Resilient States Project

Pennsylvania

Our Focus

The Pennsylvania Resilience Network pulls together diverse civil society leaders to prevent, defuse, and respond to political violence.

We define political violence as threats, harassment, intimidation, and physical actions used to limit who participates in public life. Over the long term, this prevention work allows us to strengthen social cohesion and build collective resilience throughout the commonwealth.

Why it Matters

Americans are concerned about political violence

Across the country, 78% of Americans see political violence as a problem. Here in Pennsylvania, this concern is especially acute. In 2024 alone, Pennsylvania experienced an assassination attempt on the former president and scapegoating of immigrant populations. Yet, 99.9% of Americans, regardless of identity, do not choose acts of political violence and 87% are tired of political division. This suggests the majority of Pennsylvanians want to bring people together across dividing lines and transform conflict into collaboration.

Our Partners

Diverse leadership is key to our success

We engage politically diverse leaders from the agriculture, business, civic, education, faith, healthcare, nonprofit, and veterans communities - working with these leaders to understand political violence and leverage their relationships and influence to reduce it.

Visit our News & Highlights section to learn about their peacebuilding efforts and collaboration within PA.

Our Work

Training leaders in Pennsylvania

We work to prevent political violence by training leaders and organizations in depolarization and peacebuilding - modeling best practices from over four decades of international experience gleaned from our Search for Common Ground colleagues throughout the world.

We also provide tangible resources, connection, and thought partnership for community leaders who are experiencing the effects of political violence but may be unsure on how to move forward.