The expression “positive peace” was popularized by sociologist Johan Galtung, though others including Martin Luther King Jr. and Jane Addams used it in their writings prior to him. Positive peace includes absence of war but extends beyond the negative definition. The term can encompass different things, but often includes social systems that eliminate structural violence and promote harmony, cooperation, justice, and sustainable well-being.
What is this blog about? Violence, most saliently in the form of war, is very much still with us. Despite efforts to understand it, spanning from ancient writings to modern day social science, we lack useful, unifying, widely accepted theories for diagnosing its causes. This may be less of an information problem. Instead, what’s missing may be synthesis of existing knowledge and theoretical development.
We also continue to struggle prevent and disrupt violence, including direct physical violence and structural violence. Part of the problem may be lack of a clear diagnosis about why different actors engage in actions that result in harm. In academic social science, efforts by bright, motivated scholars are often devoted to rigorously describing problems, without necessarily contributing to cumulative knowledge or theoretical development. Additionally, there are fewer efforts to translate existing knowledge into evidence-based recommendations and problem-solving (see here for an excellent discussion from one political scientist’s perspective).
Current efforts to problem-solve often center around putting out the most visible and urgent fires, which is understandable and can make a real difference in people’s lives. There is some, though much less, investment in prevention of violence and promotion of peace and well-being. Finally, some existing efforts may have good intentions but are not necessarily well-informed or well-implemented.
I started this blog as an exploration to fill some of the knowledge gaps above for myself. Namely around violence definitions, causes, treatments, and prevention, as well as promotion of sustainable peace and well-being. The content here presents summaries and analysis of existing knowledge, as well as discussion of what’s missing. It draws from multi-disciplinary academic sources. While not perfect, these sources have undergone some degree of vetting. Perspectives outside of traditional or well-established sources may also presented when they have some insight to offer. I try to be transparent about their strengths and limitations to the best of my understanding.
About me:
My background is in social science and I occasionally do research that touches on some forms of structural violence and how to address them. The writing presented here is done in my spare time to find out what I know.
You can get in touch with me here: PositivePeaceEdits [at] proton [dot] me
Bluesky: @positivepeaceedits.bsky.social
Thanks for dropping by!