KEY CONCEPTS ON PEACE AND Compiled By Christine A.

CONFLICT Mutingu
RECALL
1. An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind-
Mahatma Gandhi
2. Meaning of absence of conflict; participatory process where
dialogue is encouraged
3. Peace Education process; Youth and conflict resolution and
mechanisms of counter violent extremism
4. Pacific Settlement of Disputes; UN Peacekeeping forces
PERSPECTIVES ON WAR
International war- where actors use armed forces to resolve disputes
Social conflicts –involves interactions between actors where at least one of the
actors senses incompatibilities between their thinking, feelings and
perceptions, and those of others
Unconscious/conscious motivations- This considers the political psychology with
an aim to understand interdependent relationships between individuals and
contexts that are influenced by beliefs, motivation, perception, cognition,
information processing, learning strategies, socialization and attitude
formation. Discuss Adolf Hitler and motivation for war/ attack on Jews.
War benefits corporate, military, and political elites.- Positive effects of war
can include the defeat of problematic governments, the correction of
injustices, advances in technology and medicine, and a reduction of
unemployment; Heightened military spending during conflict does create
employment, additional economic activity and contributes to the development
of new technologies which can then filter through into other industries
 LEVELS
Inter-personal
OF CONFLICT
intra-personal

communal conflict

Intra-state conflict

Inter-state conflict inter-/intra

Global conflict
KEY CONCEPTS
1. What does the term 'peace' mean?
The absence of conflict plus the existence of dialogue, understanding and
cooperation.
According to the preamble of the
Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace adopted by the UN
General Assembly, peace "not only is the absence of conflict, but also requires a
positive, dynamic participatory process where dialogue is encouraged and conflicts
are solved in a spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation".
2. What is peace education?
To cultivate a culture of peace based on human rights.
The document UNESCO's Work on Education for Peace and Non-Violence says
that peace education "includes training, skills and information directed towards
cultivating a culture of peace based on human rights principles" providing not only
"knowledge about a culture of peace" but also imparting "the skills and attitudes
necessary to defuse and recognize potential conflicts, and those needed to
actively promote and establish a culture of peace and non-violence", being the
learning objectives "an understanding of the manifestations of violence, the
development of capacities to respond constructively to that violence and specific
knowledge of alternatives to violence". Says UNESCO that two fundamental
YOUTH AND THE
PREVENTION OF CONFLICT
3. Is there any role for the youth in the prevention of
conflict?
Youth is a key actor for an effective prevention of conflict.
Resolution 2250 (2015) of the UN Security Council called
"Member States to consider ways to increase inclusive
representation of youth in decision-making at all levels in
local, national, regional and international institutions and
mechanisms for the prevention and resolution of conflict,
including institutions and mechanisms to counter violent
extremism, which can be conducive to terrorism, and, as
appropriate, to consider establishing integrated mechanisms
for meaningful participation of youth in peace processes and
PEACE
From the International Relations perspective, there are three areas:
Peacekeeping - is defined as a military unit which stands between two
opposing armies to enforce peace using an international military force.
Peacemaking - the process of bringing about peace, especially by reconciling
adversaries; it can involves an active military operation to achieve peace or
diplomacy using negotiated settlement e.g. Israeli- Palestinian conflict
Peacebuilding is a long-term process of encouraging people to talk, repairing
relationships, and reforming institutions. For positive change to last, everyone
affected by a destructive conflict has to be involved in
the process of building peace. Transforming relationships is key to putting
an end to violence.
Peacekeeping - outcomes define the military political context within
which peacemaking and building take place. The peacemaking negotiations
create the mandate for post-conflict peacebuilding as they define the
actions and provide the strategy that restores peace to a conflict inflicted
region.
PACIFIC SETTLEMENT OF
DISPUTES
In an Agenda for Peace, former United Nations Secretary General
Boutros-Boutros Ghali defined peacemaking as "action to bring
hostile parties to agreement, essentially through such peaceful
means as those foreseen in Chapter VI of the Charter of the United
Nations; Pacific Settlement of Disputes.“
Article 33 of the Charter states that any dispute that is likely to
endanger the maintenance of international peace and security
should first be addressed through negotiation, mediation or
other peaceful means, and states that the Council can call on the
parties to use such means to settle their dispute.
peaceful in character or intent---"a pacific gesture"
Peace and War
1. War and Peace are not merely the absence of the other,
but positively definable states of a system.
2. Example: awake and asleep; neither is simply the
opposite of the other.
3. Peace and war can be represented as differing phases in a
system.
4. A different system of acting and thinking characterizes
the war and peace phases.
 Perception of Reality in War & Peace

Peacetime Wartime
1. Good and Evil have many shades of gray. 1. Good and Evil are reduced to us and them with no bystanders.
2. The present is pretty much like other times. 2. The present has a special quality—a final battle of good and evil.
3. Great forces (nature, God, civilization) are not particularly 3. The great forces of the cosmos are for us against them.
involved in our disputes.
4. When the war is over things will be vastly different.
4. After the present period, things will go on pretty much as
they always have.
5. There is only one problem with ultimate importance that must be
5. Life is complex with many problems to be solved that have solved
varying importance from day to day.
6. "We" and "They" are qualitatively different. They wish for power.
6. All people act pretty much the same and act from the same We act in self defense and with respect for common decency.
motives.
7. They lie and are so evil that only force can settle the issues

7. We can talk with those we disagree with.