The Palgrave International Handbook of Peace Studies A Cultural Perspective

by Dietrich, Wolfgang; Echavarría Alvarez, Josefina; Esteva, Gustavo; Ingruber, Daniela; Koppensteiner, Norbert

• ISBN13: 9781137453235
• ISBN10: 1137453230
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2014-09-01
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

In this ground-breaking volume, the social function of 'peace' is explored through the prism of cultural pluralism. Prominent scholars and thinkers from more than thirty different cultures reflect on the notion of peace, and the diversity of their perspectives highlights the different cultural perceptions surrounding the meaning and scope of peace.

What we understand as 'peace' is dependent on the context within which it is used. Some cultures have a multitude of notions that translate into English simply as peace, whereas an equivalent to peace in the European sense does not even exist in others.
This volume shows that the concept of world peace can only be realised as a plural of 'many peaces'; an understanding of peace cannot be reached without the explicit acceptance of the many different notions of peace. In these turbulent times, there is an urgent need to explore new ways of reflecting on and facilitating the promotion of peace. Although the dominant paradigm is still the dogmatic application of a universal notion of a single peace, this approach is shown to be increasingly ineffectual and inappropriate.

This paperback version, with new preface, reveals how adopting a multi-faceted approach to 'peace' could ultimately contribute to a more authentic understanding of peace across the world.

Author Biography

Wolfgang Dietrich is UNESCO Chairholder and Program Director for Peace Studies at the University of Innsbruck, Austria.

Josefina Echavarría Alvarez is Core Faculty member and E-Learning Project Coordinator at the MA Program and UNESCO Chair for Peace Studies at the University of Innsbruck, Austria.

Gustavo Esteva is a grassroots activist, a public intellectual and an independent writer.

Daniela Ingruber is a war researcher, journalist and editor. Besides her position at UPEACE (Associate Professor in Media, Conflict and Peace Studies), she is a faculty member of the UNESCO Chair for Peace Studies at the University of Innsbruck, Austria.

Norbert Koppensteiner is an Austrian peace researcher and facilitator. He is the program coordinator of the MA Program in Peace, Development, Security and International Conflict Transformation, and the research and publications coordinator of the UNESCO Chair for Peace Studies at the University of Innsbruck, Austria.

Table of Contents

Preface to the Paperback Edition
1. Introduction; W.Dietrich
PART I: PEACE CONCEPTS IN EUROPE
2. Beyond the Gates of Eden: Trans-rational Peaces; W.Dietrich
3. Peace: The European Narrative; K.Koppe
4. Pax: A Mediterranean Perspective; F.Muñoz and B.Molina
5. Peace: A Western European Perspective; N.Young
6. Friðr: A Northern European Perspective; E.K.Undrum Jacobsen
PART II: PEACE CONCEPTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST
7. Shalom: A Jewish Perspective; M.H.Ellis
8. Shalom/Salaam: A Personal Palestinian Perspective; M.Fasheh
9. Salaam: A Muslim Perspective; A.Haneef
10. Salaam: A Sufi Perspective; U.Rehman
11. Salaam: An Alevilik Perspective; A.Çakir
PART III: PEACE CONCEPTS IN SOUTH AND EAST ASIA
12. Shanti: An Indian Perspective; S.V.Bharati
13. Shi wa: A Vajrayana Buddhist Perspective; K.L.Tsomo
14. He Ping: A Confucian Perspective; K.-P.Yu
15. Haiwa: A Shinto Perspective; I.Anzai
16. Buddhism and the World Peace; J.Galtung
PART IV: MAORI AND NATIVE AMERICAN PEACE CONCEPTS
17. He Taura Whiri: A Maori Perspective; P.Horsley
18. Skennen: A North American Indian Perspective; P.Lauderdale
19. Kayanerekowa: A Mohawk Perspective; R.Vachon
20. Guelaguetza and Tu Chha'ia: A Zapotec Perspective of What Others Call Friendship; G.Esteva & A.Guerrero
21. Thaq: An Andean-Amazonian Perspective; G.Rengifo V.
22. Nengelaasekhammalhkoo: An Enlhet Perspective; H.Kalisch
PART V: PEACE CONCEPTS IN AFRICA
23. Asomdwoe: A West African Perspective; K.A.Opoku
24. T'ùmmu: An East African Perspective; B.Gebrewold
25. African Salaam; A.L.Sarr
PART VI: PEACE THINKERS
26. Mahatma Ghandi's Concept of Peace: A Grandson's Perspective; A.Gandhi
27. Ghaffar Khan: Gautama Buddha of Hashtnagar; S.S.Mehdi
28. The Inward Revolution: Aurobindo Ghose and Jiddu Krishnamurti; S.S.Kumar
29. Peaces, a Gift of Grace, Turned into Modern Horror: Ivan Illich Visionary of the Twentieth Century; M.Kaller-Dietrich
30. Pagans and Nomads: The Postmodern Peaces of Jean-François Lyotard and Gilles Deleuze; N.Koppensteiner
31. NgügI wa Thiong'o: Listening for Peace and Resilience in Africa from Makerere 1962 to Asmara 2000; A.M.Almedon
32. Intercultural Inspiration: The Life and Work of Raimon Panikkar; G.Esteva
33. Gregory Bateson: A Practitioners' Perspective; V.Fontan
34. Final Remarks; J.Echavarría, D.Ingruber & N.Koppensteiner
Index