Clark University - Clark News winter 2005
Paths to peace
(winter 2005)
By Tammy Griffin-Kumpey
Graduate and undergraduate students are learning what it takes to build peace at home, at work and in the world
According to psychology Professor Joseph de Rivera, a little kindness goes a long way—and it's a whole lot cheaper than an arsenal. Director of the peace studies concentration at Clark, de Rivera is a gentle advocate for solving social injustices and dissolving conflict through nonviolent means.
For many people, the idea of "peace" is the idealistic, but virtually unreachable goal of ending wars. However, de Rivera asserts that peace is a practical necessity and cannot be defined simply as the "absence of war."
"Some people think peace is about not having any conflicts, but of course that's impossible," he says. "Peace is about taking conflicts and finding creative nonviolent solutions."
The peace studies concentration encompasses many levels and is especially relevant today—not just because of the glaring international situation. It also applies to our daily lives at home, in our families, workplaces, schools, communities and relationships.
"You don't have to be working for an NGO advocating for world peace to benefit from this concentration. In any organizational job, it's practical to know how to resolve conflicts peacefully," says de Rivera, explaining that employers value employees who can defuse workplace conflicts that are often costly and counterproductive.
Peace through strength and justice
The peace studies program teaches students to analyze alternative ways to transform individual behavior, national policy and institutions in order to promote peace and justice. The program examines four approaches critical to establishing peace—strength, negotiation, justice through nonviolent and political action, and personal transformation. Students explore peace-through-strength questions like: How do you assert yourself with a bully? How do you intervene with genocide or overthrow a tyrant nonviolently? How can you discipline a child without resorting to brutality?
"I think we confuse force or authority with violence—we've seen so much of it," says de Rivera. "But you can be an authority and establish discipline without beating someone up."
The peace-through-justice component teaches students how they can influence a more just society. "Ultimately, to have peace, you need to have justice," de Rivera says, noting the tremendous work of Ghandi and Martin Luther King Jr. "When people are unhappy, they make things unpeaceful."
For example, de Rivera cites the large income gaps between the richest and poorest people of any given nation and the direct correlation between the size of that gap and the nation's internal violence. According to de Rivera, Colombia has a much larger gap than the United States and its murder rate is much higher. The income gap in Norway is much smaller. Norway doesn't have social classes like Colombia and the United States; its murder rate is much lower, and its people feel more secure.
Psychology graduate student Caitlin Mahoney's interest in peace studies has led her to research human security. According to Mahoney, there are many factors that play into human security besides fear of missile or terrorist attacks. Many of these factors are basic social injustices such as a lack of food, medical care or clean water.
Changing perceptions and ideas
Peace through negotiation teaches students new methods that target people's underlying needs and values to achieve negotiation results that benefit both parties. De Rivera is convinced that if the United States put more money into negotiation and less into armaments, there would be more peace and it would cost much less. He estimates the United States spends about $2 billion annually providing arms aid to Israel and Egypt. He says a better investment would be to fund peace-building workshops, which would run about $25,000 per workshop.
"Peace studies is about changing people's perceptions and ideas," says de Rivera. "People think the military is going to protect them, and some sort of military or police force is needed. But ultimately, what's going to protect them is creating a peaceful world."
"A missile-defense program doesn't do much to resolve the issues that create violence," agrees Mahoney. Her preliminary research shows that most people would prefer a defense program based on peaceful prevention rather than a destructive reaction.
Understanding others
In the final component—peace through personal transformation—students explore "change in our own hearts," and the capacity for forgiveness. Peace studies concentrator Jason Pollens '06 says humanizing a conflict helps to dissipate hurt and false perceptions. "Putting a human face on conflict influences the decisions people make," he explains.
In Professor Liza Chambers' course "Principles of Negotiation and Mediation," Pollens and his classmates are participating in a Web-based program founded by Chambers, which brings together small groups of American and Middle Eastern students with facilitators in visual chat rooms. "We've been talking a lot about perceptions," says Pollens. "This experience is really helping me to understand how other people think."
Forgiveness and negotiations for justice are important aspects of the reconciliation that is needed to restore peace in war-torn societies. Psychology graduate student Rebekah Phillips is working on a peace studies project that will help Rwandan survivors of genocide forgive their assailants. She asserts forgiveness will be crucial in helping survivors and their nations heal after such atrocities so that future violence will be prevented.
"Peace studies is about finding a better way," says de Rivera. "And education is key."
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