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Toward A Buddhist Theory Of Structural Peace: Lessons From Myanmar In Transition, Tatsushi Arai

Peace and Conflict Studies

This essay analyzes the result of in-depth interviews that the author conducted with Burmese Buddhist leaders, with a view toward building Buddhist theories of social conflict, reconciliation, and structural peace. Findings include their shared understanding of the deeply spiritual, inner-directed nature of conflict and reconciliation, and their highly divergent, contested understandings of the structural roots of human suffering in today’s globalized and interconnected world. To meet these structural challenges, this essay introduces the concept of structural awareness, which it defines as educated, enlightened consciousness to appreciate and act responsibly on the complex chains of causal relations in which well-intended action …

The Role Of Youth In Post Accord Transformation In Northern Ireland, Christine Smith Ellison

Peace and Conflict Studies

Despite increased international interest in the contribution of education to peacebuilding, there has been a neglect of the role that non-formal youth programming can play in this process. This article examines three such youth programmes in post-accord Northern Ireland through the theoretical lens of their contribution to social, economic and political transformations. Given the sustained context of segregation and limitations of the formal education sector as a mechanism for transformation, the paper argues that the non-formal sector has played an important role in ensuring inclusion of multiple youth perspectives in a divided society. It also raises a number of critical …

Bereavement, Storytelling, And Reconciliation: Peacebuilding Between Israelis And Palestinians, Frida Kerner Furman

Peace and Conflict Studies

Despite the ongoing conflict and the general neglect by the media, power brokers, and the public, grassroots organizations in the Middle East persist in their dedication to “people to people” diplomacy between Israelis and Palestinians. The Parents Circle-Families Forum is a bi-national NGO committed to peacebuilding and reconciliation between Jewish Israelis and Palestinians from East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Its most distinctive features are its membership, composed of 300 families from each side who have lost a close relative to the conflict, and its use of storytelling to connect the two sides. Bereaved individuals develop the capacity for empathy …

From Positionality To Relationality: A Buddhist-Oriented Relational View Of Conflict Escalation And Its Transformation, Ran Kuttner

Peace and Conflict Studies

Through a theoretical analysis, this paper suggests that the Buddhist philosophy and psychology offer a unique contribution to our understanding of conflict escalation and the potential for its transformation from a relational point of view. In particular, it presents an in-depth analysis of conflict escalation, applying the Buddhist Four Noble Truths and Twelve Links models. With the help of these models, it analyzes the psychological process that invokes the escalation of conflict, resulting in what is considered “suffering” (Duhkha) in Buddhist thought, seen also as lack of relational awareness. The paper demonstrates how a Buddhist-oriented view of conflict adds value …

Volume 17, Number 1 (Spring 2010), Peace And Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

No abstract provided.

Social Cartography As A Tool For Conflict Analysis And Resolution: The Experience Of The Afro-Colombian Communities Of Robles, Elena P. Bastidas, Carlos A. Gonzales

Peace and Conflict Studies

The field of conflict resolution is in constant evolution. Every day, theories are defined and redefined, and new contributions are made to the field. This continuous process challenges scholars, researchers, and practitioners to develop new conceptual and methodological frameworks for the analysis of conflict. This article highlights the potential of social cartography (participatory mapping) as a tool for the transformation of environmental and social conflicts at the household, community, national, and international levels. The advantages of social cartography as an appraisal, planning, and analytical tool for conflict transformation are illustrated here with a case study of the Afro-Colombian community of …

Volume 15, Number 1 (Summer 2008), Peace And Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

No abstract provided.

Transforming Conflict: A Group Relations Perspective, Tracy Wallach

Peace and Conflict Studies

This article offers a group relations perspective of conflict and conflict transformation and explores how conflict manifests on the individual, interpersonal, group, and inter-group levels. Conflict and aggression are defined as normal aspects of the human condition. Current theories and practices in the field of conflict transformation tend to be more rationally based. The author uses concepts from psychoanalytic theory, such as defense mechanisms; and concepts from open systems theory, such as task, role, boundaries, and authority, to argue that in order to transform conflict, it is essential to understand the non-rational and often unconscious emotional elements that operate in …

Volume 11, Number 1 (Spring 2004), Peace And Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

No abstract provided.

Intergroup Conflict Reduction Through Identity Affirmation: Overcoming The Image Of The Ethnic Or Enemy “Other”, Thomas Boudreau

Peace and Conflict Studies

This paper first argues that a conflict between groups can be lessened by the explicit affirmation by one group of the other group’s identity, including its past pain, defeats and collective losses, when appropriate. A model of group affirmation is then proposed, consisting of: Leadership, Recognition, Validation and the Transparency of Future Time. The groups involved can be ethnic or national in scope. This model is defined in terms of another possible ARIA model to be added to the one already proposed, though quite different in content, by Jay Rothman (1997). Limitations concerning the use of this model are discussed …

Beyond Resolution: What Does Conflict Transformation Actually Transform?, Christopher Mitchell

Peace and Conflict Studies

The paper considers the concept of ‘conflict transformation’ in relation to earlier ideas concerning the ‘resolution’ of conflict and seeks to differentiate between the two approaches. Writers and writings from the conflict transformation ‘school’ are surveyed and an effort is made to delineate the core characteristics of the approach, viewed either as a process or an end state. Questions are raised about transformation on a personal, group or conflict system level, all of which seem to be encompassed by various adherents of the transformation school, and the unifying concept that emerges is that of the relationship between adversaries being transformed …

Why Conflict Transformation Matters: Three Cases, Frank Dukes

Peace and Conflict Studies

This essay begins with an examination of the importance of conflict transformation. The failings of an ideology of management currently dominating the conflict resolution field are contrasted with components of a transformative practice. I then offer three cases from my own experience and draw lessons from them to illustrate the potential of conflict resolution in three distinct areas: fostering community, building a responsive governance, and resolving public conflict. The examples are the following:

• A school redistricting dispute, where a return to the sense of common purpose and community was the primary goal of the convenors;
• A tri-jurisdiction community visioning …