Peace Marketing in the Syrian Diaspora: Digital Peace Practices of Young Syrians in Germany

AbstractThe Syrian civil war has generated one of the largest displacement crises of the twenty-first centuryand has given rise to a diverse global diaspora. While peace research increasingly acknowledgesthe importance of civil society actors in peacebuilding, little is known about how diaspora memberscontribute to peace processes through everyday and micro-level practices, particularly in digitalspaces. This article examines how young members of the Syrian diaspora in Germany use socialmedia for peace-oriented engagement conceptualized as peace marketing. Drawing on seven semistructuredinterviews with Syrians belonging to Generation Z and residing in Leipzig, the studyemploys qualitative content analysis to explore motivations, strategies, and constraints of microleveldigital peacebuilding. The findings show that participants strategically use social media topromote human rights, counter discrimination, and foster dialogue in the host society. Theseeveryday digital practices link individual agency to broader discursive environments, therebycontributing to the social foundations of peace. At the same time, participants encounter structuralconstraints such as hate speech, platform governance, and algorithmic visibility regimes.