364

external page Palmiano Federer, Julia. (2022). “The Politics of Proscription and Peacemaking: Theoretical and Practical Implications of Labelling Armed Groups as Terrorists and Extremists.” Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding. 17(2), 207-213, DOI: 10.1080/17502977.2022.2107361

Palmiano Federer, Julia. (2021). “Towards a Normative Turn in Track Two Diplomacy? A Review of the Literature,” Negotiation Journal 37(4): 427-450. DOI: 10.1111/nejo.12376.

external page Pring, Jamie and Julia Palmiano Federer. (2020). “The Normative Agency of Regional Organizations and Nongovernmental Organizations in International Peace Mediation,” Swiss Political Science Review, 26:4, 429-448. DOI: 10.1111/spsr.12426.

Kraus, Anne Isabel, Owen Frazer, Lars Kirchhoff, Tatiana Kyselova, Simon J.A. Mason and Julia Palmiano Federer. (2019). “Dilemmas and Trade-Offs in Peacemaking: A Framework for Navigating Difficult Decisions,” Politics and Governance, 7:4, 331-342, DOI: 10.17645/pag.v7i4.2234.

external page Palmiano Federer, Julia. (2019). “We do negotiate with terrorists: navigating liberal and illiberal norms in peace mediation,” Critical Studies on Terrorism, 12:1, 19-39, DOI: 10.1080/17539153.2018.1472727.

Palmiano Federer, Julia, Julia Pickhardt, Philipp Lustenberger, Christian Altpeter, Katrina Abatis. (2020). Beyond the Tracks? Reflections on Multitrack Approaches to Peace Processes. Zurich: swisspeace, Folke Bernadotte Academy, Center for Security Studies ETH Zurich, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue.

Hellmüller, Sara, Julia Palmiano Federer and Mathias Zeller. (2015). The Role of Norms in International Peace Mediation. Bern: swisspeace and the Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Centre.