Peacemaking throughout History
The course objectives were covered by analyzing the peacemaking processes and movements throughout history. The five course objectives were:
1. analyze how historical narratives have marginalized peacemaking;
2. explain the meanings of negative peace and positive peace and describe specific historical examples of each;
3. identify and describe individuals and groups in the past and in the present who have advanced efforts at peacemaking;
4. identify, describe, and evaluate methods of peacemaking followed by individuals and groups in the past and in the present;
5. explain the influence of peacemaking to themes of continuity and change across historical periods from antiquity to the present.
This essay will explain how the course material addressed each of these objectives, summarize their meaning and provide two examples for each one.
Historical Narratives
Marginalization of peacemaking by way of historical narratives means that peace movements and people or groups who promote peace efforts have been undermined by viewpoints and worldviews that are promoted over them to make their peace overtures look ridiculous and out of place. For instance, historical narratives have marginalized peacemaking by depicting the history of mankind as a strugglei.e., survival of the fittest. As Clancy (2017) points out, the historical narrative of evolution has generally always been promoted in these same terms: i.e., survival of the fittest, as though life were a zero sum game competition and one had either to kill or be killed. This concept, virtually accepted everywhere in the modern world is one example of how historical narratives have marginalized the peacemaking process. Yet Clancy (2017) points out that when natural selection on an organism is relaxed, the creative powers of mutation can be unshackled and evolution accelerated. The relief of an easier life can inspire new biological forms just as powerfully as the threat of death. This argument suggests that those who come together as one have a better chance at survival than those who seek to dominate over others.
Another example is the narrative that war is intrinsically more interesting than peace, which suggests that peacemaking is silly and absurd because war is far more interesting and has provided fodder for more historical analysis than times of peace (Chapter 1: The Perception of Peace and War, n.d., p. 15). As is shown in...
…world (Pick, n.d., p. 8).Butler promoted the idea of an international court for settling disputes and supported the institution of the Hague. He and the friends he made at the Hague Conference founded a law journal Conciliation Internationalebut these enterprises were not disconnected from the ambitions of business magnates like Andrew Carnegie (Howlett, 1983). The problem with Butlers activism was that it resembled all too much the pursuit of business interests. International law could be promoted for the purposes of peacebut it could also be co-opted and used for the purposes of business and neo-colonialism.
Influence of Peacemaking in Terms of Continuity and Change across Historical Periods
Since the 18th century, a more pragmatic approach towards pursuing peace through politics, economics and law has been seen among nations. In the Old World, peace was essentially pursued by way of the sword: the threat of war was used as a deterrent to maintain order and peace as much as possible. However, the Old World also more or less generally had an alignment of interests, united under Christendom. With the Protestant Reformation that alignment was broken and unity among nations, required for peace, became…
References
The Anthology (pp.24-33) on early Christianity and peace Chapter 1: The Perception of Peace and War. (n.d.).
Clancy, K. (2017). Survival of the friendliest. Retrieved from http://nautil.us/issue/46/balance/survival-of-the-friendliest
Howlett, C. F. (1983). Nicholas Murray Butler's crusade for a warless world. The Wisconsin Magazine of History, 99-120.
Protestant Reformation Calvin vs. Luther John Calvin and Martin Luther while both proponents of reform in the Catholic church, held distinctly different views of religious doctrine that profoundly influenced the religious landscape during the 16th century and encouraged citizens to take charge of their spirituality and salvation. Both religious leaders helped shape and influence the Reformation and formed the foundation for Episcopalian and Presbyterian beliefs today. The Protestant Reformation is often considered
Protestant Reformation occurred as a reaction to the increasing encroachment of the Catholic Church on the political, social, and economic affairs of Europeans. Although the Protestant Reformation had a strong theological and doctrinal component, it would evolve into a major turning point in history that transcended religion. The Protestant Reformation was essentially a protest made in order to reform the heart of Christianity. It began when Martin Luther nailed 95 theses,
Reformation Protestant Reformation For most of the 1000 years after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the Catholic Church was the only centralized authority in Western Europe. While kingdoms rose and fell, the Church remained and was the only religious authority in Europe. But beginning in the 15th century, people began to question the authority of the Catholic Church and specifically the Pope. What followed was a turning point in the
Federalist and Anti-Federalist Review Federalist papers were written in support of the ratification of the U.S. constitution while anti-federalists were written in opposition of the same. The most important papers in federalist series were paper 10 and 5 both written by James Madison on the subject of power distribution within the federation. Anti-federalist paper 3 was written under the pseudonym Brutus and meant to oppose the arguments raised by Madison on
Federalist What is a faction? Where in modern American politics do we see factions? How does Madison propose to quell the impact of factions in government? In Federalist 10, James Madison discussed the types of factions, parties and interest groups that result from differences in wealth and property, as well as differences of opinion in religion, politics or ideology. He thought that differences in wealth and rank, at least those not
Federalist Papers The purpose of the Federalist Papers The Federalist Papers were prepared to ensure that a constitution was ratified to provide a perfect union. The Papers focused on the concept of a perfect and improved union. While this could be the primary purpose of the document, it was also concerned with other things. Aspects of the federalist like welfare, safety, and union are inseparable, and the union seems to be much
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now