Demonstrates how micro-interaction between people shapes larger patterns of peace and conflict. This book features chapters on the methods of micro-sociology (including Video Data Analysis) as well as analytical chapters on violence, nonviolence, conflict transformation, peace talks and international meetings. This title is Open Access.
Thoroughly revised, the Second Edition of Peace and Conflict Studies sets the new gold standard as an accessible introduction and comprehensive exploration of this vital subject. The authors share their vast knowledge and analysis about 21st-century world events – including new coverage on timely topics such as terrorism, the truth and reconciliation process, and the clash of civilizations. With an encyclopedic scope, this introductory text chronicles a plethora of important global topics from pre-history to the present. Key Features of the Second Edition Includes updated chapters and examines current conflicts, including the Iraq War Explores the important aspects of positive peace, individual violence, nationalism, and terrorism Provides numerous visual aids, questions for further study, and suggested readings Furnishes a comprehensive range of material to enlighten and enrich future discussion and encourage further academic pursuit Intended Audience This text is invaluable for students and professors in peace and or conflict studies, psychology and or the sociology of peace and conflict studies, international relations, comparative politics, history, and others interested in gaining a solid foundation about the global arena. Praise for the First Edition "Barash and Webel have penned a masterpiece that should appeal to seasoned scholars of peace and conflict studies as well as to others who have little knowledge of this multidisciplinary field." --Daniel J. Christie, Ohio State University
′...effectively fills a long-standing void and will no doubt be hailed as a much-needed new addition to the literature... This text very much exemplifies the strength of Ho-Won Jeong as a theorist and one of the more prolific writers in the larger peace and conflict studies field... the final three chapters on ′De-escalation Dynamics′ (which includes a brief section on third party intervention), on ′Conciliation Strategies,′ and especially the one on ′Ending Conflict,′ which provides a range of outcomes beyond the usual focus on third party intervention (read mediation) epitomizes the value of this new text′ - Journal of Peace Research ′...an awesome tour d′horizon of modern war, violence, and confrontation within and between nations. Illustrating via just about every conflict in every corner of the world, the author invokes an endless array of insights and interpretations, ranging from the micro to the macro, beautifully written in a seamless sequence of closely linked and discursive essays.′ - Professor J. David Singer, University of Michigan ′Ho-Won Jeong has written an illuminatinbg analysis of the dynamics of conflict. He lays out the tools we have to analyze conflict in a literate and comprehensive way. A valuable book for anyone interested in a more comprehensive understanding of conflict, its sources, and its deescalation and termination′ - Janice Gross Stein, Belzberg Professor of Conflict Management, Director, Munk Centre for International Studies, University of Toronto ′Jeong has successfully combined behavioral and structural analysis of the dynamics of social conflict. This volume covers the multiple dimensions - escalation, entrapment, de-escalation, termination, and resolution - both of violent and non-violent confrontation between adversaries, as well as the utility and limitations of external intervention. For students of the social sciences, it should serve as an excellent introduction to the complex realities of social conflict.′ - Milton Esman, John S. Knight Professor of International Studies, Emeritus, Cornell University By examining the dynamic forces which shape and re-shape major conflicts, this timely book provides students with the knowledge base needed to successfully study conflict sources, processes and transformations. Broad in focus, it addresses the multiple social, political and psychological features central to understanding conflict situations and behaviour. A range of both recent and historical examples (including the Arab-Israeli conflict, the ′War on Terrorism′, the Cold War, and the civil wars in Sudan, former Yugoslavia and Sri Lanka) are discussed, illustrating the application of concepts and theories essential to the analysis of inter-group, inter-state and intra-state conflict and conflict resolution in a wider context. Understanding Conflict and Conflict Analysis is key reading for students of international relations, peace and conflict studies, conflict resolution, international security and international law.
This book presents a new approach for studying peace beyond the absence of war. As war ends, the varying nature of the peace that ensues has been the object of much debate. Through in-depth case studies, including Cyprus, Cambodia, South Africa, Abkhazia, Transnistria/Russia, Colombia, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Myanmar, the book illustrates how conceptualising ‘relational peace’ provides a framework that can be applied across cases and actors, different levels of analysis, a variety of geographical contexts and using different temporal perspectives and types of data. This novel framework enables improved empirical studies of peace. The book contributes nuanced understandings of peace in particular settings and demonstrates the multifaceted nature of peaceful relations – what is termed ‘relational peace practices’ – making important contributions to the field of studying peace beyond the absence of war.
In the popular misconception fostered by blockbuster action movies and best-selling thrillers--not to mention conventional explanations by social scientists--violence is easy under certain conditions, like poverty, racial or ideological hatreds, or family pathologies. Randall Collins challenges this view in Violence, arguing that violent confrontation goes against human physiological hardwiring. It is the exception, not the rule--regardless of the underlying conditions or motivations. Collins gives a comprehensive explanation of violence and its dynamics, drawing upon video footage, cutting-edge forensics, and ethnography to examine violent situations up close as they actually happen--and his conclusions will surprise you. Violence comes neither easily nor automatically. Antagonists are by nature tense and fearful, and their confrontational anxieties put up a powerful emotional barrier against violence. Collins guides readers into the very real and disturbing worlds of human discord--from domestic abuse and schoolyard bullying to muggings, violent sports, and armed conflicts. He reveals how the fog of war pervades all violent encounters, limiting people mostly to bluster and bluff, and making violence, when it does occur, largely incompetent, often injuring someone other than its intended target. Collins shows how violence can be triggered only when pathways around this emotional barrier are presented. He explains why violence typically comes in the form of atrocities against the weak, ritualized exhibitions before audiences, or clandestine acts of terrorism and murder--and why a small number of individuals are competent at violence. Violence overturns standard views about the root causes of violence and offers solutions for confronting it in the future.
This text approaches the study of peace and conflict as an interdisciplinary one. It examines peace, conflict, violence, and power as essential elements, at both the micro- and macro- levels, in determining the course of events.
This Advanced Introduction establishes the study of peace processes as part of the mainstream of sociology, a position consistent with the new moral re-enchantment of the social sciences. It advances a sociological view of peace that goes beyond vague notions of reconciliation, to constitute the restoration of moral sensibility, from which flows social solidarity, sociability and social justice. These concepts form the basis for a moral framework outlining what peace means sociologically.
This book explores the close interconnection that exists between sociological and philosophical scholarship in relation to peace studies. Through an examination of the thought of nine leading philosophers and sociologists in their historical and geographical context, the author considers notions of nonviolent resistance, pacifism and reverse strike, as well as violence theories of conflict, theories of conflict resolution, the problem of war, and political transitions towards democratization. Engaging with the work of Thoreau, Gandhi, Ghaffar Khan, Capitini, Dolci, Bobbio, Galtung, Sharp and Weil, and considering the institutionalisation of peace research, this volume will appeal to scholars and students of sociology, politics and philosophy with interest in peace and security studies, and conflict.
This edited volume brings together a series of contributions exploring the socio-cultural and psychological representation of peace and conflict. It ventures into areas of the humanities and social sciences not typically foregrounded in Peace Studies, such psychology, sociology, media studies, cultural studies, history, and geography.
