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Peace by Peaceful Means: Peace and Conflict, Development and Civilization (International Peace Research Institute, Oslo
Johan Galtung, one of the founders of modern peace studies, provides a wide-ranging panorama of the ideas, theories and assumptions on which the study of peace is based. The book is organized in four parts, each examining the one of the four major theoretical approaches to peace. The first part covers peace theory, exploring the epistemological assumptions of peace. In Part Two conflict theory is examined with an exploration of nonviolent and creative handling of conflict. Developmental theory is discussed in Part Three, exploring structural violence, particularly in the economic field, together with a consideration of the ways of overcoming that violence. The fourth part is devoted to civilization theory. This involves an
292 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1968
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 13, 2025
To make a brief note on the superficialites first, the text is far too small as being used in the book along with the fact that there are instances where the font itself becomes a problem where there is some arbitrary switching between using bold and non-bold font which makes for a very confusing reading experience. Lastly, the book cover could not have been more uninspiring as it looks like the book was written in the 80's or 70's with an unappealing background which could be seen as static on the screen as experienced from old tube television sets.
Now, on to the book itself. The book presents something of a landmark in terms of its subject emphasis where Galtung was one of the founders of peace studies and obviously has a very high regard within the field. Given that the Nobel price is peace is awarded in Norway each year it is perhaps not surprising that the first research institute devoted to the formal study of peace is also located there (referred to as PRIO, Peace Reasearch Institute Oslo). None the less, research on peace is obviously very important given our current political climate, and Galtung along with this book seeks to categorize peace into 4 major theoretical subsection (which Galtung views as essential) which comprise: Peace theory, Conflict theory, Developmental theory and Civilizational theory. The last of these areas is the most poorly executed part of this book which I will get back to in a minute.
Throughout the book (especially in the first half) emphasizes the role of mediation as a severely important technique when it comes to the deescalation of conflict as well as an effectual means for states to handle injustices which are not of a scale where prison time seems more apt. In addition, this has the benefit of saving states a great deal of money that would have otherwise been spent on lengthy court proceedings. Given the high proportion of recidivism in some countries in particular when it comes to serving prison time, then mediation can hopefully serve as a means of further deescalation of more serious crimes for the perpetrator.
Some other important contributions involve the role of negotiations between states where there is in the book given clear strategies for moving forward, which I personally would have liked to have been formulated in game theoretic terms since this is a clear possibility (considering Galtungs former education in mathematics I am also surprised why this option is not explored further). Of course the participation of moving forward in negotiations requires rational actors, and more importantly there are different societal norms at play in different societies which may result in different strategies being selected. One should also not forget the power imbalance which exists among differing states which obviously effect these proceedings as well.
Throughout the second to last portions of the book we see the concept of structural violence being explored which is a term that is attributed to Galtung himself which explores violence emanating from social structures and institutions which cause harm. This is exemplified in a number of practices today where we may have market externalities being ignored by companies for instance which leads to ecological degradation or we may mention failures of states to regulate harmful practices such as the deconstruction of oil carrier ships which may lead to greater number of cancer cases being spread among workers in this industry. In all an intersting and complex topic to explore where Galtung categorizes violence into the three structures of direct, structural and cultural violence. Thus, this potion of the book is Galtung at his best in my opinion as its clear that there are important research projects to be done on this topic as well it serves as an important topic for political consideration among the global population.
The last portion of the book is very bad in my opinion as it just generalizes civilizations, and rather poorly at that. Buddhism is categorized as holistic and not pluralistic for instance which does not make sense to me as its clearly incredibly pluralistic where even among the same branch there may exist many differences (take Zen and its originator Chan Buddhism for instance which differ quite a bit ). Also, India and China are discussed in a context of not expanding beyond their region (He literally states that China will not expand beyond Tibet which is their main interest). This is clearly false, as take just for instance China's expansion and interest in the continent of Africa the last 10 years as an example. In all the chapter gives very superficial categorizations of civilizations which do not stand the test of time.
In all I have to recommend the book based upon Galtung's exploration of violence in particular as well as highlighting important tactics withing peace studies (tactics related to mediation, negotiation for instance) . I will say that the book is extremely repetitive which is a shame as it gave me less motivation for completing the book, which at this point has taken me several years to complete. Also, it is not clear to me that all of Galtung's figures at clarity to the topic being presented. The figures at time don't add much in my opinion and it can give the false impression that the work is of a highly scientific nature (which it is not) although there are plenty of good references in the book. The readership of the book is clearly for academics, but the book could have been better written if it avoiding excessive repetitions and a clearer writing style along with less figures. This is certainly possible to due even for an academic readership.
(Note: I don't like the star rating and as such I only rate books based upon one star or five stars corresponding to the in my opinion preferable rating system of thumbs up/down. This later rating system increases in my humble opinion the degree to which the reader is likely to engage with a review instead of merely glancing at the number of stars of a given book.)
Now, on to the book itself. The book presents something of a landmark in terms of its subject emphasis where Galtung was one of the founders of peace studies and obviously has a very high regard within the field. Given that the Nobel price is peace is awarded in Norway each year it is perhaps not surprising that the first research institute devoted to the formal study of peace is also located there (referred to as PRIO, Peace Reasearch Institute Oslo). None the less, research on peace is obviously very important given our current political climate, and Galtung along with this book seeks to categorize peace into 4 major theoretical subsection (which Galtung views as essential) which comprise: Peace theory, Conflict theory, Developmental theory and Civilizational theory. The last of these areas is the most poorly executed part of this book which I will get back to in a minute.
Throughout the book (especially in the first half) emphasizes the role of mediation as a severely important technique when it comes to the deescalation of conflict as well as an effectual means for states to handle injustices which are not of a scale where prison time seems more apt. In addition, this has the benefit of saving states a great deal of money that would have otherwise been spent on lengthy court proceedings. Given the high proportion of recidivism in some countries in particular when it comes to serving prison time, then mediation can hopefully serve as a means of further deescalation of more serious crimes for the perpetrator.
Some other important contributions involve the role of negotiations between states where there is in the book given clear strategies for moving forward, which I personally would have liked to have been formulated in game theoretic terms since this is a clear possibility (considering Galtungs former education in mathematics I am also surprised why this option is not explored further). Of course the participation of moving forward in negotiations requires rational actors, and more importantly there are different societal norms at play in different societies which may result in different strategies being selected. One should also not forget the power imbalance which exists among differing states which obviously effect these proceedings as well.
Throughout the second to last portions of the book we see the concept of structural violence being explored which is a term that is attributed to Galtung himself which explores violence emanating from social structures and institutions which cause harm. This is exemplified in a number of practices today where we may have market externalities being ignored by companies for instance which leads to ecological degradation or we may mention failures of states to regulate harmful practices such as the deconstruction of oil carrier ships which may lead to greater number of cancer cases being spread among workers in this industry. In all an intersting and complex topic to explore where Galtung categorizes violence into the three structures of direct, structural and cultural violence. Thus, this potion of the book is Galtung at his best in my opinion as its clear that there are important research projects to be done on this topic as well it serves as an important topic for political consideration among the global population.
The last portion of the book is very bad in my opinion as it just generalizes civilizations, and rather poorly at that. Buddhism is categorized as holistic and not pluralistic for instance which does not make sense to me as its clearly incredibly pluralistic where even among the same branch there may exist many differences (take Zen and its originator Chan Buddhism for instance which differ quite a bit ). Also, India and China are discussed in a context of not expanding beyond their region (He literally states that China will not expand beyond Tibet which is their main interest). This is clearly false, as take just for instance China's expansion and interest in the continent of Africa the last 10 years as an example. In all the chapter gives very superficial categorizations of civilizations which do not stand the test of time.
In all I have to recommend the book based upon Galtung's exploration of violence in particular as well as highlighting important tactics withing peace studies (tactics related to mediation, negotiation for instance) . I will say that the book is extremely repetitive which is a shame as it gave me less motivation for completing the book, which at this point has taken me several years to complete. Also, it is not clear to me that all of Galtung's figures at clarity to the topic being presented. The figures at time don't add much in my opinion and it can give the false impression that the work is of a highly scientific nature (which it is not) although there are plenty of good references in the book. The readership of the book is clearly for academics, but the book could have been better written if it avoiding excessive repetitions and a clearer writing style along with less figures. This is certainly possible to due even for an academic readership.
(Note: I don't like the star rating and as such I only rate books based upon one star or five stars corresponding to the in my opinion preferable rating system of thumbs up/down. This later rating system increases in my humble opinion the degree to which the reader is likely to engage with a review instead of merely glancing at the number of stars of a given book.)
July 28, 2007
did war finish all of our problems? NO...peace did.
October 13, 2021
Good & broad base for thinking about political problems from the micro level to the macro level in a more systematic way than usual. Remains idealistic and vulnerable to critique - missing a deeper engagement of a) existential limitations to human knowledge and b) the deeply ingrained nature of violent political structures. Good to read this with a healthy dose of Lenin, Nietzsche, & Derrida.
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July 1, 2020Creo que a este tipo de libros no se les debería poner calificación.
Read
December 24, 2016read
February 22, 2017
Filosofisesti vahvaa pohdintaa, mutta geopoliittisesti aika heikkoa.
Galtungin rauhanomaisen puolustuksen strategiaa sovelletaan Islannissa ja Puerto Ricossa, nämä valtiot voisi luokitella "vasalleiksi" geopoliittisesti. Eikä niiden puolustaminen näytä vaativan näiden maiden kansoilta Galtungin kirjallisuuden tutkimista. Toisaalta väliamerikan maissa ei myöskään nautita ihmeemmin demokratiasta tai erityisen hyvistä ihmisoikeuksista. (Kantin mukaan sodan uhka suojaa despotismilta, joten tämä ei ole mikään ihme.)
Islannin tilanteessa on alueelle sijoitettu yhdysvaltojen ilmavoimien tukikohtia. Islannin kansan rauhanomaisuus ei siten välttämättä auta tippaakaan rauhan säilyttämisessä itsessään, kun maata käytetään vapaasti suurvaltojen voiman projisointiin ja asevoimien temmellyskenttänä.
Galtungin rauhanomaisen puolustuksen strategiaa sovelletaan Islannissa ja Puerto Ricossa, nämä valtiot voisi luokitella "vasalleiksi" geopoliittisesti. Eikä niiden puolustaminen näytä vaativan näiden maiden kansoilta Galtungin kirjallisuuden tutkimista. Toisaalta väliamerikan maissa ei myöskään nautita ihmeemmin demokratiasta tai erityisen hyvistä ihmisoikeuksista. (Kantin mukaan sodan uhka suojaa despotismilta, joten tämä ei ole mikään ihme.)
Islannin tilanteessa on alueelle sijoitettu yhdysvaltojen ilmavoimien tukikohtia. Islannin kansan rauhanomaisuus ei siten välttämättä auta tippaakaan rauhan säilyttämisessä itsessään, kun maata käytetään vapaasti suurvaltojen voiman projisointiin ja asevoimien temmellyskenttänä.
September 17, 2018
Hyvin käytännönläheinen kirja väkivallattoman vastarinnan perusteista.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews