Postcolonial Theory and the Ideology of Peace Studies

Abstract

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes 1. Claims for earlier origins are far-fetched and lack continuity with the more recent programmes. The first post-World War II Peace Studies programme was established in 1948 at Manchester College (Indiana), by the pacifist Brethren, but this was also an isolated example. ‘Peace Studies: Past and Future’, Special Issue, Vol. 504, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science; Ian M. Harris, Larry J. Fisk and Carol Rank, ‘A Portrait of University Peace Studies in North America and Western Europe at the End of the Millennium’, International Journal of Peace Studies, Vol. 3, No. 1 (1998), available at www.gmu.edu/academic/ijps/vol3_1/Harris.htm. 2. Available at www.earlham.edu/∼psa/history.html. 3. Alva Myrdal, The Game of Disarmament: How the United States and Russia Run the Arms Race, New York, 1976. 4. Colgate University Peace Studies Programme, available at departments.colgate.edu/peacestudies/default.htm. 5. See, for example, Herbert C. Kelman, ‘Social-Psychological Contributions to Peacemaking and Peacebuilding in the Middle East’, Applied Psychology, Vol. 47, No. 1 (1998), pp. 5–29; Louis Kriesberg, ‘Mediation and the Transformation of the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict’, Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 38, No. 3 (2001), pp. 373–392; John Paul Lederach, Preparing for Peace: Conflict Transformation Across Cultures, Syracuse, NY, 1995; Joseph Montville, Conflict and Peacemaking in Multiethnic Societies, Lanham, MD, 1990. 6. L. Forcey, ‘Introduction to Peace Studies’, in L. Forcey (ed.), Peace: Meanings, Politics, Strategies, New York, 1989, p. 7, cited by Harris et al., ‘A Portrait of University Peace Studies’. 7. See the analysis posted on www.ngo-monitor.org. 8. Noam Chomsky, Peace in the Middle East, New York, 1974; Noam Chomsky, World Orders Old and New, New York, 1994. 9. See, for example, Amnesty International's Annual Report for 2006 (available at www.amnesty.org/ailib/aireport/index.html) and the comments Secretary General Irene Khan (available at www.huffingtonpost.com/irene-khan/). 10. Available at www.hrw.org. 11. It is interesting to note that two of the most pervasive influences on peace studies—Said and Chomsky—gained their academic influence in fields far removed from politics, international relations, or related disciplines. Said's position and research was in literature, and Chomsky is a linguist. Their impact on the study of politics and peace studies resulted from publications outside their areas of expertise. Although such academic cross-over is not unique, Chomsky is essentially an essayist, and his publications and claims are not documented. He chooses his ‘evidence’ to fit his ideology and argument, exploiting his academic position as a linguist to publish scattered thoughts in support of political and ideological positions. And Said's notoriety and influence was enhanced by the myth he created for himself as a Palestinian refugee from the 1948 war, while erasing his true background as a member of the Arab elite residing mostly in Cairo, and with only a distant connection to Jerusalem, which has been carefully documented by Justus Weiner. 12. This was a frequent theme in Said's numerous political publications and speeches. For example, Edward W. Said, ‘Who's In Charge? A Tiny, Unelected Group, Backed by Powerful Unrepresentative Interests’, CounterPunch, 8 March 2003. 13. See, for example, Noam Chomsky, Understanding Power: The Indispensable Chomsky, ed. Peter R. Mitchell and John Schoeffel, New York, 2002; Noam Chomsky, World Orders Old and New, New York, 1994; Edward W. Said, ‘Low Point of Powerlessness’, Al Ahram, 30 September 2002. These are a few examples of dozens of such publications that repeat the same theme, in which ideology becomes the basis for political analysis. 14. Fredric Jameson, Postmodernism, or, the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism, Durham, NC, 1992. 15. Shannon French, ‘Murderers, Not Warriors: The Moral Distinction Between Terrorists and Legitimate Fighters in Asymmetric Conflicts’, in James Sterba (ed.), Terrorism and International Violence, London, 2003, p. 32. 16. Solomon Schimmel, Wounds Not Healed by Time: The Power of Repentance and Forgiveness, Oxford and New York, 2002. 17. Fen Osler Hampson, Nurturing Peace: Why Peace Settlements Succeed or Fail, Washington DC, 1996. 18. See, for example, Dean G. Pruitt, ‘Ripeness Theory and the Oslo Talks’, International Negotiation, Vol. 2 (1997), pp. 91–104; Kelman, ‘Social-Psychological Contributions’; Kriesberg, ‘Mediation and the Transformation’. 19. Caroline Cox and Roger Scruton, Peace Studies: A Critical Survey, New York, 1984; Roger Scruton, World Studies: Education or Indoctrination, New York, 1985; Paul Mercer, ‘Peace’ of the Dead: The Truth Behind the Nuclear Disarmers, London, 1986. 20. In ‘Peace Studies: Past and Future’, p. 9. 21. Brian Sayre, ‘Peace Studies’ War Against America', FrontPageMagazine.com, 30 April 2003, available at www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID = 7583. 22. Available at csf.colorado.edu/peace/syllabi/pacs3302.html. 23. Available at www.ngo-monitor.org/editions/v1n02/v1n02–1.htm. 24. On the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, members of Leeds Coalition Against the War will demonstrate in graphic form, with the aid of cardboard boxes, what they believe needs to happen to the wall that the Israeli government is erecting between Israel and the Occupied Territories. ‘Palestinians are being cut off from their livelihoods and families, and Israelis are being separated from neighbours with whom they have lived in peace. This symbolic action is taking place to draw the attention of the Leeds public to the conflict in Israel-Palestine, in order to mobilize the voices of peace.’ 25. Mohammed Abu-Nimer, ‘Another Voice Against the War’, Peace Studies section of the International Studies Association, Washington, DC, 2001. 26. Mohammed Abu-Nimer, ‘Nonviolent Voices in Israel and Palestine’, Policy Brief No. 9, Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace Studies, 2002, Notre Dame, IN. Additional informationNotes on contributorsGerald M. SteinbergGerald Steinberg is Professor and Director of the Program on Conflict Management at Bar Ilan University, and is Executive Director of NGO Monitor.