Catholic Community of Pleasanton

Social Justice Newsletter Archive

Selected Article on Peace

 

 

A New Vision for Peacemaking and Constructive Relationships

 

A vision of peacemaking has been put forth by members of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at Notre Dame University. This vision applies to individuals and families, groups within religious congregations, and religious and other community organizations. The vision also applies to governments, corporations, and banks. The key idea is that all social units need to work to form and strengthen constructive relationships that bring about a just and peaceful society.

 

Although this vision and the strategies involved are intended primarily for dealing with actual civil wars or threats of civil war and also with grave injustices, the idea of being more open to the people and groups around us and thinking of forming more constructive relationships that consciously strive to create a more just and equitable society is one that we could apply to our own lives and our own community - to our voice in shaping policy and exercises of power at all levels of government.

 

The Kroc Institute approach is described more fully as follows:

 

"Peacebuilding is the creation and nurturing of constructive relationships - at every level of society - across ethnic, religious, class, and racial boundaries. Peacebuilders seek the nonviolent and collaborative resolution of social inequities and the transformation of structural conditions that generate deadly conflict. The range of relationship-building activities encompasses the entire conflict cycle and includes conflict prevention, conflict management, conflict resolution and transformation, and post-conflict reconciliation.

 

"Strategic peacebuilding, a specialty of the Kroc Institute, is a set of complementary practices aimed at transforming a society from a state of violence or deep injustice to one of greater just peace. Strategic peacebuilding begins with an assessment of local issues - the challenges and strengths of people and communities "on the ground" in any given conflict setting - and connects them with national and international actors and institutions. It may involve efforts to stop open warfare as well as practices that create sustainable peace and justice, such as monitoring of peace agreements, demobilization of armed parties, accountability for human rights violators, economic development, reconciliation, and resettlement of displaced people."

 

A sixteen-page download of an Introduction to "Strategies of Peace" (a newly published book) is available at http://kroc.nd.edu/sites/default/files/strategies_of_peace_intro.pdf.