Suchergebnisse

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.

Suggests that the May 2006 Darfur peace agreement may do little more than obscure the ongoing violence, destruction, displacement, & rape. Three key issues underlying the fragility of the agreement are discussed: the good faith of the Sudan government, the tribal & ethnic character of the insurgencies, & the role of peacekeeping forces where there is no peace.

The Nobel Peace Prize is to be presented this month. When it was announced that this year's winner was Wangari Maathai, the Kenyan Assistant Minister for Environment, Natural Resources & Wildlife, the reaction of the mainstream media was bewilderment The Economist was perhaps typical, asking "What does planting trees have to do with peace?" & then later answering its own question, "Ms. Maathai's work, though admirable, is only distantly related to the prevention of war". Adapted from the source document.

Peace is not an absence, but rather a visibly identifiable set of norms. This visualization can take place through internationally recognized signs such as the white flag and the blue helmet. These representations of norms are united in their ability to be distinguished from similar objects or signs through their use of colors. The identificatory use of color avoids confusion between parties embroiled in a conflict, making an organization or envoy stand out and creat- ing the expectation that they are encompassed by the specific norms of war- fare, which these colors make visible. Through establishing such "dumb signs" of peace, as Grotius put it, the colors of peace have, we argue, played a notable part in establishing customary international law. The aim of our con- tribution is to offer an illustrative chromatological analysis of how peace and its norms are made visible through objects and symbols which are not con- nected with peace beyond their coloring (e.g., emblems, flags, helmets, or war- zone vehicles). We show how certain colors, in their situated use, come to both symbolize and enact peace in terms of international politics.

The central role of African women in the struggle for peace in Africa is discussed, with focus on events leading to the establishment of the Federation of African Women's Peace Networks. It is demonstrated that African women have become central promoters of peace through establishing alliances with other women, appealing to warring leaders, participating in peace negotiations, & organizing reconciliation efforts. D. Weibel

Under what conditions do religious groups engage in peace activism? Religious groups engage in peace activism if the associated costs are low and they compete with either conflict party over the interpretation of their religious content concerning war and peace. Peace activism is a promising action as peace activists maintain their positive self-evaluation. I introduce a novel dataset of peace activism for 511 religious groups in 128 countries from 1990 to 2008. Conditional fixed effects and logistic models support my hypotheses. The findings highlight the role of rational considerations in the decision to conduct peace activities by representatives of religious groups.

Under what conditions do religious groups engage in peace activism? Religious groups engage in peace activism if the associated costs are low and they compete with either conflict party over the interpretation of their religious content concerning war and peace. Peace activism is a promising action as peace activists maintain their positive self-evaluation. I introduce a novel dataset of peace activism for 511 religious groups in 128 countries from 1990 to 2008. Conditional fixed effects and logistic models support my hypotheses. The findings highlight the role of rational considerations in the decision to conduct peace activities by representatives of religious groups.

Peaces Notes, the official publication of Mennonites and affiliated Intercollegiate Peace Fellowship, included a variety of peace related reports and news items. The Intercollegiate Peace Fellowship is a Mennonite Central Committee sponsored program involving Mennonite and related undergraduate institutions. Annual conferences are hosted by involved institutions.

Peace Notes, the official publication of the Mennonite and affiliated Intercollegiat Peace Fellowship, included a variety of peace related reports and news items. The Intercollegiate Peace Fellowship is a Mennonite Central Committee sponsored peace program involving Mennonite and related undergraduate institutions. Annual conferences are hosted by those involved institutions.

An editorial introduction to a special issue of Peace & Change, devoted to "the Pedagogy of Peace," outlines the recent history of peace research, described as entering its adolescence & standing at the vortex of its past & future. The institutional study of peace, begun in 1948, focused on the Vietnam war in the 1960s, & then shifted to alternative dispute resolution at the macrolevel, & nonviolence studies at the microlevel. In the 1980s, with the conservative trend in government & the escalation of the arms race, peace studies focused on issues of nuclear power. The advent of glasnost (openness) & the amazing changes in Eastern Europe have brought about the most exciting era of peace studies, & the focus has changed to broader issues of social justice, change, & participation, as the nuclear dilemma fades away. Faced with the challenge of resolving the tension between the critical & instrumental approaches, it is urged that the issues of pedagogy not be overlooked, since they play a central role in the future of peace studies in a changing world. It is hoped that this journal issue will provide a stimulus for a continuing dialogue on the pedagogy of peace. S. Dilts