PeaceBuilding for a Culture of Peace
6.0 Research Conclusions
- The unique contribution of Peace-building for a Culture of Peace:
1. Greater international security.
2. Reduction in conflict occurrences providing benefit in all conflict resolution
procedures and development strategies.
3. Main objective is durable and self-sustaining peace (with the tools of dialogue and
tolerance).
4. Active non-violence as natural response to conflict.
5. Bottom-up and indigenous creations.
6. Empowerment.
7. Comprehensive.
8. Addition to existing legitimate structures.
- Peace-building for a Culture of Peace requires extensive involvement in the
transformation of political structures, political representation, civil society
involvement in the political processes of state, infrastructure investment, institution
building to provide adequate sources to channel conflict through (both financial and
representative), tolerance and understanding, education, human rights for peace,
self-sustaining production and trade, methods to promote patience in the processes of
transformation to
peace.
- Critical issues challenging peace-building for a Culture of Peace:
1. Doubts of the effectiveness of a cultural construct.
2. Time and financial resources.
3. Conventional state sovereignty.
4. Ideological obstacles.
5. Bottom-up and indigenous creation.
6. Economic realities.
7. Veto power.
8. Attitudes of fear.
- Insecurities regarding the potential of peace-building for a Culture of Peace to provide
for stability, economic prosperity and advancements as a substitute for the finances of
war and violence and most critically the ability of parties to achieve their desires or
defend their pursuits as effectively with non-violence as with the quick impact violence
appears to provide.
- The current reality of relations between and within communities sees violence as the
means through which to forcefully attain results to a situation irregardless of long-term
negative effects.
- The desire to see quick results can not be met by the long-term process of cultural
change.
- Peace-building for a Culture of Peace involves a psychological transformation in the
mentalities of civil society and political
representatives alike to actively choose non-violence as a tactic to deal with tensions.
- The first concern is for the economic justifications which necessitate the calculation
of the cost-benefit equation to expound the maximum financial gain of peace-building for a
Culture of Peace.
- The second issue which requires a more detailed analysis for viability extends to the
realm of sociology and the ability to promote a particular cultural characteristic, namely
non-violence, over others.
- The theoretical need for an alliance between post-conflict peace-building and a Culture
of Peace in the United Nations endeavours to resolve intra-state conflict is real. The
operational attainment of this alliance for durable and self-sustaining peace is however
doubtful given the current mentalities regarding economic and goal-oriented gains
favouring violent conflict. The necessary catalyst which would require such a massive
transformation toward mentalities and behaviours of non-violence for the creation of
positive peace does not appear to be on the horizon. The question of what stimulus could
provoke such radical transformation is a topic of speculation, the answers to which are
not currently available. Although the process of transformation is long-term, the
provocation which will ignite the desire to see programs of principles of peace-building
for a
Culture of Peace will need to be brisk in order to promote the sense of urgency necessary
to compel the international community to undertake peace-building for a Culture of Peace.
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This has been a summary of a thesis received from Angela Ward, who is a Canadian currently
residing in Amsterdam and has just graduated from the University of Amsterdam's Graduate
Program in International Relations. Her thesis research received the program's top
grade (9) and is entitled "Peace-building for a Culture of Peace". Her
specialisation has been in the area of conflict resolution throughout the course of her
study.
I found her thesis to be very worthwhile for anyone considering implementing a Culture of
Peace Program. I have summarized, in a series of 6 articles, the highlights from my
perspective. You may not agree with some of the issues, but they all must be
considered, debated and acted upon. While it is slanted toward post-conflict
peace-building, the lessons are important for developing a Culture of Peace in any
country, and in any community. If you would like a copy of the detailed thesis (it
is over 100 pages) it is available here.
Any comments on the summary issues would be appreciated for my own
consideration.
Regards,
Bob Stewart