Lack of empathy as a threat to peace
Key words: empathy, violence, international relations, cosmopolitanism, peace
Nepal: Withering Peace
Nepal: Withering Peace Author: Nihar Nayak Originally published at Peace and Conflict Monitor on 02/01/2006 The shimmering prospect of peace in Nepal has ended, for the time being, with the withdrawal of the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-Maoist) from unilateral truce on January 2, 2006. Despite the warnings and concerns of the international community over […]
The Mizrahi-Palestinian Connection, Part III
Scholarly analysis of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has depicted it as a conflict between two homogenous entities, namely Israel and the Palestinians. However, scholars largely ignore the impact of the “inner-Israeli” conflict between Mizrahim and Ashkenazim on the “external” conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Not only are the Mizrahim excluded from the peace process itself, but academics also fail to research the role they play in the conflict, while their occasional public role is that of extremely right-wing “Arab-haters” who prevent the Ashkenazi-dominated “liberal peace camp” from reaching a solution– hence they are portrayed as an obstacle to peace.
Regional Integration and Peace
Visiting University for Peace professor Philippe De Lombaerde gives an overview of regional economic theory and its causal relationship to regional security.
Religions and War
The study of religions and war is somewhat inchoate, yet for many years scholars have noted the important role religion plays in national, ethnic and international conflicts. Many have recently pointed to the use and abuse of religious symbolism by politically motivated leaders who employ religious language as a means of generating support for purportedly righteous causes.
We have become increasingly aware that when conflicts are couched in religious and moral language, followers often quickly and enthusiastically fall in line many willing to make ultimate sacrifices to fight on God s behalf, or at least on God s side as defined by their leaders.
Whether such political leaders are sincere in espousing religiously-imbued rhetoric or whether they are simple demagogues, the approach clearly works. It works to a great extent because it seems that many people, no matter what their political leanings, prefer to reduce complex socio-economic, or political conflicts into a zero-sum values game of right and wrong.
Towards Conflict Transformation in Nepal: A Case For UN Mediation
UN peace facilitators could help the Nepalese to draw up a viable compromise, perhaps engaging the parties and the civil society in “constitution making” as itself a part of the process of conflict transformation. They could help overcome the problems of mutual distrust, and ensure transparency and compliance with the code of conduct. UN resident coordinator in Nepal, Matthgew Kahane, has said that UN help could build trust in both sides to facilitate the resumption of the peace negotiations. Unfortunately, the government of Nepal can veto UN mediation because the UN can only intervene if it has the consent of all parties.
The Japanese Constitution as Peace System
The wars in Asia would seem to demand that certain European countries, the U.S., and Japan all re-examine the value systems that presumably provided the justification for those wars. Many situations of “instability” in this century were actually based on the preconceptions and deeds of the nations that applied that label. Now as ever, if a country has reason to be opposed to something, it will typically display a tendency to assume that other countries are engaged in strategic designs or acting from an adversarial position.
Realities of Peace and Development: Chaos is Our Lives
In this article, Akiko Abe looks back at her work in peace and development and reflects on the many challenges that we continue to face, both personal and collective. Recalling the characters and stories of a broad range of people living in conflict affected areas, Abe emphasizes the dissonant interplay of dreams and realities, and the need to embrace the chaos of their contradiction in order to continue along mankind’s unfinished journey towards peace.