Peace-Research-Slide..

Environmental Conflict?The nonviolent tradition in peace research

The nonviolent traditionin peace research

Lecture at HEI, 29 March 2007, Course E 584 Topics in Peace Research

Nils Petter Gleditsch

Centre for the Study of Civil War (CSCW) at theInternational Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO)& Department of Sociology and Political Science,

Norwegian University of Science and Technology


The originsThe Gandhian rootsThe anti-colonial rootsThe peace movement rootsThe civil rightsThe World War II rootsThe medical roots

The applicationsInstrumental Normative Nonviolent defense Ethical standardsNonviolent liberation Hippocratic oath?Mixed defenseNonoffensive defenseNonviolent politics


Gandhian and anti-colonial roots

India, the first large third-world country to gain independence from colonial rule

Largely seen as the result of non-violent campaigning by Gandhi and his satyagraha movement

Pioneered civil disobedience as a tacticGandhi’s first campaigns in South AfricaInspired black South African leaders like Chief LuthuliAfrican colonial independence also mostly nonviolent in the British coloniesMany African leaders stated their belief in nonviolenceLess so after independence


Gandhian norms

Top norm: Act in a group struggle and act, moreover, in a way conducive to long-term universal reduction of violence

Derived hypotheses:H1: The means determine the resultsH2: To reduce violence requires a constructive programH3: Acting violently counteracts the long-term reduction of violenceH4: To reduce violence requires fighting antagonism, not the antagonist

Source: Næss (1958)


Gandhi’s nonviolence as a tactic

Why did Gandhi’s nonviolence work?Starting from a simple conflict model, Klitgaard argued that Gandhi’s tactic

was successful because he exempted himself from the usual cost-benefit calculations in a conflict

Gandhi acted on the basis of higher principlesHe realized the importance of communicationNonviolence is also a form of (moral) coercionHowever, this would not work as well against an opponent who is also

acting without reference to payoffs in the game

Source: Klitgaard (1971)


The peace movements roots

Resistance to bloc policy- and particularly to nuclear weapons

(Aldermaston marches, copied in many countries)Sailing boats into nuclear test areas

(tactic later also used by the environmental movement)Civil disobedience tactics in the radical wing


The civil rights roots

US South – slavery abolished after the civil warBut ‘reconstruction’ and de facto ‘apartheid’ until the 1960sCivil rights movement had been working through legal and political meansSchool integrationThe Montgomery bus boycott (1955), Martin Luther KingFreedom Rides, st-ins in restaurantsFederal government interventionCivil rights legislation mid-1960s


The World War II roots

Examples from occupied countries- failure: The Quisling public radio ‘coup’ in 1940- success: The teacher’s strike in Norway

Swiss preparations for occupation resistance


A sociological analysis of nonviolent action

Direct action, active civil disobedience, unilateralism

Non-cooperation, passive civil disobedience

Role-playing

Alter-inflicted gratification for egoAlter-inflicted sufferingAmplification

Reward immediately for positive or neutral actions, memberships

Strikes, boycotts, ostracismSanctions

Facilitate cooperation, facilitate contactSabotage, escape, migrationPhysical dimension

Point out what is desired, in a gradualist way

ProtestStructuring of action-space

PositiveNegative

Source: Galtung (1965).


The uses: nonviolence as national defense

Could nonviolent methods be transferred to national defense?

Occupation resistance

Publication of occupation resistance as strategic deterrent

Sabotage

Replacing or supplementing existing military forces?


Nonviolence as liberation

Discussions about sending ‘nonviolent troops’ from the outside; peace brigades

Inspired by the civil rights movement in the US

Attempts to stop bombing and invasions by sending nonviolent hostages (Gulf War)

Nonviolence revised in Eastern Europe at the end of the Cold War, particularly East Germany


From nonviolent to non-offensive defense

‘Second Cold War’ in the 1980s

New arms race

Intermediate-range missiles in Europe

Non-offensive defense

- weapons systems

- targeting

- but what about missile defense?

From disarmament to transarmament

And what about (former) Yugoslavia?


The debate about sanctions

Skepticism in peace research about (negative) sanctions

The Wallensteen (1968) study

The Galtung (1967) study of Rhodesia

Yet, sanctions reemerges an alternative to war with the Gulf War

But: ‘Sanctions of Mass destruction’ (Mueller & Mueller, 1999)

Smart sanctions


The medical roots of nonviolence

The Hippocratic Oath• I swear by Æsculap, Hygeia, and Panacea, and I take to witness all the gods, all the goddesses, to keep according

to my ability and my judgment, the following Oath. • To consider dear to me as my parents him who taught me this art; to live in common with him and if necessary to

share my goods with him; To look upon his children as my own brothers, to teach them this art if they so desire without fee or written promise; to impart to my sons and the sons of the master who taught me and the disciples who have enrolled themselves and have agreed to the rules of the profession, but to these alone the precepts and the instruction.

• I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone.

• To please no one will I prescribe a deadly drug nor give advice which may cause his death.• Nor will I give a woman a pessary to procure abortion.• But I will preserve the purity of my life and my art.• I will not cut for stone1, even for patients in whom the disease is manifest; I will leave this operation to be performed

by practitioners, specialists in this art.• In every house where I come I will enter only for the good of my patients, keeping myself far from all intentional ill-

doing and all seduction and especially from the pleasures of love with women or with men, be they free or slaves.• All that may come to my knowledge in the exercise of my profession or in daily commerce with men, which ought not

to be spread abroad, I will keep secret and will never reveal.• If I keep this oath faithfully, may I enjoy my life and practice my art, respected by all men and in all times; but if I

swerve from it or violate it, may the reverse be my lot.

Source: Wikipedia1. Stone = kidney stone


A Hippocratic oath for peace researchers

Source: Galtung (2006)

Health studies are higher inter- and trans-disciplinary [and] also inter- and trans-national. Ideally speaking, medical doctors have no father/mother-land. Not only can they practice anywhere, but they also have a value overriding patriotism, sexism, racism, and so on: health. The hippocratic oath demands of them to treat friend, foe and Other alike … We are moving in that direction in the field of peace studies, promoting a value more important than national interests: peace. We are not there yet …

Particularly important are

• the peace worker’s legitimacy in in his/her skills)

• never propose an outcome that cannot be undone )

• all conflicts are born equal

The essence … , the moral maxim in a Kantian sense, might one day provide a basis for the equivalent of a Hippocratic oath.


A Code of ethics for scientists (1)

Scientific research is an indispensable activity of great significance to mankind … Research can contribute to solving the great problems facing humanity, such as the threat of nuclear war, damage to the environment, and the uneven distribution of the Earth’s resources. … Yet, research can also, both directly and indirectly, aggravate the problems of mankind.

This code of ethics has been formulated as a response to a concern about the applications and consequences of scientific research. In particular it appears that the potential hazards deriving from modern technological warfare are so overwhelming that it is doubtful whether it is ethically defensible for scientists to lend any support to weapons development’.

Source: Gustafsson, Rydén, Tibell & Wallensteen (1984)


A Code of ethics for scientists (2)

1. Research shall be so directed that its application and other consequences do not cause significant ecological damage.

2. … that its consequences do not render it more difficult for present and future generations to lead a secure existence. Scientific efforts shall therefore not aim at applications or skills for use in war or oppression. ...

3. The scientist has a special responsibility to assess carefully the consequences of his/her own research, and to make them public.

4. Scientists who form the judgement that the research which they are conducting or participating in is in conflict with this code, shall discontinue such research, and publicly state the reasons for their judgement. …


Two contrasting professional roles



A mission statement for nonviolent peace workers



The Seville Statement on Violence (1986)Violence is Not Law of NatureBelieving that it is our responsibility to address from our particular disciplines the most dangerous and destructive activities of our species, violence and war ... we have … arrived at the following Statement on Violence. In it, we challenge a number of alleged biological findings that have been used … to justify violence and war. ... We state our position in the form of five propositions.The cultural aspectIt is scientifically incorrect to say that we have inherited a tendency to make war from our animal ancestors. … Warfare is a peculiarly human phenomenon and does not occur in other animals.GeneticsIt is scientifically incorrect to say that war or any other violent behaviour is genetically programmed into our human nature.Human evolutionIt is scientifically incorrect to say that in the course of human evolution there has been a selection for aggressive behaviour more than for other kinds of behaviour. … Violence is neither in our evolutionary legacy nor in our genes.NeurophysiologyIt is scientifically incorrect to say that humans have a 'violent brain'.PsychologyIt is scientifically incorrect to say that war is caused by 'instinct' or any single motivation.ConclusionsWe conclude that biology does not condemn humanity to war, and that humanity can be freed from the bondage of biological pessimism … Just as 'wars begin in the minds of men', peace also begins in our minds. The same species who invented war is capable of inventing peace. The responsibility lies with each of us. – Seville, 16 May 1986. Initial signatories: David Adams, Psychology, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, USA … etc.Source: Adams (1989) and www.culture-of-peace.info/ssov-intro.html. For a debate, see Beroldi (1994) and Scott & Ginsburg (1994)

http://www.culture-of-peace.info/ssov-intro.html


Nonviolence – normative or instrumental?The instrumental approach – use nonviolent methods because they are more effective in the long run

The normative approach – use nonviolent methods because they are right


The decreasing lethality of war, 1946–2005 – nonviolent politics in practice?

Figure created by Lars Wilhelmsen. Data for the number of battle deaths (civilian and military) are from www.prio.no/cscw/cross/battledeaths, cf. Lacina & Gleditsch (2005). The number of battle deaths has been divided by the world population in all independent countries for that year, based on population data in Gleditsch & Ward (2006).

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http://www.prio.no/cscw/cross/battledeaths


The liberal peace – nonviolence in practice?And what about humanitarian intervention?


References

Adams, David, 1989. ‘The Seville Statement on Violence – A Progress Report’, Journal of Peace Research 26(2): 113–121Beroldi, Gerald, 1994. ‘Critique of the Seville Statement on Violence’, American Psychologist 49(19): 847–848Boserup, Anders & Andrew Mack. 1974. War without Weapons. Non-Violence in National Defense. London: Frances PinterGaltung, Johan, 1965. ’On the Meaning of Nonviolence’, Journal of Peace Research 2(3): 228–257Galtung, Johan, 1967. ‘Effects of International Economic Sanctions – With Examples from Case of Rhodesia’, World Politics 19(3): 378–416 Galtung, Johan, 1984. ‘Transarmament: From Offensive to Defensive Defense’, Journal of Peace Research 21(2): 127–139Galtung, Johan, 2006. ’What Does Professionalism Mean in Peace Research?’, keynote address, Conference of the International Peace Research

Association, Calgary, 29 June–3 July, www.transnational.org/SAJT/forum/meet/2006/Galtung_PeaceProf.htmlGustafsson, Bo; Lars Rydén, Gunnar Tibell & Peter Wallensteen, 1984. ’The Uppsala Code of Ethics for Scientists’, Journal of Peace Research 21(4):

311–316Martin, Brian & Wendy Varney, 2003. ‘Nonviolence and Communication’, Journal of Peace Research 40(2): 213–232Klitgaard, Robert E., 1971. ‘Gandhi’s Nonviolence as a Tactic’, Journal of Peace Research 8(2): 143–153Mueller, John & Karl Mueller, 1999. ‘Sanctions of Mass Destruction’, Foreign Affairs 78(3): 43–53Naess, Arne, 1958. ‘A Systematization of Gandhian Ethics of Conflict Resolution’, Journal of Conflict Resolution 2(2): 140–155Scott, John Paul & Benson E. Ginsburg, 1994. ‘The Seville Statement on Violence Revisited’, American Psychologist 49(10): 849–850Wallensteen, Peter, 1968. Characteristics of Economic Sanctions’, Journal of Peace Research 5(3): 248–267

http://www.transnational.org/SAJT/forum/meet/2006/Galtung_PeaceProf.html

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