ULI451U-CONFLICT RESOLUTION
Chapter 1: Peace and Conflict Studies: The Emergence and Development of the Field
Introduction
Peace and Conflict Studies is a rising field of social sciences which aims to analyze violent conflicts in order to reach a strong peace. The term “violent conflict” could be defined as international conflicts as well as inter-group and even inter-individual conflicts. Equally, while the term “peace” refers to the absence of physical violence, it also could be defined as political and social conditions that guarantee the sense of justice, social stability, and well- being in general. Therefore, Peace and Conflict Studies is both a pedagogical activity in which educators transfer knowledge to learners. In addition, they could be described as research activities in which researchers constantly pursue new information to improve their knowledge regarding conflicts and conflict resolution.
The Basics of Peace and Conflict Studies
The purpose of this chapter is to introduce the development and issues of Peace and Conflict Studies and analyzes its basic structures, arguments, and discussions throughout the field.
The studies focuses on peace and conflict address:
a. Why and how do violent conflicts arise? b. How can violent conflicts be managed, and how can conflicts be resolved and transformed through peaceful means? c. What roles do international and local actors play in building peace? d. What is required to combat not just physical violence but also structural violence, which may be in the form of political oppression, economic distress, unjust distribution of national wealth, human rights violations, or similar other undesired conditions?
The Emergence and Development of Peace and Conflict Studies
Peace and Conflict Studies is an interdisciplinary field includes history, political science, philosophy, sociology, psychology, political psychology, anthropology, gender studies, and many other related disciplines. It is also multifaceted, investigating settings of peace at the international, societal, and individual levels. It is multicultural, aiming to respect different cultures and trying to learn from them.
In addition, Peace and Conflict Studies is based on some value-related statements:
a. Human nature is good. Therefore, peace is a major influence on human behavior. b. Violence is not natural. It is a learned and corrupt behavior. Since violence is learned, peace can be learned as well. c. Strong peace can only be achieved through peaceful means. The truth is wars are costly.
d. Some of the basic notions of Peace and Conflict Studies includes; direct violence which means direct attack and physical violence; structural violence that refers to undesired political, economic, and social conditions affecting people to experience; cultural violence that means racist, ethnocentric, and discriminatory thoughts.
Five Stages in the Historical Development of Peace and Conflict Studies
Precursors (1918–1945): During this period, the failure of the some of internationalist liberal engagements to avoid the eruption of the First World War encouraged many people to study war and peace and accept it as a new “science”. In this respect, some countries attempted to study in this area: France, Germany, Holland, Czechoslovakia, Switzerland, as well as in the United States.
Foundations (The 1950s and 1960s): The first attempted research focused on peace and conflict research took place between 1945 and 1965. The first institution was called The Peace Research Laboratory, which was also founded by Theodore F. Lentz at St Louis, Missouri, after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
Constructions (The 1970s and 1980s): Between a comprehensive disciplines and with a reasonably sound institutional base, conflict resolution had defined its specific focus area based on the three great projects by the early 1970s. These projects were avoiding nuclear war, eliminating obtrusive inequalities and injustices in the global system, and reaching ecological balance.
Reconstructions (The 1990s After the end of the Cold War, the 1990s): encouraged many students to work on conflict resolution and offered astonishing opportunities to make resourceful contributions to the resolution of lethal conflicts. The international community, including the UN, regional organizations, and concerned governments tend to adopt many of the conflict resolution approaches initiated by Peace and Conflict Studies scholars.
Cosmopolitan Conflict Resolution (2005-Present At the end of the 20th century); cosmopolitanism has begun to develop as a consequence of globalization, nationalism, identity politics, migration, and multiculturalism.
Major Areas of Peace Research
a. Security b. Violent Organizations c. Conflict Patterns d. Civilians in Conflict e. Regions and Power f. Religion g. Migration h. Gender i. Peacebuilding j. Business and Peacebuilding k. Governance l. Urbanization and Environment
Main Approaches to Peace and Conflict Resolution
The main approaches of peace and conflict studies are categorized as traditional/legal and extra-traditional/legal approaches. The majority of conflicts are often solved through traditional ways. Mediation, which means involvement of the third party, aims to settle the conflict in a way that both parties accept voluntarily. It can be best described as a dialogue or negotiation with the involvement of a third party. Mediation, therefore, is a negotiation process by employing a mediator who can suggest new variables and dynamics to the conflict.
If the conflict is within an organization, administration usually suggests a solution to the conflict. Thus, a third party who has outsider approach to the conflict but also has authority might decide for the parties involved. An administrative conflict resolution process usually aims to equalize both the needs of the parts involved in the conflict. Another type of third-party intervention is settlement. Settlement refers to a mandatory way of conflict resolution outside the courts or legal procedures. The conflict is solved based on a decision that is made by one or more persons, called negotiator(s), and the decision is legally compulsory for both sides. Settlement is usually used for the resolution of commercial disagreements, particularly in the context of international commercial transactions.
When it comes to violent international conflicts or other large-scale conflicts might threaten global or regional peace, peacekeeping forces might be employed. This responsibility is often completed by the UN because of its grand task of being the grand guardian of international peace and safety. In addition to these traditional or legal approaches, there are some untraditional approaches:
a. Democratization is one of the key elements to help creating peaceful societies and peaceful international relations. Issues concerning social and international relations can be calmly solved with democratic steps before they become wide- ranging conflicts. b. Another approach would be addressing economic inequalities among groups or nations that seem to be one of the contributing factors in many conflicts. Research shows that there is a strong relation between lack of human needs and conflict. Hence, solution to the conflict must be reinforced by economic programs which aims to increase living standards and provide distributive justice as much as possible. c. Confidence building is also necessary in order to solve almost all violent conflicts, because parties involved in the conflict usually have prolonged mutual hurts and severe distrust towards each other, and stereotypes. Thus, building confidence between the parties involved in conflict usually emerges as an vital necessity of constructive conflict resolution.
Criticisms of Peace and Conflict Studies
Peace and Conflict Studies has been subject to many criticisms:
a. Some argue that Peace and Conflict Studies produce unpractical prescriptions for handling or solving severe conflicts. b. It is argued that Peace and Conflict Studies mainly fail in some situations which include international conflicts with a big power asymmetry between conflicting actors. Therefore, the powerful side mainly commands its wish and the weaker side has nothing to do other than tolerant this unfairness and accepts it as a reality. c. Peace and Conflict Studies is also described as weak against structural wars whose roots are in a problematic structure, as changing such a structure is almost practically impossible, at least in the short run. In addition, since supporters of Peace and Conflict Studies emphasize on settlement as the main goal of peace, many criticisms also stress “justice” as the primary objective of peace. d. Peace and Conflict Studies wants to keep an eye on the “bad guys”, however, makes them part of power-sharing activities. But the opponents of this view believe in sideling the “bad guys” and holding them respınsible for their crimes and diminishing their power. e. Peace and Conflict Studies is criticized about lacking of methodological strength meaning that the field is basically based on some concepts unsuitable for empirical testing such as conflict, peace, and justice. Moreover, even though many Peace and Conflict Studies scholars employ quantitative research techniques, used effectively in economics and political science, it is stated that such methods are unsuitable for the field whose basic terms are vague and indefinite.
In conclusion, the field signifies a hope that a more peaceful world is possible, and that hope itself is priceless. Moreover, beginning to develop during the Cold War period, Peace and Conflict Studies is too young to be an objective for such criticisms. With support and further and exclusive research, the field is likely to become an important channel to create conflict transformation and strong peace around the world. Thus, the area, at least, deserves a chance to prove itself.