CONF 702: PEACE STUDIES

Professor Ho-Won Jeong
George Mason University
Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution
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Integration

Lasting peace can be obtained only through the transformation of social systems that produce economic disparities and political oppression. The foundations for a peaceful world order have to be based on autonomy and economic and social well-being for groups and individuals.

These conditions can be achieved by the guarantee of human rights, self-determination and development strategies to reduce economic inequity and unacceptable life conditions.

Living and non-living species on the planet have an interdependent relationship.

Designing a Peace System

Diagnosis

Monopoly of political power and economic disparities have been a prevalent source of violence in many societies.

In particular, coercive state institutions and dominant economic interests have threatened the cultural, environmental and physical survival of many marginalised communities.

Goals

Realising peace, in a more fundamental sense, constitutes both individual and social transformation.

Nurturing positive relationships is not separable from the constellation of new cultural norms for peace and a communal base for political and economic democracy.

Priorities There are different priorities in thinking about strategies for peace. The desire and aspirations for peace as well as the perception of threats are not the same across societies.

Individual and collective levels of self-realisation are important across cultures.

Paths Different steps and paths exist toward institutional and social transformation.

Removing an asymmetric relationship takes a longer time frame than technical solutions to a narrow set of problems.

The immediate measures to control physical violence include peacekeeping and enforcement functions.

Peace making has been defined in terms of promoting mutual understanding in managing and resolving differences in critical issues through dialogue.

Community building with social reconstruction and reconciliation is critical to de-linking a continuing cycle of violence (Lumsden, 1999).

The elimination of social oppression is closely interconnected to personal growth and maximisation of inner propensities and potentialities.

World federalists place a major responsibility for controlling violent behaviour on the supra-national organisations with the capacity to settle disputes and enforce law.
Functional networks and informal arrangements across cultural boundaries are not provided by centralised institutional mechanisms.

While allowing a functionally interdependent relationship between groups, a decentralised order maximises group autonomy that does not exist in a state-centric system.

Structural Change

Since no actor exists in a social vacuum, identities and roles of individuals need to be reinterpreted in terms of their relationship to others. The marginalised and the dispossessed are put at the centre of security and development to put an end to oppression.

Since social justice and nonviolent societies cannot be imposed from the outside, they have to be generated internally.

In addition, since peace affirms positive life experiences, life preserving values and principles have to be further extended to recognise the intrinsic value of the non-human world.

Human Needs and Institutional Values

There is a dialectic interplay between individual needs and the societal values and interests. In the micro-macro relationship, individuals are aggregated into groups and social networks, thus accounting for structural relationships; at the same time, local, regional and global relationships can be disaggregated back to individuals.

The requirement for structural transformation at a macro-level arises from the failure of existing institutions to address the needs of individuals and groups. The incompatibilities between institutional requirements and individual needs are illustrated in arms build-up at the sacrifice of development.

Non-hierarchical systems and societal values support the pursuit of individual human needs. In interacting with others, individuals can be organised to create groups that fulfil their needs and values.

Personal Transformation

It can be well noted that improving the world would proceed from the individual realisation of peace values in our own lives.

Fighting social injustice may require breaking out of oppression in interpersonal relations.

The elimination of oppressive personal relationships helps alleviate the pain and suffering of others.

If we consider that individual well-being is affected by social systems, the achievement of peace at a social level can be a necessary condition for peace at the personal level.

Individuals can personally participate in non-violent transformation in life style, for instance, by reducing unnecessary consumption, which contributes to economic disparity and ecological degradation.

Reweaving Relations

The experience of all phenomena in the world as manifestations of a basic oneness relies on the awareness of the unity and mutual interrelations of all things and interdependence of events. Holistic views of relationships are gained by the ability to acknowledge the suffering of others. Peace cannot be achieved without mending relationships that produce injustice, pain, and fear.
Peace making and building are the art and science of weaving and reweaving oneself with others into a social fabric of mutual love, respect, and concern. In that sense, they are reflected in the language and symbols of Native Americans, ecologists, and other marginalised groups (Pepinsky, p. 40).
Reweaving victims, offenders, and bystanders back into a trustworthy social fabric is an important first step in rebuilding balanced relationships between all components of the planetary system.

Future Directions

Grassroots Challenges The imposition of external power has been challenged by ethnic and other types of social movements in the periphery.