Causes and cures XV: Synthesis and integration

Abstract

Abstract The past several years have been a landmark moment for violence prevention, with renewed attention on the part of many international agencies, but especially the United Nations, with its adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development . The latter invites the world community to collaborate in an inclusive, long-ranging vision for the future, highlighting our interdependence and collective responsibility for humanity's future. A growing awareness that preventing violence does not just reduce death and disability but promotes creativity, economic growth, and general well-being is at the heart of this “movement”. In the quest for a better understanding of human violence, interest in the issue has swept through multiple fields. An integration of the major disciplines and practical approaches is therefore timely, and for this to occur, we require a broader overview than just the view from within boundaries of existing domains. In this context, this fifteen article series modeled after a Global Health Studies course entitled, “Violence: Causes and Cures,” has reviewed the causes, consequences, and cures of the problem of violence. While knowledge has brought recognition of the magnitude and pervasiveness of violence, it has also generated insight into the much greater power that humanity possesses. At a time when we are reaching a decisive juncture in human history, with military and economic faculties achieving the ability to destroy our world many times over, we also face the urgent and sober task of integrating all our intellect and insight to best confront this enormous challenge called violence.