The Origins of Peace Research
INSPIRATIONAL, 7 Sep 2015
Dietrich Fischer – TRANSCEND Media Service
Johan Galtung, born 1930, refused to do military service in Norway. He did one year of civil service as a ditch-digger and (lousy) cook, the same amount of time as those who do military service, but refused to serve an additional six months as penalty, arguing that those who do military or civilian service should be treated equally. Or, if not, that at least those extra six months should be for peace. That request was denied, and he was sentenced to six months in prison in winter 1954-55. While in prison, he completed his first book, Gandhi’s Political Ethics, together with his mentor, the philosopher Arne Naess.
Before that, in fall 1951, he had studied in Finland, and had asked the librarian for any books about peace research. But he was told, “No such books exist.” He found it strange that thousands of books have been written about war and military strategy, but none about research for peace. He saw this as a missing academic discipline, and vowed to help create it. Ever since then, he has worked tirelessly to study, write and teach about peace in all of its many aspects. By 2010, he had published 143 books and more than 1500 articles and book chapters about peace, development, human rights and related fields. He has also helped mediate in over 100 conflicts from the individual to the global level all over the world.
In 1959, Galtung founded the first institute in the world with the word peace in its name, the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). In 1964, he founded the Journal of Peace Research. In 1979, Professor Anita Kemp from the University of Nevada conducted a survey among the members of the International Peace Research Association, which Galtung had helped found in 1965. To the question, “Which person, dead or alive, has influenced your thinking the most”, many names were given, but nearly half (44 percent) mentioned Johan Galtung, with the next runner-up receiving 12 percent. He has been able to help inspire a generation of dedicated peace workers around the world.
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Dietrich Fischer, born in 1941 in Münsingen, Switzerland, got a Licentiate in Mathematics from the University of Bern 1968 and his Ph.D. in Computer Science from New York University 1976. 1986-88 he was a MacArthur Fellow in International Peace and Security at Princeton University. He has taught mathematics, computer science, economics and peace studies at various universities and been a consultant to the United Nations.
Excerpted from Dietrich Fischer’s Stories to Inspire You – TRANSCEND University Press-TUP.
This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 7 Sep 2015.
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