This piece outlines briefly the Catholic Church’s consistent living of a peace tradition throughout a history tainted by conflict and violence. Based largely upon the work of Ronald G. Musto in his book The Catholic Peace Tradition (Orbis Books, 1986), the article examines the historical development of peace, considers

The author, analysing the nature of the conflict in her country, sees a way out to resolve over forty years of conflict in Colombia. She puts reconciliation before prosecution and punishment.

How to rebuild societies after wars in order to achieve sustainable peace has been a key question in the international community since the end of the Cold War. With numerous interventions to halt intrastate conflicts and prevent a return to war, international practitioners and academics alike have sought clear answers

Lack of security, slow progress in the disarmament of militias, and a weakly developed legal and institutional framework for democratic politics are endangering the success of Afghanistan's presidential and parliamentary elections due to be held in September.

Television pictures of peacekeepers holding babies, handing out sweets to children, and disarming militia combine to portray these individuals as saviours of the war torn citizenry. Peacekeeper’s involvement in the reconstruction of schools, roads and utilities add to the sense that wealthier, more powerful countries wish to assist through their

Human Rights Law remains an essential tool in the effort to minimize suffering in war, and stand up for justice in the face of overwhelming injustice. Still, as Theckanath points out, we should not lose sight of the larger struggle: to eradicate war completely.

At its best Contemporary Peacemaking treads the uneasy terrain between theory and practice, forging the types of links that are absolutely essential for the comparative work the editors quite clearly believe is of use for peace processes. There is much work to be done in this zone between the

I recently attended the Nairobi Summit, the First Review Conference of the 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction. There are nations that stayed away. It is a shame.

Drawing on her extensive experience with UN peacekeeping operations, including serving as Senior Gender Advisor for MINUSTAH, Nadine Puechguirbal discusses some of the ongoing challenges to gender mainstreaming in peacekeeping missions, and ultimately, the creation of a more just society.

How do peacebuilders promote change? Author: Laura Harms Originally Published at Peace and Conflict Monitor on: 08/09/2008 Category: Comment As our summer program came to an end last week, I asked students to reflect on their role as individuals and members of organizations in promoting change. For me as well