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Few words are so often used & abused as the word ,peace.' Thus, when efforts are made to plead almost any kind of policy, then it is often asserted that that policy, in addition to other merits, will also serve the cause of peace. This practice is not necessarily harmful. By projecting an image of harmony of interests, the term 'peace' may also help bring about such a harmony. One may object that frequent use of the word gives an unrealistic image of the world, but leaving aside this ` major argument for the moment, it is obvious that some level of precision is necessary for the term to serve as a cognitive tool. To discuss the idea of peace, one may start from 3 simple principles: (1) The term 'peace' shall be used for soc goals at least verbally agreed to by many, if not necessarily by most. (2) These soc goals may be complex & difficult, but not impossible, to attain. (3) The statement 'peace is absence of violence' shall be retained as valid. Everything now hinges on making a definition of 'violence.' However, it is not so important to arrive at anything like the definition, or the typology, for there are obviously many diff types of violence. More important is to indicate theoretically signif dimensions of violence that can lead thinking, res &, potentially, action, towards the most important problems. IPSA.

This article explores the peacebuilding potential of the environment beyond "environmental problems" from the perspective of two interactive & interacting paradigms: peace studies & environmental studies. A thorough investigation reveals ontological, axiological, epistemological, rhetorical & methodological overlaps; interdependencies; conflicts &; potential synergism from their "interaction." It suggests a theoretical framework, broad & integrative enough to allow a full understanding, functionally as well as philosophically, of the inherent capacities of the environment to inform & sustain peace. The new paradigm, inspired by the idea of environmental peacemaking, is called Peace Ecology. Figures, References. Adapted from the source document.

Peace is not an esoteric word. It has philosophical underpinnings and real world connotations. In a nuclear era with the latest, and manifest, conflicts which may end in total war, peace becomes a deceptively complex word. Peace Research and peace movements become dualities which are necessary strategies for world peace. As a scientific compilation of data and meaning methodology, they are a comparatively new phenomena but in terms of some kind of a movement have always been active. Even if only a protest by a minority it has been an ongoing phenomenon. Peace Research and eventually peace movements become part of a social consciousness that is important to achieve a political end—world peace. This paper spells out the meaning of Peace Research, its development and links with peace movements. Some peace movements in different parts of the world have been brought out merely to substantiate the peace research and its concepts. It is by no means exhaustive. A lot needs to be researched and brought out. But one main idea seems amply clear that the world system needs restructuring to absorb Peace Research and peace movements if only to rationalise it, make it viable for both study and activism. So also a change is needed among the "realist" thinking if only to achieve positive and developmental peace, i.e. peace combined with social justice.

AbstractToday we live in a world where the majority of wars are no longer interstate, a development that over the last few decades has often left the international community, in particular the United Nations as it was originally conceived, ill equipped to respond. The nimble action required for contemporary conflict resolution and peacebuilding now primarily lies in the hands of local actors and states, sometimes supported by international actors. But it is not always clear who these local actors are or what they need in order to achieve sustainable peace. As part of the roundtable "World Peace (And How We Can Achieve It)," this essay looks in more detail at what we mean by "local" in conflict-affected contexts and asks how local is local enough when resolving conflicts and building peace. It identifies tensions and concerns such as the need for the international community to have a well-defined and easily identified "local agenda" when, in reality, there are often several competing local agendas. The essay presents the Everyday Peace Indicators project as a vehicle that can be used to help communicate these local needs to international actors, and argues for the importance of understanding people's perceived realities in addition to, if not more than, their actual realities when trying to understand peace and conflict trends. In order to do this, we need to more effectively problematize peacebuilding for positive conflict disruption.

Is peace more likely to prevail when the peace accord includes civil society actors such as religious groups, women's organizations, and human rights groups? This is the first statistical study that explores this issue. The article develops key claims in previous research regarding the role of civil society actors and durable peace, and proposes a set of hypotheses that focus on legitimacy in this process. The hypotheses are examined by employing unique data on the inclusion of civil society actors in all peace agreements in the post-Cold War period. The statistical analysis shows that inclusion of civil society actors in the peace settlement increases the durability of peace. The results further demonstrate that peace accords with involvement from civil society actors and political parties in combination are more likely to see peace prevail. The findings also suggest that inclusion of civil society has a particularly profound effect on the prospects for overall peace in nondemocratic societies. (International Interactions/FUB)

The purpose of this study of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process is to examine the impact of economic incentives on the transformation of protracted conflicts. While economic growth can certainly provide motivations for peace by creating a virtuous cycle, as I argue below; reliance on economic growth faces two problems. First, the incentive of economic growth does not appeal equally to all people, so fundamentalist groups may prefer territorial stakes over promised prosperity & thus possibly seek to derail the process. &, second, economic growth might not distribute its benefits equally, leaving some groups alienated from the process &, consequently, making the process vulnerable to derailment without the support of these groups. Figures. Adapted from the source document.

Despite the proliferation in recent years of scholarly journals, university and college departments and research institutes dealing with peace studies, it would be difficult to conclude that this area of academic enquiry is as yet firmly established in the wider field of International Relations. It may well be, as one sympathetic writer noted recently, that peace research is 'alive, vigorous, rapidly maturing and producing a good deal of work conforming to the tenets of social science'. At the same time it remains a fairly new field and one which, over the years, has suffered, and continues to suffer, from internal disputes, particularly about substance and values. In some respects these debates and controversies are a sign of intellectual vigour. It must also be said, however, that in the past the 'lack of agreed focus and definition ideological divisions, competing disciplinary biasses, ambiguities of priorities and purposes', have led to 'an unhealthy confusion and mystification of issues' which has helped to prevent its wider acceptance within the academic field.