PEACE PARADIGMS - SIS 607.02

FALL 2000

WEDNESDAY 8:10 -10:40 PM
 

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed 
citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
Margaret Mead



Dr Michael Salla
Office: SIS Building, Room 310
Phone: (202) 885 1497
Email: msalla@american.edu
http://www.american.edu/salla/
 
 

Course Description

Peace is a concept that is universally esteemed but understood and established in spectacularly different ways. Defining the peace concept is enormously tricky given the wide range of meanings it has been given by prominent diplomats, scholars, activists and educators. This leads to definitions which are either too narrow, or so broad as to render the peace concept rather nebulous. This definitional problem makes global consensus on how peace can be established almost impossible. Indeed, a past president of the International Studies Association and a noted peace scholar,Chadwick Alger has pointed out: " [peace] activists, educators, and researchers have difficulty in collaborating with each other." Developing a comprehensive peace concept is difficult due to any definition explicitly or implicitly adopting a set of assumptions that have contested validity. A means of charting through these heady definitional waters and making sense of the differing ways in which peace is understood and the assumptions that undergird these conceptions is to discuss peace in terms of five 'paradigms'. 
 

For those who have not read Thomas Kuhn's seminal work, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, a paradigm is a way of understanding scientific reality that becomes dominant for a distinct period of time. A paradigm has its own dominant assumptions about the nature of reality which makes possible different theories for understanding the world. Using the notion of a paradigm allows me to place contending concepts of peace within distinct sets of theoretical and epistemological assumptions. Quite a mouthful but what I essentially mean is that the different ways of understanding peace can be broken up into five different families and in each family there are several members. The five families or peace paradigms are peace through coercion; peace through global order; peace through nonviolence and peace activism; peace through conflict resolution; and peace through global transformation.

Special emphasis will be on exploring the implicit assumptions that undergird the different ways in which peace is conceptualized, and how these assumptions impact on the effectiveness of various strategies developed for realizing peace. Some of the key assumptions to be examined include the use of military force, the evolution of global order values, effectiveness of activism, the role of improved communication, and the transformative potential of moral behavior.

You will be expected to perform a collaborative group project whereby you observe and report on an organization, either governmental or non-governmental, working towards one of the peace paradigms covered in the course. During the course, you will design a class activity that illustrates the organization's work through a class activity.

At the end of the course, you should have a firm understanding of the implicit assumptions that undergird the way peace is conceptualized and practiced, and more effectively contribute to the realization of you own preferred paradigms. The aim is to cast light into a rather murky field so that you can make an informed choice about how you can better promote and establish global peace.

You will also have developed an awareness of some of the organizations in the Washington DC area working in peace related areas.

Course Requirements and Evaluation


1. Class Participation 20%
Your participation will be graded on the basis of three criteria: clarity; content; and context. Clarity refers to whether your comments are clear, coherent and comprehensible. Are you making yourself understood? Content refers to the substance of your remarks. Are your comments thoughtful, well-informed and to the point? Context refers to how well you integrate your comments with issues pertinent to the course or to ongoing class discussion. Do you build upon what others have said either by agreeing or disagreeing with them?

Class discussion comes more easily for some people than for others. By temperament or habit, some are 'talkers' while others are 'listeners'. Learn to be both. An old Ghanian proverb says that 'we have two ears and one mouth, learn to use them in proportion!' If you are a 'talker', learn to give enough space for others to speak. If a 'listener', try to participate more in discussions especially in small group discussions.

2. Reflective Papers 30%
You are to complete five reflective papers of between 750 - 1000 words (3 - 4 typed double space pages) that examines the readings for each paradigm. The reflective papers should not be a detailed summary of the readings but should instead be a personal response in terms of how the readings have (or have not!) contributed to your own understanding of the peace paradigm under discussion. Your paper needs to show some evidence that you have read most if not all of the set readings. In writing your reflective paper, you need to explicity consider the following questions.

Note that reflective papers will be graded. Papers scoring less than a B+ can be resubmitted for a maximum of B+. You need to complete all reflective papers.

Due dates for the reflective papers are: Sept 13; Oct 4, Oct 25, Nov 15, Dec 6.

3. Group Project - 20%
You will be required to collaborate in groups of two in exploring the peacemaking efforts of an organization, governmental or non-governmental, based in your local area. Your group needs to hand in a three-four page report - double spaced and typed - of the work of the mandate of the organization, the activities it carries out to fulfill this mandate, and your analysis of the viability of the organization in its peacemaking efforts. Your group needs to design a class activity which is both informative and illustrative of the organization's mandate and activities. A list of peace and conflict resolution organizations in the Washington DC area can be found on my homepage under the category of Organizations and Resources in the Washington Area.

Groups will lead the class activity - total no longer than 15 mins in length - in the week dealing with substantive issues closest to those dealt with by the organization. Group led class activities will begin on Sept 20. Your group will be assigned a collective mark for the class activity and report.

4. Research Paper - 30%
A list of questions will be given to you from which you choose one to write a research paper. Each paper should critically question the literature in terms of diverging approaches and perspectives taken by the respective authors for each approach to peace and conflict resolution. This means you must do more than just describe key institutions, organizations or processes relevant to the question. There must be some attempt to develop an analytical framework and overall argument in your essay. More detailed recommendations for essay writing appear at the end of this syllabus - make sure you read this since it outlines my expectations of a good essay. Papers must be between 12-15 double spaced pages, fully referenced & including a bibliography, must by submitted by November 29.

Note: You are expected to submit a two page outline of your planned paper on Nov 8. The outline should explicitly state your main argument in response to the question. The outline should be broken down into section headings with a brief description of what you expect each section to cover. You need to use prose to explain the framework you use rather than just provide a series of numbered headings which give me little idea of whether your essay is descriptive, analytical or indeed even answers the question. You should also include a bibliography of at least eight books/articles that you will use for the essay. Remember, the outline is intended to get you thinking in advance of the issues that you will be investigating, and of developing an argument and framework that will give your essay coherence. The more work you put into it, the easier it will be for more to identify any potential problem areas and to give you constructive suggestions.
 

Required Texts

ONLINE JOURNALS COVERING PEACE STUDIES  Further Note: There is an ever growing number of Worldwide Web links with reports, statements, articles, etc., concerning peace research. You can access many of these links by clicking the Peace Research Link on my homepage. Further Research Links provides links to think tanks and research organizations with relevant material.
 

Class Schedule

Aug 30 Understanding Peace Studies in the C21st Century

Further Reading 
I. Peace through Coercion

Sept 6 Benign Hegemony/Imperialism

Further Reading 


Sept 13 First Reflective Paper Due
 

Sept 13. Collective Security


Further Reading

II. Peace through Global Order


Sept 20 International Law

Further Reading


Sept 27 Human Rights

Further Reading
  • Human Rights Web, "An Introduction to Human Rights", http://www.hrweb.org/intro.html
  • Seyom Brown, International Human Rights (Addison Wesley Longman, 2000
  • Miller, Global Order, 187-226
  • Samuel S. Kim, "Global Human Rights and World Order," in The United Nations and a Just World Order, eds., Falk, et al., 356-76
Oct 4 Second Reflective Paper Due
 

Oct 4 Development, Global Economy & the Environment

  • Said, et al., Concepts of International Politics, 209-43
  • Jeanne Vickers, "Development with a Human Face," Rethinking Peace, eds., Elias & Turpin, 246-53


Further Reading

  • Aileen Kwa, "WTO and Developing Countries," Foreign Policy in Focus 3:37 (November 1998) http://www.foreignpolicy-infocus.org/briefs/vol3/v3n37wto.html
  • David Vogel, "Environmental Regulation and Economic Integration," http://www.wtowatch.org/wtowatch/library/admin/uploadedfiles/World_Trade_and_the_Environment_A_Review_of_th.htm
  • United Nations Fact Sheet, "The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights," http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu6/2/fs16.htm
  •  Arthur J Hanson and Nevin Shaw, "NAFTA and the Environment: Progress in Sustainable Development," http://www.wtowatch.org/wtowatch/library/admin/uploadedfiles/NAFTA_and_the_Environment_Progress_in_Sustaina.htm
  • United Nations Development Program, "Integrating human rights with sustainable human development," http://magnet.undp.org/Docs/policy5.html
  • NGO Consortium, "NEW INTERNATIONAL NGO STATEMENT ON WTO: WTO -- SHRINK OR SINK", http://www.wtowatch.org/wtowatch/library/admin/uploadedfiles/New_International_NGO_Statement_on_the_WTO_Shr.htm
  • •Jeffrey Sachs, "International Economics: Unlocking the Mysteries of Globalization," Foreign Policy (Spring 1998): 97-111
  • Joseph Stiglitz & Lyn Squire, "International Development: Is it Possible?" Foreign Policy (Spring 1998): 138-51
  • Nancy Birdsall, "Life is Unfair: Inequality in the World," Foreign Policy (Summer 1998): 76-94
  • Michael Renner, "Who Are the Enemies," Rethinking Peace, eds., Turpin & Elias, 104-10.
  • Galtung, Peace by Peaceful Means, 127-38; 185-95
  • Terry Collingsworth, "An Enforceable Social Clause," Foreign Policy in Focus 3: 28 (October 1998) http://www.foreignpolicy-infocus.org/briefs/vol3/v3n28soc.html
  • Johan Galtung, "The New International Economic Order and the Basic Needs Approach," The United Nations and a Just World Order, eds., Falk, et al., 292-306
  • Kauppi & Viotti, International Relations Theory, 455-71
  • Immanuel Wallerstein, "The World-System After the Cold War," Journal of Peace Research 30:1 (1993): 1-6

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III. Peace through Nonviolence & Peace Activism 


Oct 11 Nonviolent Action

Further Reading 
  • Alberto L'Abate, "Nonviolent Interposition in Armed Conflicts," Peace and Conflict Studies, 4: 1 (July 1997) http://www.gmu.edu/academic/pcs/labate.htm
  • Martin Luther King, "I've Been to the Mountaintop" [King's Last Speech] http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/speeches/I%27ve_been_to_the_mountaintop.html
  • Stephen Murphy, "A Brief outline of Gandhi's Philosophy," http://www.gandhiserve.com/information/writings_online/brief_philosophy/brief_philosophy.htm
  • Galtung, Peace by Peaceful Means, 114-26
  • Christian Mellon, et al., "Civil Deterrence," Rethinking Peace, eds., Elias & Turpin, 269-78
  • Michael Salla, "The efficacy of nonviolence in international relations: a critique," Australian Journal of Political Science 28:3 (1993): 458-80 (www.american.edu/salla/home-art.htm)
  • Robert Burrowes, The Strategy of Nonviolent Defence (Ithaca, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1996) 153-75.
  • Ralph Summy, "Nonviolence and the Case of the Extremely Ruthless Opponent," Essays on Peace, eds. Salla, et al., 159-84
  • Michael Salla, "'Abrahamic Minorities' & 'Committed Groups': Nonviolent Intervention in International Conflict," Essays on Peace, eds., Salla, et al., 147-58
  • Peter Ackerman & Christopher Kruegler, Strategic Nonviolent Conflict: The Dynamics of People Power in the Twentieth Century (Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1994) 1-54
  • Joan Bondurant, Conquest of Violence: The Gandhian Philosophy of Conflict, New Revised Edition (Princeton University Press, 1988) 15-45
Oct 18 Peace and Justice through Activism
  • Chadwick Alger, "A Grass Roots Approach to Life in Peace," Rethinking Peace, eds., Elias & Turpin, 282-89
  • Will Swaim & Michael Shuman, "Municipal Diplomacy," Rethinking Peace, eds., Elias & Turpin, 305-12
  • Patricia Chilton & Jiri Dienstbeir, "The European Citizens' Assembly," Rethinking Peace, eds., Elias & Turpin, 290-96
  • David Krieger, "Ending the Scourge of War," Rethinking Peace, eds., Elias & Turpin, 318-25
  • Jackie Smith, "Frame or Be Framed,"Rethinking Peace, ed. Elias & Turpin 312-17
  • Who Are the Enemies, Rethinking Peace, ed. Elias & Turpin 104-110
  • Nigel Young, "From Protest to Cultural Creativity: Peace Movements Identified and Revisited," Patterns of Conflict, 143-158
  • William Eldrige, "Community and World Harmony: New Citizen Peacemaking Roles for a Changing Global Culture," Peace and Conflict Studies 1:1 (December 1994) http://www.TCNJ.EDU/~psm/pcs/manuscripts/pcs0001m.html
  • Peter Wirth, "Influencing Public Opinion - A Challenge for Activists," The Online Journal of Peace and Conflict Resolution (Nov 1999), http://trinstitute.org/ojpcr/2_4wirth.htm
Further Reading
  • P.J. Simmons, "Learning to Live With NGO's," Foreign Policy (Fall 1998): 82-96
  • Keith Suter, "Towards a Federal World State?" Essays on Peace, eds. Salla, et al., 196-212
  • Pamela Aall, "Nongovernmental Organisations and Peacemaking," Managing Global Chaos, eds., Chester A. Crocker, et al., 433-44.
  • Majid Tehranian, "Creating Spaces for Peace: A Comparative Overview of Zones of Peace," Essays on Peace, eds. Salla, et al., 247-54
  • Salla, et al., "Towards a Global Educative Authority," Essays on Peace, eds. Salla, et al., 255-63
  • R.B.J. Walker, One World, Many Worlds (Lynne Rienner, 1988) 145-70


Oct 5 Third Reflective Paper is Due

Oct 25 Gender and Dismantling Patriarchy

  • Mary Burguieres, "Feminist Approaches to Peace: Another Step for Peace Studies," Millenium 19:1 (1990): 1-18. http://eresau.wrlc.org (password is SALLA607)
  • J. Ann Tickner, "Feminist Perspectives on Peace and World Security in the Post-Cold War Era," Peace and World Security Studies: A Curriculum Guide, ed. Michael Klare (Boulder, CO.: Lynne Rienner, 1994) 43-54. http://eresau.wrlc.org (password is SALLA607)
  • Galtung, Peace by Peaceful Means, 40-48
  • Birgit Brock-Utne, "Listen to Women, for a Change," Rethinking Peace, eds., Elias & Turpin, 205-209
  • Francis Fuyuyama, "Women and the Evolution of World Politics," Foreign Affairs (Sept/Oct 1998): http://eresau.wrlc.org (password is SALLA607)
  • Barbara Ehrenreich, et al., "Fukuyama's Follies," Foreign Affairs (Jan-Feb 1999): 118-29.
  • Johan Galtung, Peace by Peaceful Means, 40-48 http://eresau.wrlc.org (password is SALLA607)
  • Myriam Miedzian, "Real Men, Wimps and National Security," in Rethinking Peace, 17-25
  • Tom Digby, "One More Lesson from the Vietnam War," Injustice Studies 1:1 (November 1997) http://wolf.its.ilstu.edu/injustice/
Further Reading
  • Betty Reardon, Women and Peace: Feminist Visions of Global Security (Albany, NY: SUNY, 1993) 141-70
  • Mary S. Perpinan, "Peace a Breakaway from Patriarchy," Essays on Peace, eds. Salla, et al., 78-80
  • B. Roberts, "The Death of Machothink: Feminist Research and the Transformation of Peace Studies," Women's Studies International Forum 7:4 (1984): 195-200
  • •Partha Banerjee, "Extreme Cruelty: Bride Burning and Dowry Deaths in India," Injustice Studies 1:1 (November 1997) http://wolf.its.ilstu.edu/injustice/
  • Eileen Shewan, "Women and Development," Essays on Peace, eds. Salla, et al., 81-91
  • Jan Pettman, Worlding Women: A Feminist International Politics (London: Allen & Unwin, 1996) 87-125

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IV Peace through Conflict Resolution


Nov 1 Conflict Resolution Through Problem Solving

  • Roger Fisher and William Ury, Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In, 2nd ed. (New York: Penguin Books, 1991)
  • Robert Bush, "Dispute Resolution" in Beyond Confrontation, eds. Vasques, et al., 9-38
  • Deborah Kolb & Eileen Babbit, "Mediation Practice on the Home Front," Beyond Confrontation, eds. Vasques, et al., 63-86
  • John W. Burton, "Conflict Resolution: Towards Problem Solving," Peace and Conflict Studies, 4:2 (December 1997) http://www.gmu.edu/academic/pcs/burton.htm
  • Loraleigh Keashly and William Warters, "Working It Out: Conflict in Interpersonal Contexts," Patterns of Conflict, 35-66
Further Reading
  • Louis Kriesberg, "Applications and Misapplications of Conflict Resolution Ideas to International Conflicts, Beyond Confrontation, eds. Vasques, et al., 87-102
  • John Burton, "Conflict Provention as a Political Philosophy," in Beyond Confrontation, 115-30
  • • John Vasquez, "Why Global Conflict Resolution is Possible," Beyond Confrontation, eds. Vasques, et al., 131-54
  • Galtung, Peace by Peaceful Means 70-80, 89-113

    •  
Nov 8 Outline for Research Paper Due
 

Nov 8 Conflict Resolution Through Relational Change

  • Dean Pruitt, The Psychology of Social Conflict and Its Relevance to International Conflict, Beyond Confrontation, eds. Vasques, et al., 103-14
  • Herbert Kelman, "The Interactive Problem-Solving Approach," Managing Global Chaos, eds., Crocker, et al., 501-519
  • I. William Zartman & Saadia Touval, "International Mediation in the Post-Cold War Era," Managing Global Chaos, eds., Crocker, et al., 445-62
  • Herbert Kelman, Social-Psychological Dimensions of International Conflict, in Peacemaking in International Conflict, 191-238
  • Ronald Fisher, "Interactive Conflict Resolution," Peacemaking in International Conflict, 239-272
  • Janice Gross Stein, "Image, Identity, and Conflict Resolution," Managing Global Chaos, eds., Crocker, et al., 93-112.

    •  
Further Reading
  • Robert Bush & Joseph Folger, The Promise of Mediation (Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1994)


Nov 15 Fourth Reflective Paper Due
 

Nov 15 Conflict Resolution through Improved Communication

  • Marshall Rosenberg, Nonviolent Communication, 1-150
  • Raymond Cohen, "Negotiating Across Cultures," Managing Global Chaos, eds., Crocker, et al 487-500


Video: Nonviolent Communication
 

V. Peace through Personal, Social & Global Transformation


Nov 29 Research Paper Due
 

Nov 29 Peace Education, Peace Building & Democratization

  • Paul Smoker and Linda Groff, "Creating Global-Local Cultures of Peace," Peace and Conflict Studies, 3: 1 (June 1996) http://www.gmu.edu/academic/pcs/smoker.htm
  • Lana L. Hostetler, "Preparing Children for Peace," Rethinking Peace, Elias & Turpin 200-05
  • Larry Fisk, "Shaping Visionaries: Nurturing Peace Through Education," Patterns of Conflict, 159-194.
  • Arnold Goldstein, "Aggression Reduction Strategies," Rethinking Peace, Elias & Turpin 262-68
  • Joshua Muravchik, "Promoting Peace Through Democracy," Managing Global Chaos, eds., Crocker, et al., 573-85
  • Fareed Zakaria, "The Rise of Illiberal Democracy," Foreign Affairs, 76:6 (1997) 22-43 http://eresau.wrlc.org (password is SALLA607)
  • Johan Galtung, Peace by Peaceful Means, 49-59; 253-64
  • Kevin Clements, "Peace Building and Conflict Transformation," Peace and Conflict Studies, 4: 1 (June 1997) http://www.gmu.edu/academic/pcs/clements.htm
  • Elizabeth Cohn, "U.S. Democratization Assistance," Foreign Policy in Focus 4: 20 (July 1999) http://www.foreignpolicy-infocus.org/briefs/vol4/v4n20demo.html

    •  
Further Reading
  • Riitta Wahlstrom, "The Challenge of Peace Education: Replacing Cultures of Militarism," New Agendas for Peace Research, ed. Boulding, 171-84
  • Francisco Parajon, et al., "The UNESCO Culture of Peace Program in El Salvador," International Journal of Peace Studies 1:2 (1996): 1-20
  • R.J. Romell, "Political Systems, Violence and War," Approaches to Peace, 347-70
  • Elise Boulding, "Learning Peace," The Quest for Peace, ed. Vayrynen 317-29
  • John Vasques, "The Learning of Peace: Lessons from a Multidisciplinary Approach," Beyond Confrontation, eds. Vasques, et al., 211-18
  • Vicence Fisas Armengol, "Ten Bases for a Culture of Peace," Peace Culture & Society, eds., Elise Boulding, et al. (Boulder, CO: Westview 1991)

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Dec 6 Fifth Reflective Paper Due
 

Dec 6 Peace through Spirituality & Global Transformation:

  • Michael Salla, "Conflict Resolution, Genetics and Alchemy - The Evolution of Conflict Transmutation," unpublished paper (www.american.edu/salla/home-art.htm)
  • Joshua Stone, "Transcending Armageddon Within Self and Society," http://www.spiritweb.org/Spirit/armageddon-stone.html
  • Said, et al., Concepts of International Politics, 278-89
  • John P. Walsh, "Integrating Buddhist Philosophy and Peacemaking Theory: Further Thought for Development" Online Journal of Peace and Conflict Resolution 2:2 (May 1999) http://www.trinstitute.org/ojpcr/2_2walsh.htm
  • Linda Groff & Paul Smoker, Spirituality, Religion, Culture, And Peace," International Journal of Peace Studies 1:1 (1996): 57-89 http://eresau.wrlc.org (password is SALLA607)

Further Reading

  • Joseph Campbell, The Hero With a Thousand Faces (Princeton University Press, 1968) 3-48, 381-91
  • Carl Jung, "The Structure of the Psyche;" "The Concept of the Collective Unconscious;" "Aion: Phenomenology;" The Portable Jung, NY: Viking Press, 1971) 23-46; 59-69; 139-48; 59-69
  • Ronna Herman, "You are Shape-Shifting into a New Reality,"
http://www.spiritweb.org/Spirit/michael-herman-mesg-09.html


Fifth Reflective Paper is Due
 

Take Home Exam is Due
 

SUGGESTIONS FOR ESSAY WRITING
 

The essence of good essay writing is to be found in the quality of your argument and the level of analysis. The essay must go beyond description and narrative. It is not enough just to tell a story, nor is it enough just to produce a large number of facts related to the topic of your essay, nor is it enough to merely recount what the authors of the textbooks have to say about the topic. The essay should represent your considered perspective and your informed thoughts on the problem you have been asked to write about. Of course, you cannot begin to construct a considered perspective or develop informed thoughts unless you first have a firm understanding of the subject matter. So the first step is reading intensively and acquiring a grasp of both the factual material and the arguments, debates, and differences between those scholars who have contributed to the literature on the subject. Having done that, you are then in a position to analyse the issue and develop your own argument.
 

An argument, in its basic sense, is a statement, supported by adequate empirical evidence or logical inference, which addresses the question and presents a point of view or a perspective on that question. The quality of the argument will be measured by how persuasive it is, and its persuasiveness will be a function of the skill with which you have constructed that argument.
 

Once you have chosen your essay topic (or perhaps even as part of the process of choosing your topic) it is helpful for you to begin by thinking about what the question means and what you are being asked to do. Eventually this will become 'second nature' to you, but you might think about approaching the task in this way. Here is an example of how you might analyse a question in Peace and Conflict Resolution.
 

'Does the notion of 'structural violence' lead to a welcome extension to our understanding of peace or does it introduce unwelcome ambiguities?
 

First, you should identify the broad topic or subject of the question (this may seem obvious but it is a good starting point). In the example given, the broadly defined topic is - 'peace'. Second, you need to identify the more specific focus of the question - in this case, the focus is the relationship between 'structural violence' and 'peace'.
 

Third, you need to think carefully about any directions you are given in the question. For example, here you are being asked whether structural violence leads 'to a welcome extension' or introduces 'unwelcome ambiguities' to our understanding of peace. Your answer might be yes to the first part of the question (in which case you would have to say why), and no to the second part (and again, you would have to say why).
 

Remember that at all times you will need to support your answer with an argument, rather than simply making assertions. The more complex your argument, provided it is clearly outlined, the more likely you will exhibit the necessary analytical sophistication and creativity necessary for a high grade.