From the Westphalian peace to strategies for peace in a post-Westphalian environment
In: Strategies for peace: contributions of international organizations, states, and non-state actors, S. 25-48
In: Strategies for peace: contributions of international organizations, states, and non-state actors, S. 25-48
Explores the notion of Just Peace, demonstrating the validity of three propositions. First, the implications of religion for the topic are significant & intricate: significant due to religion's vital role in today's international system & vital because religions at times differ in their doctrinal understandings of justice & peace. Second, the concept of Just Peace should be regarded as a rubric, an "umbrella term" that encompasses a host of sub-problems. Third, despite the complexity of the issues at hand, the enduring significance of internationally acknowledged human rights constitute one major unifying theme for the diverse considerations of peace & justice. K. Coddon
After outlining some general characteristics of peace movements, an attempt is made to explore their geographic dimensions from a historical perspective. The development of organized peace groups is traced from their origins in the 19th century to the present (focusing on Europe & the US), & their changing geopolitical & societal contexts are illuminated. Theoretical concepts drawn from the recent social movement literature are utilized to examine the places & spaces of mobilization in contemporary peace movements. Several key reasons for the endurance of peace movements despite temporal disjunctures & setbacks are identified. The utility of a geographic approach is demonstrated via a case study of the 1980s peace movement against nuclear armaments. References. K. Hyatt Stewart
Holds that a Just Peace cannot be realized by opposing liberal cultural "neutrality" against culturalists' belief in the "principle of recognition." & contends that it is possible to move past this academic dispute by situating the Just Peace concept in a language-oriented process. The objective is to offer an accommodation process whereby negotiators strive to reach consensus on a just & enduring peace by constructing it in a way accepted as just by all significant participants. Peace reached in this manner is just because it requires of the negotiators gradual recognition of four conventions: thin recognition, thick recognition, renouncement, & a common rule. Unlike the Just War concept, these conventions engage a process & not merely a series of mandates. K. Coddon
An examination of the impact of the Guatemalan peace process on democratization & social justice focuses on what gains have/have not been achieved, & the expansion of political space. The Guatemalan experience from the early 1980s to the present is analyzed in relation to theoretical debates about democratization & social justice in Latin America. It is argued that situations involving long civil war/society upheavals cannot be completely understood from the viewpoint of the literature on democratic transitions. Rather, Central American countries that experienced revolutionary convulsions must also be examined within the context of the literature that emphasizes participatory & procedural dimensions of democratization. The evolution of the Guatemalan peace process is traced & key elements of the accords are described to contend that they have created a new political scenario. It is maintained however that democracy will remain weak & unconsolidated until the many resistances are overcome. The crucial issue of socioeconomic equity & its relation to political democracy are considered along with prospects for the future. 136 References. J. Lindroth
An examination of the impact of the Guatemalan peace process on democratization & social justice focuses on what gains have/have not been achieved, & the expansion of political space. The Guatemalan experience from the early 1980s to the present is analyzed in relation to theoretical debates about democratization & social justice in Latin America. It is argued that situations involving long civil war/society upheavals cannot be completely understood from the viewpoint of the literature on democratic transitions. Rather, Central American countries that experienced revolutionary convulsions must also be examined within the context of the literature that emphasizes participatory & procedural dimensions of democratization. The evolution of the Guatemalan peace process is traced & key elements of the accords are described to contend that they have created a new political scenario. It is maintained however that democracy will remain weak & unconsolidated until the many resistances are overcome. The crucial issue of socioeconomic equity & its relation to political democracy are considered along with prospects for the future. 136 References. J. Lindroth
In: Legal and political theory in the post-national age: selected papers presented at the Second Central and Eastern European Forum for Legal, Political and Social Theorists (Budapest, 21-22 May 2010), S. 161-180
Contends that the concept of Just Peace is both unnecessary & potentially injurious; thus, it is wisest to avoid invoking it. An "unjust peace" is an oxymoron, not peace but rather another kind of resolution. Historically, the concept of peace was employed to characterize a state of non-war, or to identify agreements of territoriality among leaders. The concept of peace is passive, ie, the absence of violence, akin to a coerced peace where territories are divided. The first is a circumstance, the second a remedy. Just Peace vastly lessens the value of peace, & its ramifications are not solely conceptual & theoretical. K. Coddon
Examines geographers' treatment of war & peace since the establishment of modern Western academic geography in the late 19th century, drawing on a review of the literature, particularly from scholarship in political geography & geopolitics. Ways that geographers have conceptualized & analyzed processes of war & peace are analyzed, along with the application of geography to & geographers' roles in these processes. The place of academic geography in war & peace is considered in the context of international relations during the two halves of the 20th century, demarcated by the dropping of the first nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945. Whether geography has been or can be transformed from a discipline for war into one for peace is evaluated; suggestions for the development of geographies of peacemaking, peacekeeping, & war avoidance are delineated. References. K. Hyatt Stewart
In: Justice and peace: interdisciplinary perspectives on a contested relationship, S. 7-15
In: Strategies for peace: contributions of international organizations, states, and non-state actors, S. 49-74
Outlines an international environment in which a bellicose justice is regarded as a last-resort rationale for violence. In this context, justice is no longer metaphorized by a scale but rather by a sword-wielding warrior. Absent an omnipotent arbitrator to mediate international conflicts & enact objective justice, self-defense should remain an option. The absence of an international judicial regime also mandates that leaders attend to perceptions of injustice that their discourses may provoke. All remedies will thus be understood as subjective, with conflicts erupting over dissimilar understandings. Thus, to keep from germinating large-scale resentment, it is imperative to include emotions & perceptions in political assessments lest conflict resolution be determined by conventional practices of power. K. Coddon
This volume attempts to challenge the contention of Nicholas Spykman (1944) that "geography is the most important factor in foreign policy because it is the most permanent," arguing instead that (1) physical geography is far from permanent, but fluid, volatile, & constantly shifting; And (2) there are political geographies beyond the physical that shape & are shaped by processes of war & peace. The mutually constituted & social constructed nature of war & peace & their geographies are compared. Several key geographic themes in the study of war & peace are investigated: territoriality, borders, regionalization, scale, & network relationships between places across space. References. K. Hyatt Stewart
Argues that we cannot or should not even attempt to create a simple declarative formula or definition for Just Peace. Rather, a method is offered for thinking about Just Peace as a means of moving past the generally bipolar antagonisms that situate hostile groups in disputes that may or may not constitute actual war. It is granted that conflict &/or war between a minimum of two such hostile groups is the necessary point of departure for thinking about Just Peace. It is also assumed that if the conflict is deep & sufficiently enduring -- such as (but not limited to) the Palestinian-Israeli problem -- one should focus on those aspects of the hostilities that are irremediably specific, fundamental, & irrevocable. In short, it is vain to search for a Just Peace in transcendence, synthesis, & eventual reconciliation. K. Coddon
In: States, regions and global system: Europe and Northern Asia-Pacific in globalised governance, S. 245-273