The Peace Continuum: What it is & How to Study it
INtro: Numerous years in the making, Erik Melander, Pat Regan and myself attempt to ignite an informed conversation about and research agenda on peace. Although unified by the same objectives, the book does not shy away from identifying as well as exploring our differences.
Overview: The idea of studying peace - over studying war, genocide and political violence (hereafter violent conflict) and then inferring about peace - has gained considerable traction in the past few years after languishing in the shadows of conflict for decades but how should it be studied? The Peace Continuum offers a parallax view of how we think about peace and the complexities that surround the concept (i.e., the book explores the topic from different positions at the same time). Toward this end, we review existing literature and provide insights into how peace should be conceptualized - particularly as something more interesting than the absence of conflict. We provide an approach that can help scholars overcome what we see as the initial shock that comes with unpacking the 'zero' in the war-peace model of conflict studies. Additionally, we provide a framework for understanding how peace and conflict have/have not been related to one another in the literature. To reveal how the Peace Continuum could be applied, we put forward three alternative ways that peace could be studied. With this approach, the book is less trying to control the emerging peace research agenda than it is trying to assist in/encourage thinking about the topic that we all have some opinion on but that has yet to be measured and analyzed in a way comparable to political conflict and violence. Indeed, we attempt to help facilitate a veritable explosion of approaches and efforts to study peace.
Contents
Book Blurbs
“A unique book incorporating multiple perspectives around a common conception of peace that sets the agenda for the next phase of research in this area.” — Paul F. Diehl, University of Texas-Dallas
“This remarkable volume explores the meaning of ‘quality peace.’ The perceptual, procedural and relational approaches are presented with intellectual origins and valid measurements. Thus, this volume effectively deepens our understanding of peace and makes it researchable with creative, novel methodologies.” — Peter Wallensteen, Professor of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University and University of Notre Dame
- Oxford University Press, Studies in Strategic Peacebuilding (2018)
INtro: Numerous years in the making, Erik Melander, Pat Regan and myself attempt to ignite an informed conversation about and research agenda on peace. Although unified by the same objectives, the book does not shy away from identifying as well as exploring our differences.
Overview: The idea of studying peace - over studying war, genocide and political violence (hereafter violent conflict) and then inferring about peace - has gained considerable traction in the past few years after languishing in the shadows of conflict for decades but how should it be studied? The Peace Continuum offers a parallax view of how we think about peace and the complexities that surround the concept (i.e., the book explores the topic from different positions at the same time). Toward this end, we review existing literature and provide insights into how peace should be conceptualized - particularly as something more interesting than the absence of conflict. We provide an approach that can help scholars overcome what we see as the initial shock that comes with unpacking the 'zero' in the war-peace model of conflict studies. Additionally, we provide a framework for understanding how peace and conflict have/have not been related to one another in the literature. To reveal how the Peace Continuum could be applied, we put forward three alternative ways that peace could be studied. With this approach, the book is less trying to control the emerging peace research agenda than it is trying to assist in/encourage thinking about the topic that we all have some opinion on but that has yet to be measured and analyzed in a way comparable to political conflict and violence. Indeed, we attempt to help facilitate a veritable explosion of approaches and efforts to study peace.
Contents
- Introduction
- Chapter 2 - Contemporary Studies of Peace
- Chapter 3 - A Perceptual Approach to Quality Peace
- Chapter 4 - A Procedural Approach to Quality Peace
- Chapter 5 - A Relational Approach to Quality Peace
- Chapter Six: Concluding Observations
- References
Book Blurbs
“A unique book incorporating multiple perspectives around a common conception of peace that sets the agenda for the next phase of research in this area.” — Paul F. Diehl, University of Texas-Dallas
“This remarkable volume explores the meaning of ‘quality peace.’ The perceptual, procedural and relational approaches are presented with intellectual origins and valid measurements. Thus, this volume effectively deepens our understanding of peace and makes it researchable with creative, novel methodologies.” — Peter Wallensteen, Professor of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University and University of Notre Dame
