Intro to Peace and Conflict Studies
1. Peace is a word full of interpreted connotations. However, there seems to be a universal standard or "definition" - at least amongst policy makers. After reading the material for this session, what ideas of peace were introduced to you that contradict those ideas embedded in the "universal understanding" of peace current policy makers hold today?
2 Who is the most peaceful person you know? Why do you consider them peaceful? What characteristics do they have that make them "peaceful" in your eyes?
3. Considering the proposed 3 Levels of Action which is the most important today? Rather, which does our global society put most of its effort and capital toward? Do you think we are focused on the right one - If so, why, and if not, how can we re-direct our focus toward another level?
Please respond below in a comment to this questions and to one another. Also, feel welcome continue the discussion from VC Live Session II.
This was a very interesting session with a quick and crisp coverage of the key areas in peace studies.
ReplyDelete1. I think, universally, governments, economies and societies are concentrating on ensuring negative peace... perhaps this explains the excessive budget allocations on militarization across countries. It seems as if most nations are getting it wrong. Instead of negative peace, they should in fact focus more on developing positive peace through transformative peace building.
2. To me, personally, I see my mother and my ph.d supervisor as one of the few 'peaceful' people I know. By developing personality traits of flexibility, openmindedness and empathy and skills of problem solving and assertive communication, these people are able to manage most conflicting situations, coming out peaceful each time.
3. Global society is more focused on efforts to build negative peace. We need to re-order the societal priorities and emphasize more on positive peace.