Theorists

Johan Galtung

Developed the concepts of Positive/Negative Peace, the Violence Triangle (Direct, Structural, Cultural), and the Peacekeeping-Peacemaking-Peacebuilding framework.

Gregory Stanton

Developed the 8 Stages of Genocide model (Classification, Symbolization, Dehumanization, etc.) as a tool to understand and prevent mass atrocity.

Stoessinger

Argues that the primary cause of war is misperception, especially leaders' distorted views of their own strength and their adversary's character, intentions, and power.

Erica Chenoweth

Conducted quantitative research demonstrating that nonviolent civil resistance campaigns are historically twice as likely to succeed as violent campaigns due to their ability to attract broader participation.

Michael Brown

Proposes a multi-factor model for internal conflicts, arguing they are caused by a combination of Structural, Economic/Social, Political, and Cultural/Perceptual factors.

Christopher Moore

Developed a framework ("the wheel") that categorizes conflicts based on their core issues: Data, Interest, Structural, Value, and Relationship conflicts.

Gandhi

A post-colonial thinker who developed the philosophy of Satyagraha (soul-force), arguing for nonviolence as the only legitimate means to achieve Swaraj (true self-rule).

Malcolm X & Angela Davis

Civil rights activists whose viewpoints represent a justification for self-defense and the potential legitimacy of violence in response to systemic oppression and state-sanctioned violence.

Frantz Fanon

A post-colonial thinker who argued that violence is a necessary tool of liberation for a colonized people to overcome the psychological and physical oppression of the colonizer.

Martin Luther King

The primary leader of the American Civil Rights Movement who successfully adapted Gandhian nonviolence to the American context.

Paul Collier & Anke Hoeffler

Developed the Greed vs. Grievance theory, arguing that economic opportunity and the ability to finance a rebellion ("greed") are better predictors of civil war than social or political injustice ("grievance").

Fisher and Keashly

Identified a typology of pacific third-party interventions, creating a spectrum of methods including Conciliation, Consultation, Mediation, and Arbitration.