Pursuit Of Peace Research Articles

Prefatory Note from the Editor: Introducing NSJPGS: The Inaugural Issue

With this inaugural issue of the North South Journal of Peace and Global Studies, the Center for Peace Studies (CPS) and the South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance (SIPG) at North South University (NSU) begin an important intellectual journey that represents the aspirations of the affiliated faculty and staff to broaden a commitment to peace education and peace building in the South Asia region and beyond. The designation ‘North South’ in the journal title is intended to indicate the intellectual linkage and bridging of the concerns of the two geographic hemispheres concerning the diverse ways in which peace and global studies are conceptualized and engaged in qualitative and quantitative research. Today, the circulating concepts in use are “the Global North” and “the Global South,” in contrast to the earlier “EastWest” discourse of geopolitics. Thus, there should be an intellectual linkage between “North South” in the interest of peace and global studies. Peace, of course, is a fundamental value expressive of concern for the greater human interest above and beyond the contemporary configuration of international relations and the diverse national interests pursued by nation-states. Peace is a value essential to the achievement of a just and humane world order. As such, it is a trans-national and transgenerational value having normative standing. Proponents of peace seek to respond to the manifested needs of diverse peoples across the face of the earth today. But, they also seek to account responsibly for the rights of future generations and the moral and legal obligations we in the present have to our near- and far-term descendants. This is a matter of safeguarding the future against global catastrophe and loss of our common cultural and intellectual heritage that includes the contributions of various civilizations.

The Essential Writings of Vannevar Bush edited by G. Pascal Zachary

<i>The Essential Writings of Vannevar Bush</i> edited by G. Pascal Zachary

Neoliberal conflict and ‘democratic peace’: The post-cold war crisis

ABSTRACT This article conducts a comprehensive analysis of the inadequacy of the neoliberal peace theory, a derivative of the democratic peace theory, in its endeavour to establish global stability. Drawing upon case studies from the First Gulf War, the Balkans, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Northern Triangle of Central America, it becomes evident that the ambitions of the neoliberal peace framework have consistently fallen short of their objectives. These practical instances underscore the inherent constraints and oversimplifications of the theory when addressing the intricate dynamics within international relations. This article highlights the multifaceted nature of the pursuit of global peace and calls for the reassessment and adaptation of the neoliberal peace theory to align with the requirements of the contemporary world. The efficacy of neoliberal initiatives in promoting peace is evaluated, shedding light on their limitations. Additionally, the article explores lack of a direct correlation between regime type and peace by citing the failure of neoliberal peace in the context of illiberal trends with in democracies. Neoliberal trapping of liberal democratic peace theory, which turns out to be an inevitable crisis in peace building is discussed, scrutinising the instigation, exacerbation, and perpetuation of conflicts in the post- cold war era using the indicators of democratisation, economic interdependence and international organisations.

Fitting Comfortably: Mormonism and the Narrative of National Violence

Fitting Comfortably: Mormonism and the Narrative of National Violence

Peace agreements with no peace: A critical review of peace agreements in the Central African Republic

ABSTRACT Societies faced with authoritarian rule or conflict usually adopt different paths to peace. The course adopted by each community to guarantee stability determines the extent to which the sustainability of the peace can be assured. Every attempt to pacify a society should aim to prevent a relapse to conflict or authoritarian rule while considering the damage caused and sorting out measures to repair the harm. The history of military coups and conflicts in the Central African Republic (CAR) is well documented. Still, the attempted remedies have greatly side-lined the raison d’être of the responses in guaranteeing peace and preventing relapse to conflict. As the CAR remains politically and socially unstable, an analysis of the failure of peace agreements to ensure stability constitutes a field of inquiry that urgently necessitates a more profound investigation to save the country from recurrent hostilities and guarantee a peaceful society for the citizens. Peace includes an aspiration manifested by both the CAR authorities and non-state armed groups in the course of hostilities and on the negotiation table. Central Africans indicate an interest in peace, but such interest often manifested and materialised in peace agreements has barely been implemented.

Merajut Kembali Relasionallitas Masyarakat dan Pemerintah

&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; The center of the study of this paper is to explore and understand Armada Riyanto’s ideas about reconciliation and truth. The ongoing political and security dynamics generate new and rich awareness and meaning in the pursuit of peace. The methodology used in this paper is ‘phenomenology’, that is, everyday phenomena become the main source of philosophy. By looking at the political reality from marginal notes, from phenomenological experience, this research comes to the finding that the political concept based on reconciliation and truth is a relevant political program to seek peace. Reconciliation cannot be carried out without revealing the truth and a truth will have a deep meaning in the act of reconciliation. The government and society have a responsibility to cultivate the virtue of peace. The synergy between the government and the community determines the progress of the life of the nation and state. &#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D;

GEORGIAN PARADIGM OF PEACE

The work, based on the new EU action platform, analyzes the role of themodern higher education system in regulating the most important issues of public life. The author has followed up the centuries-old Georgian experience as an essential tool for sustainable and continuous development of statehood in the pursuit of peace. A new model of education policy, proposed in the work, the ‘University Diplomacy’ is based on this historical experience and the earnest idea, generated by the innate demand, as a form of education and its highest peak the science as well as a modern form of peace-building and a new form of international relations and diplomacy. The book is designed to trigger public discussion and debate in the society.

Thinking about the distant future promotes the prospects of peace: A construal-level perspective on intergroup conflict resolution

The current research reveals that the pursuit of peace entails an inherent paradox. The urgent need to save lives and alleviate human suffering necessitates swift solutions to the problem of intergroup conflict. However, because the human mind associates peace with longer time horizons, people anticipate peace more when considering the distant rather than the near future. Six experiments demonstrate a robust and large effect whereby thinking about the distant future promotes the prospects of peace compared to thinking about the near future. These experiments also provide evidence for the role that construal fit, that is, the tendency to match high temporal distance with abstractness, plays in this effect. We discuss implications for shorter-term and longer-term peace interventions.

WHY NAGA NATIONALISM THRIVED FOR DECADES: AN ASSESSMENT

The younger generation after August 25, 1997 Bangkok declaration between the NSCN-IM and Government of India, have seen less bloodshed and known more of the benign side of India. Today, the Naga youths are integrating and socializing into the mainstream culture by venturing out to major cities like Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata etc. for education, work, better opportunities and economic investments. This is happening alongside the unsettled political Indo-Naga issue. Here we try to understand the causes or reasons behind the rise and sustenance of Naga national movement that has dragged on for more than seven decades, how its social structure, communitarian landholding system, headhunting past, christian proselytization, porous international borders, rugged topography, firm leadership, effective management of dissent and elaborate mechanisms of taxation, all coalesced to give the Naga national movement a firm setting. Taken in right spirit, this assessment can produce a double-edged sword; on the one hand, we can identify how a certain problem is thriving or drawing its sustenance and therefore strategize toward its end. While on the other hand, it can embolden and encourage the other party to build on its strength. Understanding the nuances of Naga political movement becomes an indelible requirement in pursuit of peace and honorable settlement.

Ubu-ntu ethics in dialogue with Kant’s deontic ethics

“Kant’s second thoughts on race” is our gateway to the dialogue between the ethics of ubu-ntu and his deontic ethics. The thesis defended in the dialogue is that Kant’s quasi-absolute prohibition on revolution to bring about a new state dispensation changes into an endorsement of an ethical revolution in pursuit of truth, justice and peace both in the national and the international domains.

Yonder by Ali Standish

Reviewed by: Yonder by Ali Standish Kara Forde Standish, Ali Yonder. HarperCollins, 2022 [368p] Trade ed. ISBN 9780062985682 $16.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9780062985705 $10.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 5-9 Jack Bailey is the town hero for saving twin toddlers from drowning in a flood, and he's also narrator Danny Timmons's personal protector. When Jack doesn't show up for their shared morning paper delivery route, Danny enlists Lou, his former best friend, to figure out why Jack disappeared. Most townspeople dismiss Danny's concerns about Jack, especially any accusation against Jack's physically abusive father, a decorated war veteran who is buddies with the local Sergeant. One day, Danny finds a clue at the riverside site where he last saw Jack—the word "YONDER" scratched into the bark of a tree. Danny recognizes the reference to Jack's late mother's mythical tale of a hidden forest town called Yonder: "A perfect town. The kind where there's never any trouble. Where they've never even heard of war." Vivid imagery evoking the tale of Yonder keeps readers guessing whether the story might slip into a fantastical resolution for Jack, but the ending is touchingly [End Page 261] grounded in reality. Set in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina during the Second World War, Danny's narrative cycles back and forth in time, marching toward an unspecified pivotal moment when he fell short of being the hero of his own story. The pace of the plot is brisk, yet Standish sensitively incorporates details about the era's problematic politics, and the story ultimately serves as a sophisticated analogy for the self-serving and simplistic stories perpetuated about the role of the United States in World War II. A historical note reinforces Standish's intention to complicate the portrayal of American heroism found in textbooks. The concluding message imparts there is no final horizon in the pursuit of peace and justice. Rather, like yonder, it is a direction. Copyright © 2022 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

‘At least I have done something’: A qualitative study of women's social egg freezing experiences

Social egg freezing has become an expanding clinical practice and there is a growing body of empirical literature on women's attitudes and the sociocultural implications of this phenomenon. Yet, its impact remains subject to ethical controversy. This article reports on a qualitative study, drawing on 18 interviews with women who had elected to initiate at least one egg freezing cycle in Belgium. Our findings, facilitated by a ‘symbiotic empirical ethics’ approach, shed light on the concerns and perceptions that accompany women's decisions while supporting a more context-sensitive reading of the ethical debate. We identified three key themes: feeling overwhelmed with uncertainty and a threatening future, bodily discomfort and distress during the medical process, and the endless pursuit of peace of mind. One of the issues that emerges from these findings is the risk ritual function of social egg freezing, referring to routine actions of risk anticipation that mitigate uncertainty and express a sense of individual responsibility. While more research is needed, this conceptualisation provides a starting point to flesh out the wider context of this moral practice and its symbolic meaning for women.

Theoretical issues of qualification of knowledge as scientific information and the criteria of its objectness for falling under legal regulation and grants for science in BRICS countries (case study in the military sphere) as one of the method of financing of scientific research

The subject of this research is the qualification of knowledge as scientific information and criteria for its objectness for falling under legal regulation, as well as certain aspects of grants for science in BRICS countries (case study in the military sphere) as one of the methods of financing scientific research. The relevance of this research lies in delimitation of scientific information from information that is not classified as such, which on the one hand would allow to more extensively implement the UNGA Declaration on the Scientific and Technological Progress in the Interests of Peace and for the Benefit of Mankind (1975), while on the other hand, provide representation on the approaches towards grants for military scientific research as one of the methods of financing scientific research in BRICS countries. The scientific novelty of the research is determined by the goal of research and the acquired results. It is established that first and foremost, the countries try delineate the public access to information that is at the disposal of the state in order to meet their utilitarian interests. At the same time, the article indicates unequal access to information and various approaches towards the definition and legal consolidation of the concept of &amp;ldquo;information&amp;rdquo;, which allows reflecting on interpretation of the concept of &amp;ldquo;scientific information&amp;rdquo;, &amp;nbsp;as well as on the absence of legitimate definitions of the latter and its delimitation from other information in different countries having certain characteristic features. It is also demonstrated that BRICS countries have different sources of grant funding for scientific research (including military research), as well as national peculiarities that limit these sources for research aimed at ensuring national security.

Positive Peace Pillars and Sustainability Dimensions: An Analytical Framework

AbstractDespite broad recognition that peace and sustainability are interrelated, the pathways of their relationship remain ambiguous or nascent at best. We synthesized the literature relevant to the linkages between the two by framing our analysis around the pillars of positive peace and the dimensions of sustainability. Our review reveals that while the existing studies describe the conditions where peace and sustainability considerations interact, empirical evidence of their causal linkages appears limited. Nevertheless, this framing enabled us to consider some of the environmental, social, economic, and institutional conditions that influence the relationship between peace and sustainability. It also shows how our understanding of the peace–sustainability nexus can benefit from integrating environmental sustainability as one of the pillars of positive peace and negative peace as one of the dimensions of sustainability. This review presents opportunities for epistemic communities to navigate the factors and contexts that influence the pursuit of peace and sustainability.

A Buddhist-Humanist exploration of global citizenship within various spaces and places

In this autoethnographic study, I negotiate my identity as a mixed-caste South Asian woman, drawing on a Buddhist-humanist spiritual approach to examine the development of global citizen identity. The non-Western perspective of global citizenship discussed in the paper, challenges the mono-epistemological version of research produced in the English-speaking world. I discuss three experiences in my life that correspond to the cultivation of the tenets of global citizenship namely wisdom, courage, compassion as articulated by Ikeda. This paper offers a practical and experiential example of applying a non-dominant global citizenship approach and seeks to institutionalize the field as a discourse in the pursuit of global peace, social justice, and universal human rights.

Introduction: reframing narratives of peace-building and state-building in Africa

ABSTRACT This paper introduces the Special Issue that grew out of a research project at the African Leadership Centre, which was supported by the Canadian International Centre for Development Research (IDRC). Like the underpinning research, the papers in this volume engage with two aspects of the state-building and peace-building debate and foreground the theory of “conversation” as a useful lens through which to advance the pursuit of sustainable peace in Africa. First, we challenge the dominant approach that constructs liberal state-building as an essential condition for durable peace in societies emerging from armed conflict. Second, we examine the extent to which various forms of political settlements are able to deliver sustainable peace and as a result, more peaceful and viable states. The concept of “conversation” is the thread that connects the two elements of the research. The notion of conversation reverses the conventional view of the relationship between peacebuilding and state-building while re-centring a particular dimension of political settlement. We argue that peacebuilding should be conceived as part of the conversations occurring along the state-building continuum in the affected societies. This shifts the traditional approach of privileging the technical over the political, power over agency, and the international over the national and local. This paper introduces the articles in this volume, which include conceptual and empirical case-studies and it discusses implications for policy and practice.

Ubiratan D’Ambrosio: Celebrating His Life and Legacy

On May 12th, Brazil and the world said goodbye to one of its biggest names in mathematics education, Ubiratan D’Ambrosio (December 8, 1932 – May 12, 2021). D’Ambrosio is recognized both throughout Brazil and internationally for having been the creator of ethnomathematics, a concept that acknowledges, values, and respects different mathematical ideas, procedures, and practices developed by the members of distinct cultural groups. D’Ambrosio analyzed the history of explanations of life and of natural evolution in different cultures. In the last years, his motivation had been the pursuit of peace, in all its four dimensions: individual, social, environmental, and military. In this paper we pay homage to Ubiratan D’Ambrosio, sharing our thoughts related to his personal, professional, and academic life.

Merajut Kembali Relasionallitas Masyarakat dan Pemerintah: Relevansi Politik Berasaskan Rekonsiliasi dan Kebenaran

The center of the study of this paper is to explore and understand Armada Riyanto’s ideas about reconciliation and truth. The ongoing political and security dynamics generate new and rich awareness and meaning in the pursuit of peace. The methodology used in this paper is ‘phenomenology’, that is, everyday phenomena become the main source of philosophy. By looking at the political reality from marginal notes, from phenomenological experience, this research comes to the finding that the political concept based on reconciliation and truth is a relevant political program to seek peace. Reconciliation cannot be carried out without revealing the truth and a truth will have a deep meaning in the act of reconciliation. The government and society have a responsibility to cultivate the virtue of peace. The synergy between the government and the community determines the progress of the life of the nation and state.

The Pursuit of Justice, Truth, and Peace: Reflections on Twenty Years of Imperfect Transitional Justice in Timor-Leste

The Pursuit of Justice, Truth, and Peace: Reflections on Twenty Years of Imperfect Transitional Justice in Timor-Leste

Building Peace in the Shadow of War: Women-to-Women Diplomacy as Alternative Peacebuilding Practice in Myanmar

ABSTRACT Conventional assumptions locating peacebuilding temporally after violence have largely prevented exploration of how peacebuilding is practiced amidst conditions of ongoing violence. This article addresses this gap by analysing how Myanmar women’s activists have devised strategies in pursuit of peace, amidst ongoing armed conflict, from the 1990s and onwards. The findings demonstrate that women’s inter-ethnic cooperation contributed to transform conflict divides long before the initiation of formal national peace negotiations in 2011. Further, theorizing these peacebuilding practices, the article provides new insights into the dynamics of women’s peace activism of relevance beyond the case of Myanmar.