BY NATHAN COYLE / ON 2 JULY, 2025
PeaceTech may sound like the kind of term that belongs in a think tank or tech incubator — but at its core, it’s about something very simple: using digital tools to support peace.
Whether you’re a policymaker, a peacebuilder, a technologist, or just someone curious about the intersection of tech and global affairs, this blog is your starting point.
PeaceTech refers to the use of digital tools and technologies — such as mobile applications, data platforms, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and secure communication systems — to prevent conflict, support peacebuilding, strengthen social cohesion, and enhance the efforts of those working in fragile or conflict-affected settings.
The aim? To ensure technology isn’t just advancing for its own sake, but is actively helping people build safer, more inclusive, and more resilient societies.
Is PeaceTech a buzzword? Yes — but not necessarily in a bad way. Anything that draws attention to using technology for peace is worth taking seriously. And PeaceTech isn’t going away. Governments, international organisations, and donors are beginning to invest in it, which means there’s a growing need to influence what it becomes.
With growing momentum comes real risk. Without the involvement of local actors and peacebuilders, PeaceTech can become too top-down, too technical, or even harmful — introducing tools that don’t fit the context, overlooking community knowledge, or mishandling sensitive data.
And this is already happening. Consider the global data disparity: over 90% of datasets used to train AI systems originate from Europe and North America (MIT), while more than 80% of violent conflicts occur outside the Global North (UCDP, ACLED, PRIO). This imbalance poses a serious challenge. When peace technologies are built on data that doesn’t reflect the lived realities of most conflict-affected regions, they risk being ineffective — or even doing harm. Addressing this gap is not just a technical issue; it’s a question of justice, inclusion, and relevance.
That’s why PeaceTech must stay human-centric — grounded in the lived realities of those it’s meant to support. Peacebuilders, not just developers or institutions, should help shape what gets built, funded, and scaled.
So yes — PeaceTech may be a buzzword. But it’s one worth shaping. Because the more attention it gets, the more important it becomes to ask: Who is this for? Who is building it? And how do we make sure it truly supports peace?
Not quite. While the two are closely related, there’s a subtle but important distinction.
PeaceTech focuses specifically on technology-driven solutions — tools designed or adapted to support peacebuilding work. Digital peacebuilding, on the other hand, is a broader umbrella term. It includes not only tools, but also digital methods and strategies to improve how peacebuilding is organised, communicated, and delivered.
In short: PeaceTech is part of digital peacebuilding, but it’s the hands-on, tool-focused side of the equation.
Not at all — in fact, most peacebuilders wouldn’t describe themselves as tech-minded. And that’s exactly why their voice matters most.
PeaceTech isn’t about turning everyone into coders or app designers. It’s about making sure that those closest to the challenges — peacebuilders, mediators, civil society organisers, and community leaders — are shaping the tools designed to support their work.
Yes, developers and engineers have their place. But so do people with expertise in communication, diplomacy, conflict resolution, education, and advocacy. PeaceTech thrives when different worlds come together — when digital know-how meets real-life experience.
If you understand the peacebuilding space, you already bring what’s most valuable: actual experience, critical context, and a grounded sense of what works (and what doesn’t) in fragile or conflict-affected areas.
You don’t need to be a tech expert — you just need a seat at the table. PeaceTech needs you there.
PeaceTech is a catch-all term — and that’s part of its strength (and admittedly, its weakness). It spans a wide range of tools, methods, and approaches depending on the context, the people involved, and the problems they’re trying to solve. That flexibility makes it powerful — but also hard to pin down.
Still, here’s a snapshot of how PeaceTech is showing up on the ground — often quietly, in support of peacebuilders doing complex, human work:
The goal of PeaceTech is to make peacebuilding more effective, safer, and more inclusive — not to replace the people doing the work.
If we look at the Civic Tech world — a space that also combines people, purpose, and technology — we’ll find some great lessons.
Civic Tech is excellent at activating people. Not just coders, but neighbours, teachers, local organisers, and anyone with a reason to care. You’ll find Civic Tech projects built by groups who’ve met in cafés, co-working spaces, or WhatsApp threads, working together — often with little or no funding — to solve local problems with digital tools. From finding green spaces, to tracking public transport, to knowing what’s in your water, these tools start with one question: how can we make life better for our communities?
Real-world examples:
What do these projects have in common?
The point? If we can do this for potholes, water quality, or lost bus routes — why not for peace?
Technology in peacebuilding only works when people can actually use it. That’s why accessibility is a cornerstone of the PeaceTech Alliance’s work. We’re not just building tools — we’re co-designing them with peacebuilders, making sure they’re intuitive, context-aware, and grounded in real-world needs.
We also recognise that many peacebuilders work in challenging environments — where digital literacy, internet access, or trust in technology may be limited. If PeaceTech isn’t responsive to these realities, it risks doing more harm than good.
PeaceTech doesn’t need to be complicated — but it does need to be collaborative. The tools only matter if they’re shaped by those who understand peacebuilding from the inside.
As momentum grows, so does the responsibility to guide it. Whether you bring deep community knowledge, policy expertise, or simply a desire to make things better, your role is essential in building a PeaceTech future that works — and works fairly.
You’re already part of this. Let’s make sure the technology reflects that.
The AIT Austrian Institute of Technology and partners across academia, diplomacy, and civil society are working together through the PeaceTech Alliance to build a national and international ecosystem for PeaceTech. The goal is to position Austria as a global hub for ethical, human-centric PeaceTech — not just by building new tools, but by shaping policy, fostering dialogue, and listening to the people actually using this technology.
Our work is guided by the idea that PeaceTech should not be an abstract or elite concept. It should be practical, open, and inclusive.