Peace and Conflict Studies: Comprehensive Notes

PACS Overview

• Learning Objectives

  • Grasp the historical development of studying peace and conflict

  • Define peace, violence, and conflict in academic studies

• PACS stands for Peace and Conflict Studies, an interdisciplinary field focused on understanding and addressing conflict and peace.

Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS): An Overview

• PACS is a transformative interdisciplinary academic field that is:

  • Analytical in nature

  • Nonviolent in actions

  • Theoretical and a-theoretical in methodological approaches

  • Global in scope

• It is an organized study of the causes and consequences of conflict, exploring the conditions of peace.

Three Broad Foci of PACS

• Causes and consequences of destructive and/or violent conflict as manifested on three levels:

  • Individual level

  • Social (group) level

  • International level

• Processes used to manage, resolve, or transform destructive and/or violent conflict on each level

• Development of norms, practices, and institutions designed to build peace on each level

Conceptual Map of Peace Studies (Key Components)

• Causes & Consequences of Violence

  • Aggression

• Methods for Reducing Violent Conflict

• The Values, Norms, & Institutions of Peace

• Socialization and Education toward Peace

• Individual Level Components

  • Bigotry

  • Inter-Personal Communication Skills

  • Negotiation

  • Mediation

  • Education

  • Nonviolence as a lifestyle

  • Ethical/Religious perspectives

• Social Group & Instrumental Violence

  • Economic Disparity

  • Repression

  • Revolution

• International Level Components

  • War

  • Arms Race/Trade

  • Xenophobia

  • Intervention

  • Nuclear War

  • Arbitration

  • Negotiation

  • Mediation

  • Conflict Resolution Workshops

  • Diplomacy

  • International Peacekeeping

  • Mediation

  • Crisis Management

  • Nonviolent Direct Action

  • Social Movements

  • Justice, Freedom

  • International Law & Organization

  • Nonoffensive Defense

  • Global Cooperation

• Note: The framework reflects Lopez (1989a, 76) and is commonly cited in PACS contexts.

Evolution of Peace Research

• Systematic research on war in the modern social science tradition:

  • Quincy Wright (1942): identified war as a problem to be studied separately from other social issues

  • Lewis Richardson (1960): developed mathematical models of arms race and war

  • David Singer (1979): statistical data on war (Correlates of War Project)

How to Prevent Nuclear War: Evolutionary Milestones

• Key contributors and ideas:

  • Anatol Rapaport (1960): game-theoretical analysis of conflict

  • Johan Galtung (1975): analysis of violence, poverty, and oppressive social/economic conditions

  • Christopher Mitchell (1981) / Louis Kriesberg (1982): conflict dynamics

  • John Burton (1987): basic needs theory vs bargaining theory in business contexts

Evolution of PACS in International Developments

• Phase 1 – Evolutionary phase, beginning with the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648): $1618-1648$

• Phase 2 – Post-evolutionary phase, World Wars (1914–1945): $1914-1945$

• Phase 3 – Institutional developments, Cold War (1945–1990): $1945-1990$

• Phase 4 – Contemporary phase, post-Cold War (after Sept 11 attacks, 2001 onward): $2001 ext{ onwards}$

Objectives of PACS

• Address conflict at micro, meso, macro, and mega levels of analysis

• Reduce violence and create positive change toward a just peace

• Generate a new generation of ideas to transform warfare into welfare

Johan Galtung (b. 24 October 1930)

• Often regarded as the “father of peace studies”

• Core idea: unresolved conflicts cause violence; conflict resolution with peaceful solutions leads to a more peaceful society

• Founded the International Peace Research Institute in Oslo (PRIO)

• Photo source note: linked to Right Livelihood Award laureates page

What is PEACE?

• Peace is a concept tied to the absence of violence and the protection of human rights within a societal framework that uses nonviolent means of conflict resolution

• Source framing: Designing Learning for Peace (2016), p. 7

Two Ways for Defining Peace

• Negative Peace

  • No war, no violent conflict between states or within states

• Positive Peace

  • Presence of conditions of well-being and just relationships; social, economic, political, ecological integration for a just and peaceful society

• Table-like summary (conceptual):

  • Negative Peace: absence of direct violence

  • Positive Peace: presence of constructive conditions and systemic justice

• Notation: Structural, Direct, and Cultural Violence intersect with these definitions

Negative vs Positive Peace Details

• Negative Peace (definition): Absence of direct or physical violence

• Positive Peace (definition): Presence of conditions of well-being and just relationships; includes structural, social, economic, political, ecological dimensions

• Structural Violence examples: poverty, hunger, gender inequality

• Direct Violence examples: macro (war, torture) and micro (violence, abuse)

• Cultural Violence examples: racism, sexism, religious intolerance

• Violence as a gradient: Direct violence is the most visible form; structural and cultural violence are subtler yet pervasive

• Source attribution: Castro, L. Galace, J. (2010), p. 19

Conclusion on Peace

• Peace as a concept centers on human rights protection and absence of violence

• Conflicts are addressed within a societal framework where individuals and groups engage in nonviolent conflict resolution

How about CONFLICT?

• Conflict is discussed as a discord or disagreement; a central object of PACS inquiry

• Core definition: A disagreement between two parties (or more) or a perceived/actual contradiction in goals

• Source framing: Designing Learning for Peace (2016), p. 7

Other Definitions of Conflict

• A dynamic process where structure, attitudes, and behavior constantly change and influence one another (Galtung, 1969)

• An inevitable aspect of human interaction; conflict exists when two or more individuals or groups pursue mutually incompatible goals (US Institute of Peace, n.d.)

• A perceived or actual contradiction of goals of interrelated actors or inner, social, and environmental forces characterized by mutual influence (Mainstreaming Peace Education, 2014)

• A form of competitive behavior between different parties; occurs when goals or resources are perceived as incompatible (Boulding, 1962)

Conflict Dynamics: Galtung's ABC Conflict Triangle

• Latent Level (Underlying causes)

  • How people think and what underlying attitudes/assumptions encourage conflict

  • e.g., Attitudes/Assumptions: Racism, discriminatory attitudes, sexism, victimhood, trauma

  • Contradictions: Inequality, disputes over territory or resources

• Manifest Level (Visible actions)

  • How people act; immediate evidence of conflict

  • Behaviour: Violence, genocide, insurgency attacks, discriminatory acts

• Built-in linkage: Conflict Triangle connects latent causes to manifest actions through contradictions in goals/needs/interests

• Core idea: Interplay between attitudes and actions shapes ongoing conflict

Two Aspects of Conflict (Overview)

• Subjective aspects

  • How parties understand each other

• Objective aspects

  • Structures and resources that exist independently of perceptions (e.g., scarce resources, territory)

• The model emphasizes how perceptions (subjective) and material conditions (objective) interact to produce conflict

A Model of Conflict (Galtung, 1969, 1996) – Conflict Triangle (Action/Behavior and Attitudes/Perceptions)

• Objective Aspect (Structure and Conditions):

  • Scarce resources, territory, political power, etc.

• Subjective Aspect (Perceptions and Beliefs):

  • Attitudes, perceptions, beliefs, will, feeling

• Inner contradictions lead to goals, needs, and interests that may clash

• Visualizing:

  • Objective Aspect ↔ Subjective Aspect ↔ Contradiction/Goals/Needs/Interests

What is Attitude?

• A tendency to respond in a consistently favorable or unfavorable manner toward a topic, concept, or object

• Attitudes influence behavior

• Attitudes may predict the degree of contact and the type of social interaction between people

• Measurement idea: sum of respondents’ positive and negative statements

• Important indicator: Values

  • An enduring belief that influences behavior; values determine attitudes and vice versa

Behaviors in Conflict

• Behaviors are the physical actions of the conflict, especially in violent contexts

• Examples: destructive attacks, coercion and threat (e.g., violence, genocide, insurgency attacks, discriminatory acts)

Contradictive Element

• The core of the problem: the beginning situation that can lead to a problem; the inequality that happens in a particular area; dispute over territory or resources

Violence (Overview)

• Types: Direct, Structural, Cultural (Galtung, 2004; adopted in PACS literature)

• Direct violence: visible actions like war and torture; also includes psychological or verbal violence

• Structural violence: less visible; constraints on human potential due to economic and political structures; unequal access to resources, power, education, health care, legal standing; embedded in social structures

• Cultural violence: legitimization of violence through cultural norms, traditions, and values; often invisible, tied to attitudes, feelings, and values; anchored in culture

• General definition: Actions, words, attitudes, structures, or systems that cause physical, psychological, social, or environmental damage and prevent people from reaching their full potential (Galtung, 1969)

• Alternate definitions: Any human attitude, behavior, or context that harms living beings or the environment (Mainstreaming Peace Education, 2014); Violence as the difference between potential and actual (Galtung)

Violence vs Conflict: Key Distinction

• Conflict can be neutral or positive and is a normal part of life when managed constructively; can lead to positive change

• Violence is negative, avoidable when conflicts are managed nonviolently; violence is a possible but not inevitable outcome of conflict

• Noting: Violence is not the same as conflict; violence is one possible method of managing conflict

Inspirational Quote on Peace and Learning

• "Peace appeals to the hearts; studies to the brain. Both are needed, indeed indispensable. But equally indispensable is a valid link between brain and heart." (attributed in slide 37)

References (Selected)

• Coy, P. G. & Hancock, L.E. (2010). Mainstreaming peace and conflict studies: designing introductory courses to fit liberal arts education requirements. Journal of Peace Education, Vol. 7, No. 2, 205–219.

• Dar, Shaheen Showkat (2017). Disciplinary Evolution of Peace and Conflict Studies: An Overview. International Journal on World Peace, Vol. 34, No.1, 45-75.

• Galtung, J. & Fischer, D. (2013). Johan Galtung: Pioneer of Peace Research. Springer Briefs on Pioneers in Science and Practice. Vol. 5. DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-32481-9

• Peace and Violence. Compass. Manual for Human Rights Education with Young People. https://www.coe.int/en/web/compass/peace-and-violence

• UNOY Peacebuilders, Ortiz Quintilla, R. (2018). Youth4Peace Training Toolkit. The Hague

• Source note: Other materials cited in slides (e.g., Lopez 1989a, 76).