Non-violent Society Research Articles

But We Do Not Know Anything, We Were Born in This Predicament: Experiences of Learners Facing Xenophobia in South Africa

In this article, we discuss the experiences of learners who face xenophobia in South Africa. While extensive research has been conducted on xenophobia, few studies have specifically examined its impact on school-going children, whose presence at school is not by design in South Africa. We explore their lived experiences within the curriculum, thus exposing various trajectories that hinder effective teaching and learning. To theorise our findings, we tap into Whitehouse and Lanman’s notion of social cohesion. For data collection, we used a participatory action research approach. Through a series of interviews and group discussions, we engaged with a diverse group of 13 participants, which consisted of 10 migrant learners and 3 teachers. The study found that xenophobia is a significant social pathology in South Africa which found its way into the classroom walls, thereby affecting the performance of migrant learners. It affects the victim’s identity and has profound consequences for the perpetrators. Ultimately, the effects of xenophobia contribute to a cycle of school violence. We assert the imperative of addressing the distressing impact of xenophobia on children within classrooms. Based on our findings, we argue that initial teacher education programmes are key in fostering a non-violent society through promoting cohesion and cultural responsiveness.

Erratum: Isaiah 2:1–4 and insecurity in Nigeria: Towards building a non-violent society

No abstract available.

Isaiah 2:1–4 and insecurity in Nigeria: Towards building a non-violent society

Isaiah 2:1–4 and insecurity in Nigeria: Towards building a non-violent society

Do the media in South Africa offer alternatives to violence in their coverage of protests?

Against the backdrop of the many social ills affecting the country, South Africa continues to makestrides in the creation of a non-racist, non-sexist and non-violent society. The media’s role inthis endeavour is important. Hence, this research examined whether the media in South Africaoffered alternatives to violence in their coverage of the municipal protests recorded between 2009and 2011. The research revealed that the media’s coverage of these protests was narrow andpartial. In order for the coverage to be holistic, it is critical that the media go beyond reportingthe violence, its causes and its effects to offering alternatives to violence. However, offeringalternatives to violence is not the magic tool to prevent or even stop violence – it is a professionalactivity that highlights the key issues the media could focus on in order fully to inform the audiencein the public interest. It is also about socially responsible media.

Part of the Policing System in Criminal Justice System; Pieces of evidence from Punjab, Pakistan

Understanding criminal justice procedure in depth is imperative for developing a peaceful and nonviolent society. The police department is a crucial component of any country’s criminal justice system. The aim of current research was to examine Pakistan's criminal justice system, with a special focus on the Punjab police department as this department is the core part of this CJS (Criminal Justice System) hierarchy. In this study, the researcher employed the quantitative research design, and 104 out of 210 convicted prisoners were interviewed from the Faisalabad District Jail with the help of a well-structured questionnaire. It can be concluded that the policing system of Pakistan has developed through time and is continuing to do so in the modern world, including Pakistan; yet, the intricate workings of the system can be simplified enough for the average person to comprehend them, taking into account the changing interests and challenges of different time and spaces.

The relevance of Gandhi’s correlating principles of education in peace education

ABSTRACT Mahatma Gandhi’s life, ideas and educational philosophies on the whole form important cluster in peace education. Gandhi mainly valued three types of correlation in education viz., physical environment, social environment and craft, which are unavoidable in peace studies. Through these correlations Gandhi wanted to develop qualities which were necessary for building a non-violent society. His Nai Talim integrated craft, art, health and education into one scheme. Gandhi’s approach was ethical, as he believed that moral degeneration was the root cause of all evils including conflicts. Hence, he recommended acquisition of moral value by correlating education with craft, social surrounding and physical environment. This essay seeks to investigate why Gandhi identified these three as basic correlating factors? How far these factors are truly related with peace education and significant in promoting peace? How these correlating principles were accommodated within the educational structure? How far these correlating factors are significant in promoting peace? What is the scope of these correlations in the field of peace education? The present essay attempts to answer all these questions by using both qualitative and quantitative sources.

The Relevance of Gandhi in the Age of Globalisation

The relevance of Gandhian ideas and his technique of satyagraha in resolving global problems is even greater today. The economic disparity, social divisions, ecological catastrophe and growing social intolerance are global challenges in the age of capitalist and technological globalisation. Globalisation as an economic model with neo- liberal ideology is inconsistent with Gandhian economic and political philosophy. Globalisation per se does not seem to be not be reversible as the hegemony of the global capital is deeply entrenched. However, its malaise can be better managed with Gandhian prescriptions. Gandhi stands for pursuit of truth, incessant enquiry, nonviolence, human values, dignity of labour, and respect for the plurality of views, economic and political decentralisation with substantial decrease in the power of the state. Gandhian vision stands for mobilisation of the people’s power through nonviolent active participation against all kinds of injustices and making the political power accountable in the service of the society. Gandhi had deep faith in the intrinsic goodness of individual human beings and he staunchly believed and demonstrated that truthful and moral means are superior to immoral means in redressing the social and political problems confronting mankind. Gandhian economic and political vision is for a decentralised, just and nonviolent society which is indispensable for spiritual and moral upliftment of individual human beings. Gandhian prescriptions are for common masses and practical. It only requires pursuit of truthful and moral means without any hatred and ill will for anyone in the struggle against domination and injustice. Keywords: Satyagraha, Ahimsa, Dharna, Hindu, Inter-faith, Decentralisation, Moksha, Spiritual

Gandhiji in Ahmedabad

This essay deals with M.K. Gandhi’s experiments in practicing swaraj by him and his companions living in an ashram environment. He conceptualized ashram as a social laboratory for community living. It was to be the place to train volunteers for rebuilding India as a nonviolent society. He had begun the experiments in South Africa and continued it after returning to India in 1915. His experiments were aimed at training individuals for self-rule and for rebuilding rural society with decentralized economy consisting of agriculture, dairy (which included leather work), hand-spun cloth making which included weaving and dying. He named this entire process: swadeshi and swavalamban—self-reliance. This essay describes experiments he carried out at two locations: Kochrab and Sabarmati in Ahmedabad. He named his ashrams as Satyagraha Ashram. This essay gives a brief sketch of three institutions Gandhiji founded: Gujarat Vidyapith—a nationalist university for educating the new generation and turning them into volunteers for rural reconstruction, Majoor Mahajan Sangh, a unique trade union where cloth mill workers and owners came together to resolve industrial disputes; and a publishing house to propagate his thought and actions on swaraj, swavalamban, swadeshi, emancipation of women, Hindu-Muslim harmony and removal of untouchability based on Truth and Non-violence. This essay finally analyses his emergence as the leader of the common people and the Indian National Congress between 1915 and 1930.

A Review on the Criminal Justice System: Understanding its Structural Components and Process in Pakistan

Criminal justice system is fundamental to the cause of establishing a peaceful and nonviolent society; therefore, it is pertinent to understand criminal justice procedure in detail. This study was planned to know the procedure, structure and various parts involving in the criminal justice system. A secondary method of study was adopted by reviewing academic articles and books in order to review the criminal justice system. The article presents definitions of the criminal justice system, its components and also presents a detailed account of each component. Besides, the role and functions of different components including police, court procedures, and role of judges, bail process and correctional institutions were reviewed. It is concluded that criminal justice system has evolved and still evolving in the contemporary world including Pakistan and its complex elements may be made understandable to the common citizens while looking at the changing needs and problems in various times and spaces.

Religious Discourse and Gender Security in Southern Thailand

This article describes the complexity of applying human security through the notion of gender equality in southern Thailand where violent conflict has been prevalent for nearly half a century in a Malay-Muslim-dominated society. It explores how the concepts of gender and security have been interpreted in Malay-Muslim leaders’ outlooks. To define security more broadly, the article surveys the various notions of peacebuilding dealing with comprehensive human security and any security threat, thus not limited to state of war or physical violence only. In the prolonged armed violence and conflict, like that faced in Thailand’s Deep South, women’s security and their role in peacebuilding emerge as pertinent concerns. The discontinuities within the narratives of women and security highlight a divergence connected to personal-political imaginations of conflict whereby subtle variations in violent conflict can be seen as the products of different policy prescriptions, local cultural norms, and the project outcomes of women groups supported by governmental organizations and national and international donors. Thus, in order to reflect upon how contemporary security notions are framed, gendered security per- ceptions ought to be considered as they signify the exercise of peacebuilding programs in the local context. Persistent advocacy of gender equality is about cultural change, which eventually becomes a modality for non-violent society.

The Anthropology of Peace and Nonviolence

AbstractThe pioneering ideas of Glenn D. Paige for a paradigm shift from killing to nonkilling are highlighted. The relevance of anthropology for this paradigm is advanced. The accumulating scientific evidence proves that nonviolent and peaceful societies not only exist, but are actually the norm throughout human prehistory and history. This scientific fact is elucidated through a historical inventory of the most important documentation. Ethnographic cases are summarized of the Semai as a nonviolent society, the transition from killing to nonkilling of the Waorani, and the critiques of the representation of the Yanomami as a killing society. Several of the most important cross-cultural studies are discussed. The assertions of some of the most vocal opponents to this paradigm are refuted. The systemic cultural and ideological bias privileging violence and war over nonviolence and peace is documented.

A Declaration of Interdependence: Peace, Social Justice, and the “Spirit Wrestlers ”

The struggle between the Doukhobors, a nonviolent society committed to communal values, and the Canadian Government epitomizes the tension between values of personal rights and independence on the one hand, and social obligation on the other. The immigration of the Doukhobors from Russia to the Canadian prairies in 1899 precipitated a centurylong struggle that brings issues of social justice, moral obligation, political authority, and the rule of law into question. The fundamental core of Western democracies, founded on the sanctity of individual rights and equal opportunity, loses its potency in a community that holds to the primacy of interdependence and an ethic of caring. The transformation of individual identity from an isolated ego to a transpersonal state of interdependence presents profound implications for personal morality, social justice, and ecological awareness. The struggle of the Doukhobors invites us to imagine self-interest and community interest as no longer distinct and work toward a transformed vision of relational interdependence that embraces all of life.

Aportes sobre no violencia: la propuesta del socialismo autogestionario noviolento

Ahora más que nunca existe militarismo y militarización de la sociedad. Pero además, este sistema injusto desarrolla para imponerse y controlar a la población otros muchos mecanismos basados sobre todo en el control de la información, la manipulación de las conciencias, el fomento de la cultura de la evasión y la gestión del miedo y la inseguridad. Creemos que aún no se ha profundizado suficientemente en la noviolencia como propuesta global de sociedad, más allá de su dimensión de estrategia de lucha, y esa es nuestra propuesta: construir la sociedad Noviolenta, o Socialismo Autogestionario Noviolento. Se exponen las características de la sociedad noviolenta como autogestión, interculturalidad, superación del patriarcado...

Cape Verde: the most democratic nation in Africa?

This article examines the substance behind the claim that Cape Verde, a small archipelago state off the west coast of Africa, is the best country in Africa for political rights and civil liberties. Based on interviews conducted with 22 key informants in government, the judiciary, the legislature and civil society, it explores the electoral process, the political parties, the functioning of the National Assembly, civil and political rights, the judicial system, civil society and economic equality. It finds that Cape Verde's unique geography and history have played a key role in facilitating good governance, and an open and non-violent society that values the real political gains of 1991. However, democracy has not yet eradicated either gender discrimination, dependence on the diaspora or poverty.

Human needs and women peacebuilding in Lebanon.

Reducing direct and structural violence through satisfying human needs for security, identity, well-being, and self-determination, and promoting human rights, are essential in building a culture of peace. In Lebanon, a society that has seen much violence, the seeds of a nonviolent society are being nurtured in programs focused on women, and largely initiated and led by them.

Staying “Cool” in Toraja: Informal Strategies for the Management of Anger and Hostility in a Nonviolent Society

EthosVolume 16, Issue 1 p. 52-72 Staying “Cool” in Toraja: Informal Strategies for the Management of Anger and Hostility in a Nonviolent Society DOUGLAS HOLLAN, DOUGLAS HOLLAN DOUGLAS HOLLAN is Visiting Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles.Search for more papers by this author DOUGLAS HOLLAN, DOUGLAS HOLLAN DOUGLAS HOLLAN is Visiting Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles.Search for more papers by this author First published: March 1988 https://doi.org/10.1525/eth.1988.16.1.02a00030Citations: 25 AboutPDF ToolsExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume16, Issue1March 1988Pages 52-72 RelatedInformation

The Mahatma and Modern India

Centenary celebrations of the birth of any prominent man attract assessments of his character, career and influence. Nothing could be more understandable, particularly in the case of M. K. Gandhi, who was by common consent one of the greatest leaders Asia has produced in an era of colonial nationalisms and decolonization, who in his own life time was called a saint and a machiavellian politician, and who has become in independent India both a national myth and an embarrassment. Accounts of the importance of Gandhi in modern India tend to fall into two main categories. There are those who dismiss him, often regretfully, as an idealist whose Utopian plans for a democracy of village commonwealths and a non-violent society have collapsed in the face of economic and political necessity and the machinations of unscrupulous politicians. In the words of Jayaprakash Narayan, ‘If you consider the political ideologies attaining in India today, you would find that somehow one who is called the Father of the Nation is completely missing from all of them’. Such pessimism assesses Gandhi as if he had been solely a dispenser of blue-prints for a brave new world, and fails to see him as a dynamic leader whose greatest influence flowed from the type of movement he led and the techniques he used, rather than from the peculiarly personal ideals he held. On the other hand, there are those who hail him as the Father of India and try to draw direct causal connexions between his ideals and many of the major changes which have occurred in India since 1947, particularly the official abolition of Untouchability and the institution ofpanchayat raj.But this is the perspective of the biographer. It underrates the complexities of politics and society and their interaction, and turns a blind eye to the innumerable cross currents which make up the main stream of Indian social and political activity.

The Rejection of Violence in Gandhian Ethics of Conflict Resolution

This article is concerned with the problem of Gandhi's rejection of violence in situations of group conflict. Two questions have been asked: (1) On the basis of what arguments did Gandhi reject violence ? (2) Why did he on some occasions support violence ? The answer given to the first question is that Gandhi bases his rejection of violence on two different sorts of arguments. On one hand violence is condemned as morally bad in itself, independently of the consequences to which this rejection may lead. On the other hand violence is also rejected because of the consequences to which it leads. Violence, even used in self-defence, is in full contradiction with the democratic values and is not even able to defend them. Moreover it is never able to bring about accepted solutions of conflicts and it brutalizes man. According to Gandhi, Lenin is completely mistaken in his belief that violence can be used as a means to the achievement of the non-violent society of which he speaks in a famous passage of State and Revolution. For only means which are of the same ethical nature as the end sought can be conducive to its reali zation. Gandhi, however, on four occasions took direct part in war and repeatedly advised others to do the same. Our examination of Gandhi's writings and actions has shown that there are situations in which Gandhi believed it to be our duty to fight. These are the situations in which the alternatives open before us are not violence versus non violence but only direct violence versus indirect violence or violence versus cowardice and fear. The greatness of Gandhi, however, is not accounted for by his rejection of violence alone. His main contribution to the history of political ethics lies in his whole philosophy of conflict and in the non-violent techniques of conducting social conflicts which he devised as an effective and practical substitute for the traditional methods of violence.