Formative and Early Years of the Peace Science Society (International)

Abstract

The cessation of the relatively rosy interactions of the United States and Soviet Union in 1959-60 resulting from the U-2 incident and the subsequent intense escalation of hostilities led a group of concerned international scholars to convene at Malmö, Sweden in 1963. Their discussions initiated a series of meetings and conferences in Europe, Asia and North America on the need for and ways to conduct research to combat the deterioration of US-Soviet relations. From these activities came the formal establishment of the Peace Research Society, International (later renamed the Peace Science Society, International), with the holding of annual conferences in the United States, Europe and Asia, and with issuing newsletters and publishing papers and proceedings (later the journal Conflict Management and Peace Science). Considerable detail is presented on the evolution and experiences of the Society during the period 1963 to 1965, its joint sessions and interactions with other peace research and international relations groups, and its emphasis on the empirical testing of hypotheses and theories and the employment of scientific approaches for the development of conflict management procedures using concepts and tools of various disciplines.