Peace
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[[Image:Gari-Melchers-Peace-Highsmith.jpeg|thumb|450px|[[Gari Melchers]], Mural of Peace, 1896.]]
{{otheruses}}
'''Peace''' can be a state of harmony or the absence of hostility. "Peace" can also be a non-violent way of life. "Peace" is used to describe the cessation of violent conflict. Peace can mean a state of [[quiet]] or [[tranquility]] — an absence of disturbance or agitation. Peace can also describe a relationship between any people characterized by [[respect]], [[justice]], and [[goodwill]]. Peace can describe calmness, serenity, and silence. This latter understanding of peace can also pertain to an individual's sense of himself or herself, as to be "at peace" with one's own mind.
==Nobel Peace Prize==
{{main|Nobel Peace Prize}}
The '''Nobel Peace Prize''' is awarded annually to notable peacemakers and [[Visionary|visionaries]] who have overcome violence, conflict or oppression through their moral leadership, those who have "done the most or the best work for fraternity between the nations". The prize has often met with controversy, as it is occasionally awarded to people who have formerly sponsored war and violence but who have, through exceptional concessions, helped achieve peace.
==Understandings of peace==
{{expand-section|date = April 2008}}
Many different theories of "peace" exist in the world of [[peace studies]], which involves the study of conflict resolution, disarmament, and cessation of violence. [http://www.einaudi.cornell.edu/peaceprogram/] The definition of "peace" can vary with religion, culture, or subject of study.
==Peace as the presence of justice==
[[Image:Justitia et pax - Brescia - Pinacoteca Tosio-Martinengo - 13-4-2002.jpg|right|thumb|"Justice and Peace shall kiss" depicts a biblical scene, referencing [[s:Bible,|King James, Psalms#Psalm 85 Psalms 85.]]]]
[[Mahatma Gandhi]] suggested that if an oppressive society lacks violence, the society is nonetheless not peaceful, because of the injustice of the oppression.{{Fact|date=December 2007}} Gandhi articulated a vision of peace in which justice is an inherent and necessary aspect; that peace requires not only the absence of violence but also the presence of [[justice]].{{Fact|date=December 2007}} Galtung described this peace, peace with justice, as "positive peace," because hostility and further violence could no longer flourish in this environment.{{Fact|date=December 2007}}
During the 1950s and 60s, when [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] and the [[civil rights]] movement carried out various non-violent activities aimed at ending [[Racial segregation|segregation]] and racial persecution in America, they understood peace as more than just the absence of violence. They observed that while there was not open combat between blacks and whites, there was an unjust system in place in which the government deprived [[African American]]s of equal rights.{{Fact|date=December 2007}} While some opponents criticized the activists for "disturbing the peace", [[Letter from Birmingham Jail|Martin Luther King observed]] that "True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice."
Galtung coined the term ''[[structural violence]]'' to refer to such situations, which although not violent on the surface, harbor systematic oppression and injustice.{{Fact|date=December 2007}}
==Peace in the presence of injustice==
Since classical times, it has been noted that peace has sometimes been achieved by the victor over the vanquished by the imposition of ruthless measures. In his book [[Agricola (book)|Agricola]] the Roman historian [[Tacitus]] includes eloquent and vicious polemics against the rapacity and greed of Rome. One, that Tacitus says is by the British chieftain [[Calgacus]], ends ''Auferre trucidare rapere falsis nominibus imperium, atque ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant.'' (To ravage, to slaughter, to usurp under false titles, they call empire; and where they make a desert, they call it peace. — Oxford Revised Translation).
==Peace and development==
[[Image:Peace-and-Prosperity-Vedder-Highsmith-detail-1.jpeg|thumb|300px|Detail from ''Peace and Prosperity'' (1896), [[Elihu Vedder]], Library of Congress [[Thomas Jefferson Building]], Washington, D.C.]]
One concept or idea that often complements peace studies is [[Development studies|development]]. Economic, cultural, and political development can supposedly take "underdeveloped" nations and peoples out of poverty, thus helping bring about a more peaceful world. As such, many international development agencies carry out projects funded by the governments of industrialized countries, mostly the western, designed to "modernize" poor countries.<ref> The website of the United States Agency for International Development website states: "Our Work supports long-term and equitable economic growth and advances U.S. foreign policy objectives by supporting: economic growth, agriculture and trade; global health; and democracy, conflict prevention and humanitarian assistance.[http://www.usaid.gov/about_usaid/]</ref>
The concept of peace has been linked to the wide idea of development, assuming that development is not the classical pursuit of wealth.{{Fact|date=December 2007}} Peaceful development can be a set of many different elements such as [[good governance]], [[healthcare]], [[education]], [[gender equality]], [[disaster preparedness]], [[infrastructure]], [[economics]], [[rule of law]], [[human rights]], [[Environmentalism|environment]] and other political issues. {{Fact|date=December 2007}} The [[International development#Measuring Development|measuring of development]] uses not only [[GDP]] but also numerous measures such as:
*[[Literacy]] rates
*[[Life expectancy]]
*[[Gini coefficient]]
*Per capita income
*Maternal survival rate
*[[HIV]] infection rates
*Number of doctors per capita
*[[Human Development Index]]
*and others
In this frame, the problem of peace fully involves the complex matter of human development, what explains the complexity of any peace-building processus.
{{Cquote|Peace is what happens when all peoples are free to develop themselves in the way they want, without having to fight for their rights.|||Bruno Picozzi<ref>Picozzi, Bruno (2007). [http://www.bippi.org/bippi/menu_left/conflicts.htm BIPPI] independent pro-peace initiative </ref>}}
== Democratic peace ==
Proponents of the [[democratic peace theory]] argue that strong empirical evidence exists that [[democracies]] never or rarely make war against each other. An increasing number of nations have become democratic since the [[industrial revolution]], and thus, they claim [[world peace]] may become possible if this trend continues.
==Plural peaces==
Following [[Wolfgang Dietrich]], Wolfgang Sützl, and the [http://www.tirol.gv.at/peacestudies/ Innsbruck School of Peace Studies], some "peace thinkers" have abandoned any single and all-encompassing definition of peace. Rather, they promote the idea of [http://www.aspr.ac.at/wp7_97.pdf many peaces.] They argue that since no singular, correct definition of peace can exist, peace should be perceived as a plurality.<ref>''A Call for Many Peaces'', in: Dietrich/Echavarría/Koppensteiner: Key Texts of Peace Studies, Vienna, LIT Verlag, 2006. pages 282-305.[http://www.aspr.ac.at/wp7_97.pdf]</ref>
For example, in the [[African Great Lakes|Great Lakes region of Africa]], the word for peace is ''kindoki'', which refers to a harmonious balance between human beings, the rest of the natural world, and the [[cosmos]]. This vision is a much broader view of peace than a mere "absence of war" or even a "presence of justice" standard.<ref> Ibid. </ref>
These thinkers also critique the idea of peace as a hopeful or eventual end. They recognize that peace does not necessarily have to be something humans might achieve "some day." They contend that peace exists in the present, we can create and expand it in small ways in our everyday lives, and peace changes constantly. This view makes peace permeable and imperfect rather than static and utopian.<ref> Ibid. </ref>
Such a view is influenced by [[postmodernism]].
==Inner peace==
One meaning of peace refers to [[inner peace]], a state of [[mind]], [[body]] and mostly [[soul]], a peace within ourselves. People that experience inner peace say that the feeling is not dependent on time, people, place, or any external object or situation, asserting that an individual may experience inner peace even in the midst of war. {{Fact|date=February 2007}} One of the oldest writings on this subject is the ''Bhagavad Gita,'' a part of India's Vedic scriptures.<ref>{{cite book | last = Tirtha | first = Swami Sadashiva | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Bhagavad Gita for Modern Times | publisher = Sat Yuga Press |date=2007 | location = New York, USA | language = commentary and translation| url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 978-0-9658042-6-4 }}</ref>
[[Sevi Regis]] describes inner peace as, "the state or condition of restfulness, harmony, balance, equilibrium, longevity, justice, resolution, timelessness, contentment, freedom, and fulfillment, either individually or simultaneously present, in such a way that it overcomes, demolishes, banishes, and/or replaces everything that opposes it."{{Fact|date=December 2007}}
==Nonviolence and pacifism==
[[Mahatma Gandhi]]'s conception of peace was not as an end, but as a means: "There is no way to peace; peace is the way." Gandhi envisioned nonviolence as a way to make a political statement.{{Fact|date=December 2007}}[[Judeo-Christian tradition]] declares "[[Thou shalt not kill]]," although there is no consensus on the [[Thou_shalt_not_kill#Killing_or_murder|most accurate interpretation]].
Followers of some religions, such as [[Jainism]], go to great lengths to avoid harming any living creatures, including insects. [[Pacifism|Pacifists]], such as [[Christian anarchism|Christian anarchists]], perceive any incarnation of violence as self-perpetuating. Other groups take a wide variety of stances, many maintaining a [[Just War]] theory.
==Peace organizations==
* [[American Friends Service Committee]]: religious Society of Friends (Quaker) affiliated organization which works for social justice, peace and reconciliation, abolition of the death penalty, and human rights, and provides humanitarian relief.
* [http://www.mcgill.ca/mmep The McGill Middle East Program in Civil Society and Peace Building]: International program actively engaged in building peace in individual communities, both in Canada and the Middle East.
* [[Nonviolent Peaceforce]]: International NGO engaged in the creation of a large-scale international unarmed peacekeeping force, composed of trained civilians.
* [[Pax Christi]] International: Lay Catholic peace movement
* [http://www.peacecoup.com Peace Coup]: Peace community and social network.
* [[Peaceworkers UK]]: British NGO providing training for potential peaceworkers in nonviolent, civilian techniques of conflict transformation.
* [[Seeds of Peace]] develops and empowers young leaders from regions of conflict to work toward peace through coexistence
* [[Spirit of the Sword]]: a youth initiative active in Wellington, New Zealand between c.1977-1990
* [[World Peace Council]]: International Organization for the struggle for peace.
* [[Ulster Project|Ulster Project International]]: International peace-project involving [[Protestant]] and [[Catholic]] teenagers from [[Northern Ireland]] and America.
* [[UN peacekeeping|Peacekeeping]]: personnel units of the United Nations deployed as a way to help countries torn by conflict create conditions for sustainable peace.
* [http://www.thepeacealliance.org The Peace Alliance]: A grassroots lobbying organization working to build a culture of peace in the United States through legislation to create a cabinet-level U.S. Department of Peace and Nonviolence.
* [[Peace Parade UK]]: an organisation dedicated to promoting observation of the United Nations Day Of Peace and Non-violence through active participation of young peaople and adults in their local communities throughout the UK and the world. Working in partnership with Truce International, FC Unity and Foundation for Peace.
==See also==
* The [[McGill Middle East Program]] of Civil Society and Peace Building
* [[Islamic Peace]]
* [[Democratic peace theory]]
* [[Anarchy]]
* [[Inner peace]] (or peace of mind)
* [[Moral syncretism]]
* [[Pacifism]]
* [[Peace and Conflict Studies]]
* [[Peace symbol]]
* [[Peacetime]]
* [[Satyagraha]]: philosophy of non-violent resistance most famously employed by [[Mahatma Gandhi]].
* [[Peace war game|Peace War Game]], not a [[wargame]] as such, rather a [[simulation]] of [[economic]] decisions underlying [[war]], with surprising results.
* [[Children's Peace Pavilion]]
* [[University for Peace]]
* [[Dayton International Peace Museum]]
* [[Japanese Peace Bell]]
* [[Nobel Peace Prize]]
* [[Catholic Peace Traditions]]
* [[Peace In Islamic Thought]]
* [[International Festival of Peace Poetry]]
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
==References==
<div class="references-small" >
#[http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html Letter from Birmingham Jail] by [[Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.]].
#"Pennsylvania, A History of the Commonwealth," esp. pg. 109, edited by Randall M. Miller and William Pencak, The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2002.
#[http://www.peacefulsocieties.org/index.html Peaceful Societies, Alternatives to Violence and War] Short profiles on 25 peaceful societies.
</div>
#''The Path to Peace,'' by Laure Paquette
==External links==
{{sisterlinks|Peace}}
* [http://www.un.org/peace/ United Nations/peace]
* [http://www.carnegieendowment.org Carnegie Endowment for International Peace]
* [http://www.peacecorps.gov/ Peace Corps]
* [http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/ All Nobel Peace Prize Laureates]
* {{dmoz|Society/Issues/Peace|Peace}}
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[[Category:Core issues in ethics]]
[[Category:International relations]]
[[Category:Nonviolence]]
[[Category:Pacifism]]
[[Category:Peace]]
[[Category:Personal life]]
[[Category:Virtues]]
[[Category:Ethical principles]]
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[[th:สันติภาพ]]
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[[uk:Мир]]
[[wa:Påye]]
[[yi:פרידן]]
[[zh:和平]]