Peace by Peaceful Means: Peace and Conflict, Development and Civilization (International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO)) - Hardcover

Galtung, Johan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0803975104 ISBN 13: 9780803975101

Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd, 1996

Synopsis

Johan Galtung, one of the founders of modern peace studies, provides a wide-ranging panorama of the ideas, theories and assumptions on which the study of peace is based.

The book is organized in four parts, each examining the one of the four major theoretical approaches to peace. The first part covers peace theory, exploring the epistemological assumptions of peace. In Part Two conflict theory is examined with an exploration of nonviolent and creative handling of conflict. Developmental theory is discussed in Part Three, exploring structural violence, particularly in the economic field, together with a consideration of the ways of overcoming that violence. The fourth part is devoted to civilization theory. This involves an exploration of cultural violence focusing on the deeper aspects of cultures. Finally, the threads of these four approaches are drawn together with a focus on peace action - peace by peaceful means.

About this title

Review:

`Even a reviewer who has spent a lifetime in peace research finds much insight, inspiration and provocation in [this book]. It is a book to start the road with - and to return to by the end of the road' - Democratization

`Galtung's book is one of the best guides for getting to know the world we live in. It contains astonishing insights, not only about war and peace, but about one's own cultural roots and ideological predispositions. It is a courageous and highly ethical work, full of unpalatable truths but lit up by sparks of truth' - Media Development

`This is an important volume by one of the most important scholars of modern peace studies.... It is both an overview and an elaboration of his ideas regarding the conceptual and material implications of peace.... This is not an easy book to read in the sense that the prose is dense and the arguments are spread over the main text and within the detailed footnotes. However, it is worth reading carefully precisely because it is concerned with locating peace studies within a broader social and intellectual context than other parts of the discipline of international relations or political science. Galtung concludes his latest contribution with a plea for perseverance: peace is something that has to be worked at and, moreover, peace workers have to expect resistance from those inculcated within reactionary state structures' - International Affairs

About the Author:

Johan Galtung, dr hc mult, is Professor of Peace Studies at the University of Haiwaii, the University of Witten/Herdecke, the European Peace University and the University of Troms[o with a line through it]o. One of the founders of peace research, he established the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO) in 1959 and the Journal of Peace Research in 1964. He has published over 50 books, including, Essays in Peace Research, Theories and Methods of Social Science Research, Human Rights in Another Key (1994) and Choose Peace (1995).

About this edition

• Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0803975104
• ISBN 13: 9780803975101
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 292